Born: 25 July 1936, United Kingdom
Died: Unknown
Country most active: Australia
Also known as: Josephine Scarr
This biography has been shared from The Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, published by the Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology, under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Josephine Flood was an archaeologist whose research highlighted the role of Bogong moths in the lives of Aboriginal people in southern highlands of New South Wales. Her excavations of the Cloggs Cave in Victoria revealed considerable evidence of Aboriginal stone and bone tools, and occupation of the cave for over 30,000 years. During her time as Deputy Director of the Australian Heritage Commission over 2,000 Aboriginal sites were added to the Register of the National Estate. She was also involved in the world heritage listing of Kakadu National Park, the Willandra Lakes region in New South Wales, and the Tasmanian south west wilderness area. Between 1981 and 1992 Flood led seven expeditions to record rock art in the Victoria River region of the Northern Territory and on Cape York, Queensland. Her books include Archaeology of the Dreamtime (1983, 7th ed. 2010) and The riches of ancient Australia: a journey into prehistory (1990, 3rd ed. 1999).
Chronology
1959
Education – Bachelor of Arts (BA), University of Cambridge
1961
Career event – Leader, British Women’s Himalayan Expedition to Kulu
1963
Career position – Lecturer in Classical Archaeology, Australian National University
1963
Life event – Settled in Australia
1964 – 1978
Career position – Lecturer in Australian archaeology, Australian National University
1968
Education – Master of Arts (MA), Australian National University
1973
Education – Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Australian National University
1978 – 1979
Career position – Senior Conservation Officer, Australian Heritage Commission
1979 – 1991
Career position – Deputy Director, Australian Heritage Commission
1988 –
Career position – Member, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
1991 –
Award – Fellow, Australian Academy of the Humanities (FAHA)
1 Jan 2001
Award – Centenary Medal – for service to Australian society and the humanities in prehistory and archaeology
2019
Award – Member of the Order of Australia (AM) – for significant service to archaeology, and to the study of indigenous culture