Robert G. Bednarik
Mailing address
Present offices
- Convener, President and Editor, International Federation of Rock Art Organisations (IFRAO);
- Secretary and Editor, Australian Rock Art Research Association (AURA);
- Contributing Editor, Discovering Archaeology;
- Managing Director, Archaeological Publications Inc.
- Managing Director, Archaeological Soil Lab Patron,
- Life Member, Honorary Member or Member of numerous scholarly associations world-wide;
- Permanent Chairman of the AURA Congress;
- National Co-ordinator of CAR‚ International Comité pour l’Art Rupestre, ICOMOS
- Chief Scientist, The First Sailors Expedition and the Nale Tasih Expedition Director, International Institute of Replicative Archaeology.
Publications
Over 400 refereed scientific publications, in 32 languages, mostly in cognitive epistemology and palaeoart studies, also general and replicative archaeology, soil science, speleology, deontology, semiotics and geomorphology. In all about 1000 publications, including several books. Starred in several film documentaries. About 65 papers presented at professional meetings and invited lectures, over 200 interviews by printed and electronic media, in many parts of the world. See a list of selected publications.
Field research
In various thematic and geographical areas: especially in central, northern, eastern, western and southern Europe; Siberia, India, China, Canada, USA, Mexico, Caribbean, various South American countries, southern Africa, Morocco, all regions of Australia.
Innovations: first in the world to date rock art directly with radiometric methods (reprecipitated carbonates in Malangine Cave, Australia); developed first non-interfering rock art dating method (microerosion method, first applied at Lake Onega, Russia); introduced advanced statistics in Australian archaeology (Brainerd-Robinson method). Developed new techniques for assessing weathering of silica minerals, and for studying cave climate; invented an instrument to measure the porosity of rock; conducted first comprehensive study of wall markings in caves. Responsible for major scientific discoveries in various countries, including oldest known rock art in the world, first Palaeolithic art of China, most cave art of Australia. Founded Archaeological Soil Lab in 1980, Archaeological Publications and AURA in 1983, and co-founded IFRAO in 1988. Campaigned actively for Aboriginal control of sites of indigenous heritage.
Specific projects
- Gudenus Cave 1963 - ongoing (oldest known occupation site of Austria);
- Promenadensteig Cave 1960-1966;
- Discovery of the major Pilbara rock art concentrations in Western Australia 1967-1970;
- Parietal Markings Project 1975 - ongoing (cave art in Australia and abroad, included the discovery of 37 of the 40 known sites of Australian cave art);
- Cave habitability and speleoclimatic study project 1980 - ongoing;
- Patination of sedimentary silicas and other minerals 1973 - 1981;
- Numerous geomorphological and sedimentary/pedological projects 1962 - ongoing;
- Dating of Australian cave art and of petroglyphs generally 1980 - ongoing;
- Portable Palaeolithic art of Eurasia, and beginnings of art and symbolism 1971 - ongoing;
- Pleistocene underground mining evidence of the world 1979 - 1992;
- Paroong Cave Preservation Project 1986-1988;
- Colour calibration and re-constitution by computer 1991 - 1995;
- Co-operative project with Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, - Bhopal, India 1994 - ongoing;
- Pleistocene seafaring and maritime replication studies 1994 - ongoing;
- Editing and publishing of three scientific periodicals (Rock Art Research, AURA Newsletter and The Artefact) and a monograph series 1983 - ongoing.