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Graham Connah

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Graham Edward ConnahAM(11 August 1934 - 25 November 2023) was a British-born archaeologist who worked extensively in Britain, West Africa and Australia.[1]

Connah was born in Cheshire, UK on 11 August 1934, and educated at Wirral Grammar School, and Cambridge University, receiving a PhD in 1959, after which he was a research assistant until 1961. Among his influences wereDavid Clarkeand Paul Ashby. In 1961 he obtained a position as archaeologist in the Department of Antiquities, with the Federal Government of Nigeria. He next served as a research fellow, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria in 1964; then senior research fellow, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan in 1968; and senior lecturer, Department of Archaeology, University of Ibadan in 1970.

In the following year, he moved to Australia to take a position at the University of New England, Armidale, NSW, as lecturer in the Department of Classics and Ancient History. He became the head of the Department of Prehistory and Archaeology at UNE in 1974 after the previous head of ArchaeologyIsabel McBrydeshifted toANUat the end of 1973. In 1985 he was made foundation professor and head of the Department of Archaeology and Palaeoanthropology.

In the 1990s he was visiting fellow, at the Humanities Research Centre, Australian National University and School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Faculty of Arts, Australian National University; and the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University, Sweden.[2]

Connah's main research field was African archaeology, concentrating on the origins of urbanism and state in Nigeria and Uganda over the last 6000 years.African Civilizationsis his best known work on this topic.[3]He was also one of the pioneers of Australian historical archaeology, with his major contribution beingThe Archaeology of Australia’s History.[4]He was founding editor of the journalAustralasian Historical Archaeologyfrom 1983 to 1988), and President of theAustralasian Society for Historical Archaeologyfrom 1993 to 1997).[5]

Awards

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Connah was made a Fellow of theRoyal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland(FRAI), a Fellow of theSociety of Antiquaries of London(FSA), Fellow of theAustralian Academy of the Humanities(FAHA)[5]and was awarded theMember of the Order of Australia(AM) andAustralian Centenary Medal.[2]

References

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  1. ^Boshoff, Estelle (6 December 2023)."Vale Emeritus Professor Graham Connah AM".Pulse news.Retrieved11 February2024.
  2. ^abHigginbotham, Edward (2009)."In conversation with Graham Connah"(PDF).Australasian Historical Archaeology.27:7–21.
  3. ^Connah, Graham (2016).African Civilizations(Third ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  4. ^Connah, Graham (1988).The Archaeology of Australia's History.Cambridge University Press.
  5. ^ab"The Australian Academy of the Humanities Academy Fellows".