Professor Claire Smith
Claire is a Professor of Archaeology in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Flinders University in Australia. She has produced 10 books and more than 150 publications in a number of languages and is editor of the 11-volume Encyclopaedia of Global Archaeology which ha been downloaded more than 287,000 times. Claire has a broad intellectual vision and an inter-disciplinary approach to research, teaching and public engagement.
Claire’s main field of research is indigenous archaeology, especially rock art and gender, and culturally-informed development in indigenous communities. She has worked with Aboriginal communities in the Barunga region of Australia since 1990. She is currently working to develop culturally sustainable health care services in remote Aboriginal communities which engage with their traditional knowledge and practices. By taking a culturally informed and safe approach, Claire is aiming to bridge the gap of cultural knowledge between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in order to close the gap in health, longevity, education and employment.