Alison Crowther

Dr Alison Crowther is an ARC Future Fellow in the School of Social Science at the University of Queensland, specializing in archaeology with a focus on environmental archaeology and microfossil analysis. Her research explores ancient subsistence strategies, human-environment interactions, and prehistoric trade networks in Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in Zanzibar, Kenya, Uganda, and Sri Lanka, analyzing plant microfossils, faunal remains, and material culture to reconstruct past lifeways.

Her work spans interdisciplinary approaches, integrating archaeology with geochemistry, genetics, and ecology. Key projects include investigations into early Islamic trade networks at Unguja Ukuu, Late Pleistocene-Holocene human adaptation in East Africa, and the dietary shifts associated with Neolithic transitions in the Nile Valley. Dr. Crowther has published over 90 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and her research has been supported by major grants including the ARC Future Fellowship.

Awards include the prestigious ARC Future Fellowship. Her contributions bridge archaeology with global environmental and historical debates, emphasizing the role of archaeological data in understanding contemporary challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss.