Jack Golson

Jack Golson AO (13 September 1926 – 2 September 2023) was a British-born Australian archaeologist who carried out extensive field work in Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia.

Golson excavating in Vailele, north coast of Upolu island in Samoa, 1957. Visiting the site are members of the I'iga Pisa family.

Life and career

Jack Golson was born in Rochdale, England on 13 September 1926.[1] He studied history and archaeology at Cambridge University. In 1954, he lectured at the archaeology department of Auckland University in New Zealand where he began studies on pre-history in the Pacific Islands. Golson also worked towards improving standards and methods of archaeology in New Zealand and organised the New Zealand Archaeological Association.[2]

In 1957, he carried out the first systematic survey of archaeological remains on Savai'i island in Samoa.[3] In 1961, he was appointed Fellow in Prehistory at the Australian National University[4] and carried out research in Australia and Papua New Guinea. He was the president of the World Archaeological Congress (1990–1994).[5]

In 1991, Golson retired after 30 years at the Australian National University. He became a visiting Fellow there while focusing his work on Papua New Guinea.[6] In the 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours Golson was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for "service to education, particularly in the fields of pre-history and archaeology research in Asia and the Pacific Region".[7] In 2001 he was awarded the Centenary Medal.[8]

In 2002, he became a Life Member of the Australian Archaeological Association. In 2009 he, along with Clare Golson, was awarded the World Archaeological Congress Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award.[9]

Golson died on 2 September 2023, at the age of 96.[10]

Jack Golson at ANU in 1987 after receiving Terra Australis 12, 'Early Tongan Prehistory' by Jens Poulsen, from the printer.

See also

References
  1. "Birth registration". FreeBMD. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  2. Patrick Vinton Kirch (24 May 2000). On the Road of the Winds: An Archaeological History of the Pacific Islands before European Contact. University of California Press. pp. 9–. ISBN 978-0-520-92896-1.
  3. Settlement Patterns in Samoa before 1840 by Janet M Davidson, The Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 78 1969, No. 1, p.44-82. Retrieved 1 November 2009
  4. Heather Burke; Claire Smith (2004). The Archaeologist's Field Handbook. Allen & Unwin. pp. 1–. ISBN 978-1-86508-862-4.
  5. "The World Archaeological Congress". Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  6. Robert Layton; Stephen Shennan (January 2006). A Future for Archaeology: The Past in the Present. Psychology Press. pp. 18–. ISBN 978-1-84472-126-9.
  7. "Dr Jack Golson". It's An Honour. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  8. "Jack Golson". It's An Honour. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  9. "Golson, Jack (1926 - )". Encyclopaedia of Australian Science and Innovation. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  10. "Uncovering earlyagriculture in PNG: Jack Golson's great gift". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
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