About
Adam Brumm is a Professor of Archaeology at Griffith University, affiliated with the School of Environment and Science and the Department of Chemistry and Forensic Science. A leading expert in Indonesian prehistory and human evolution, he has conducted over 21 years of fieldwork in Indonesia, notably on Flores and Sulawesi. His research bridges archaeology and earth sciences, focusing on hominin fossils, rock art, and human-animal relations. He joined Griffith University in 2014 and became a full professor in 2019, co-founding the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution (ARCHE).
Brumm holds degrees from the University of Queensland (B.A., 1995–97), James Cook University (B.A. (Hons), 1999–2000), and an Australian National University Ph.D. (2007). He has been awarded prestigious fellowships, including an ARC Future Fellowship and election to the Australian Academy of the Humanities (2024).
His research interests include Southeast Asian prehistory, hominin evolution, Pleistocene rock art, and the origins of symbolic behavior. Notable discoveries include the oldest surviving narrative cave art (51,200+ years) and evidence of a 31,000-year-old surgical amputation in Borneo. He currently supervises four doctoral students and leads ARC-funded projects on Indonesian rock art and Pleistocene human occupation.
Brumm’s awards include the Achmad Bakrie Award (2022), Shanghai Archaeology Forum’s 2023 Field Discovery Award, and two Ulm-Ross Prizes. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and contributes to the ARC College of Experts.
