The UQ Culture and Heritage Unit is the commercial arm of the School of Social Science, at The University of Queensland. UQ's Culture and Heritage Unit has operated on a commercial consulting basis for 30 years. We were previously known as the UQ Archaeological Services Unit.
The UQ Culture and Heritage Unit comprises a team of dedicated archaeologists and anthropologists. Each team-member has years of commercial consulting and research experience, all of whom hold PhDs in their field.
UQ's Culture and Heritage Unit is able to draw on the skills and experience of the University of Queensland’s academic staff. Additionally, our Culture and Heritage Unit has the archaeological laboratory facilities of the University of Queensland at its disposal. As a result, the UQ Culture and Heritage Unit has an enviable range of skills and facilities. Our close ties to the School of Social Science, School of Earth and Environmental Science, and the Institute for Social Science and Research, and our projects provide research opportunities and employment for both graduate and undergraduate students.
Science in archaeology
The use of scientific instruments to analyse artefacts and residues, botanical and fauna material or map subsurface cultural heritage features with advanced spatial technologies such as a total station or near-surface geophysical techniques is becoming an increasingly important component in the field of archaeology. More specifically as these tools have the ability to help us understand past human behaviour.
The UQ Culture and Heritage Unit has access to a suite of equipment including:
- 3D object scanners and printers
- light microscopes
- Differential GPS
- Nikon total stations
- and five geophysical instruments including:
- a Geophysical Survey Systems Inc. (GSSI) SIR-3000 ground-penetrating radar with a 400 MHz antenna
- a GSSI EM Profiler
- a Bartington Instruments 601 Fluxgate Gradiometer
- a Bartington Instruments magnetic susceptibility meter, and
- a Geoscan RM15 Resistance Meter
Students and staff working for the UQ Culture and Heritage Unit also have the opportunity to obtain training and experience in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). GIS in increasingly used by heritage practitioners throughout Australia to spatially plot the locations and distribution of cultural heritage sites that they manage.