A History Worth Protecting.
Creating conversations to ensure the future of Australian First Nations artefacts and fossils.
Imagine yourself walking through rugged scrub and rocky outcrops, eucalypts and their leaves swaying around you as you go on a bushwalk. Maybe you are walking down the beach, your feet burrowing into the sand. Or picture yourself digging, on your farm or in your garden, the rich soil covering your hands and boots.
And suddenly, you find something.
What would you do if you ever found an Indigenous artefact or a fossil?
While this isn’t a question you’ve likely thought much about, it is one that is vital to ensure the protection of Australia’s natural and cultural heritage.
Here at Found a Fossil, we want to provide easy to understand information and resources to people so Australia’s incredible heritage material can be celebrated and protected for future generations.
Our Project Goals
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1
To understand what the public, from every First Nations community, farmer, bushwalker, beachgoer, and beyond, thinks about artefacts, fossils, and their protection.
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2
To provide accessible and easy to understand information that helps to improve the communication of legislation and heritage information to the public.
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3
To create conversations about Australian heritage, how we can better protect it, and encourage appreciation of heritage material, and the incredible stories it can tell.
Help with our research!
To help achieve our first goal of understanding what people think about fossils and artefacts, the Found a Fossil Project did a survey of over 1000 members of the Australian public.
Hi, I’m Sally!
I’m the one behind the Found a Fossil Project! I have a deep love for history, and through this project, I am hoping to share this passion with others in the Australian community.
After graduating with a degree in Palaeontology and Archaeology, I realised that if I ever did come across an artefact or fossil, I wouldn’t really have any idea of what I was meant to do or who I was meant to contact. After some research, and discovery of the Protection of Moveable Cultural Heritage Act 1986 (which covers both First Nations artefacts and fossils), I was still no closer to figuring out what I was meant to do (this document had not one mention of what to do or who to call!).
I figured that a lot of other people were probably in the same boat, and so I set about creating this website as a resource for who you can contact and what you can do when you find a heritage object. You can read the Guidelines for Heritage Finds, or check out the legislation for both Fossil Finds or Indigenous Finds.
As a cultural ally to First Nations Peoples, I’m hoping that this project will encourage the celebration and protection of First Nations heritage objects, and provide opportunities to start conversations about heritage discoveries, processes, and decision-making.
By connecting with communities and individuals who are finding heritage material like artefacts and fossils, I’m hoping that we can have open and honest dialogue that will ultimately lead to an appreciation of heritage, and therefore a higher level of reporting, protection, and celebration of Australia’s incredible natural and cultural heritage.
What are fossils?
Fossils are any preserved remains, impressions, or traces of anything that used to be alive in a past geological time period. Fossils may include dinosaur bones, fossils of leaves and trees, footprints, shells etc. Palaeontologists study fossils.
What are artefacts?
Archaeological artefacts are items or remains made by humans or related to human history. This can include stone tools, jewellery, items from everyday life (baskets, pots etc.), weapons etc. Archaeologists study artefacts.
Some Australian Indigenous communities may refer to these artefacts as cultural belongings or cultural objects. These artefacts are part of the living cultures and histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
Explore the Site
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Guidelines for Heritage Finds
Want to know what to do if you find a fossil or artefact?
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The Person
Want to know more about me and how I was inspired to start this project?
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The Blog
Check out my blog posts about the project, our results, and other fun science topics!
Get in Touch!
Want to know more about the project? Maybe you just want to talk heritage, science, or history? Or would you like me to give a talk at your school or event?
Shoot me a email using this form and I’ll let’s connect!