Carly Monks
Current position
I'm a senior technician/laboratory manager at the University of Western Australia, where I manage the archaeology laboratory.
Where did you study?
I completed my Bachelor degree in Arts (Archaeology) at the University of Western Australia, then moved to the east coast for Honours (University of Sydney) and a Master of Archaeological Science (ANU). After a few years working as a consulting archaeologist, I returned to UWA for my PhD.
How did you become interested in archaeology?
Looking back on my childhood I can see that my love of natural and cultural history was pointing me towards a career in archaeology, but I had no idea that it was something I could study. I started my undergraduate degree with a major in ancient history and took an "Intro to Archaeology" unit because it seemed like a good combination, and - to cut a long story short - by the end of my first semester of uni I had fallen completely in love with archaeology and switched majors.
What archaeological projects are you working on at the moment?
I'm a zooarchaeologist, which means I work with the remains of animals from archaeological contexts. My particular interest is in what animal bones can tell us about people's relationships with animals (including what they ate) and the broader environment in which they lived.
Right now, I'm working on a few different projects (which fit in around my 'day job' managing our department's lab). My main research looks at Aboriginal land management and diet choices in southwestern Australia, but I'm also working with other researchers to identify animal bones from sites in the Pilbara and to better understand fishing practices in southwestern and northwestern Australia.
Tell us about one of your most interesting archaeological discoveries.
It's so hard to answer this question because every project has its highlights, but it's pretty hard to go past finding thylacine teeth and Tasmanian devil coprolite (fossil poo!) while excavating! Many people don't realise that thylacines and devils lived in parts of mainland Australia, including southwestern Australia, until only a few thousand years ago. Finding evidence of their activity is always a thrill, and a reminder of how much our environment has changed.
Tell us about a funny / disastrous / amazing experience that you have had while doing archaeology.
I'm not sure if my colleagues have forgiven me yet, but I once shattered the back window of our work ute after we'd finally finished packing up our excavation gear on the last day of fieldwork. The sun was starting to set and we were all exhausted, but we had to frantically collect hundreds of pieces of broken black glass from the edge of the site before we could leave. Thankfully, teamwork and the promise of the pub got us through it!
What’s your favourite part of being an archaeologist?
I love being able to integrate research from so many fields to understand how our species has developed the many cultures and societies we have today. Archaeology usually doesn't have a single, clear answer for most of the big questions we ask (Why did megafauna go extinct? How did agriculture emerge and why does it look so different across the world? How did we - Homo sapiens - become the sole surviving species of our genus?). While that can be frustrating, it's also a fascinating challenge.
Follow up reading.
You can follow me on twitter: https://twitter.com/archaeo_ecology