Nigel Chang
Projects
3
Publications
43
Awards
0
Biography
Originially from New Zealand I have been at James Cook University since mid-2005. I was fortunate to study under Prof. Charles Higham at Otago University where I was able to get experience not only in prehistoric and historic archaeology in New Zealand but was also introduced to Southeast Asia. Since my first field work at the site of Nong Nor in Thailand (1991) I have been committed to working in the region. I have been lucky enough to be able to work in Thailand, Cambodia and the Lao PDR. Since 2010 I have lead a variety of student exchange projects funded by the Australian Government (initially the Asia Bound scheme and more recently the New Colombo Plan).
Research
Projects
Unravelling the mystery of the Plain of Jars, Laos (Old ID 21895)
01 Jan 2015 - 14 Jan 2020
2014 Archaeological Excavation & Training Project, MMG-LXML, Lao PDR (Old ID 21821)
30 Sep 2014 - 31 Dec 2019
Teaching
Taught Modules
[AN2114] Australia through Time and PlaceCoordinator, Lecturer
2023
[AR2405] Archaeology in PracticeLecturer, Coordinator
2025
2021
2023
2025
[BA4003] Arts Honours Thesis Part 3Coordinator
2025
[AR1001] The World of ArchaeologyCoordinator, Lecturer, Course Builder
2025
[BA4003] Arts Honours Thesis Part 3Coordinator
2024
[AR1001] The World of ArchaeologyLecturer, Coordinator
2024
2024
2022
[BA4003] Arts Honours Thesis Part 3Coordinator
2022
[WS2008] International ExchangeCoordinator
2023
[AR1001] The World of ArchaeologyLecturer, Coordinator
2023
[AR1001] The World of ArchaeologyCoordinator, Lecturer
2022
[AR3501] Ancestors and Emperors: The Rise and Fall of Ancient SocietiesCoordinator, Lecturer
2022
[AR3501] Ancestors and Emperors: The Rise and Fall of Ancient SocietiesLecturer, Coordinator
2024
[AR3501] Ancestors and Emperors: The Rise and Fall of Ancient SocietiesCoordinator, Lecturer
2025
[BA4000] Becoming a ResearcherLecturer, Coordinator
2023
[BA4000] Becoming a ResearcherLecturer, Coordinator
2024
[BA4000] Becoming a ResearcherCoordinator, Lecturer
2025
[BA4001] Arts Honours Thesis Part 1Coordinator
2022
[BA4001] Arts Honours Thesis Part 1Coordinator
2023
[BA4001] Arts Honours Thesis Part 1Coordinator
2024
[BA4001] Arts Honours Thesis Part 1Coordinator
2025
[BA4002] Arts Honours Thesis Part 2Coordinator
2022
[BA4002] Arts Honours Thesis Part 2Coordinator
2023
[BA4002] Arts Honours Thesis Part 2Coordinator
2024
[BA4002] Arts Honours Thesis Part 2Coordinator
2025
[BA4003] Arts Honours Thesis Part 3Coordinator
2023
[HI2009] War and Australian SocietyCoordinator
2024
[WS2008] International ExchangeCoordinator, Lecturer
2022
[WS2008] International ExchangeCoordinator, Lecturer
2024
[WS2008] International ExchangeCoordinator, Lecturer
2025
Current JCU Research Students
"In any direction it would be difficult to find one acre of level ground”: The Mining and Social Landscapes of the Normanby Goldfield, near Bowen, North Queensland
Doctor of Philosophy (Society and Culture)
How can blockchain and artificial intelligence be leveraged to enhance the tracing, recovery, and repatriation of stolen or looted cultural artefacts, and what are the practical implications of integrating these technologies into the existing frameworks of cultural heritage protection?
Master of Philosophy (Society and Culture)
Completed JCU Research Students
Everyday life in prehistoric Thailand: What can the spindle whorls tell us?
Doctor of Philosophy (Arts and Social Sciences) (Res)- 2023
For A Few Horses More: The Role of Domesticated Livestock in the Development of North Queensland
Master of Philosophy (Society and Culture)- 2023
Stature Estimation from Fragmentary Skeletal Remains in Prehistoric Cambodia: Health and forensic applications
Master of Philosophy (Society and Culture)- 2025
Ancient ceramics at Vilabouly: pottery production and society in Laos
Doctor of Philosophy (Society and Culture)- 2023
The effects of aging on bone macro- and microstructure of two populations in the Asia-Pacific region
Doctor of Philosophy (Society and Culture)- 2024
The dentition of the people of Iron Age Non Ban Jak
Master of Philosophy (Society and Culture)- 2022
Current Honours and External Research Students
The Domesticated Dog in Thailand and Surrounding Regions During the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, and their Roles in Societies
HONOURS- 2024
Humanity constructs itself through entanglement - A study of human entanglement, entwinement, and entrapment.
HONOURS- 2023
From Neolithic to Iron Age: Investigating Mollusc Exploitation in Northeastern Thailand
HONOURS- 2024
Everyday Archaeology: Taking A Reimagined Typological Approach to Southeast Asian Bone Artefacts
HONOURS- 2024
Output
Chang, N.J. (2007) The shell, silver, gold, bronze and bone personal ornaments. Bangkok, Thailand: [Reference Material]
Other Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Chang, Nigel J (2004) The personal ornaments. Bangkok, Thailand: [Non-Research Book Chapter]
Other Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Goldfinch, Felise; Chang, Nigel; Hardy, Dianna (2025) 'Ex Machina: Machine Learning, ceramics & rock art in the Khorat Plateau, Thailand'. SPAFA Journal, .
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Cadet, Melissa; Pryce, T.O.; Dillmann, Philippe; Sayavongkhamdy, Thongsa; Souksavatdy, Viengkeo; Luangkhoth, Thonglith; Chang, Nigel (2022) 'Technological reconstruction of the late prehistoric primary copper production of the Vilabouly Complex (central Laos)'. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 14 . [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Domett, Kate; Colbert, Alana; Chang, Nigel (2022) 'The impact of clubfoot: A holistic, paleopathological case study from Bronze Age Thailand'. Bioarchaeology International, 6 (4):274-293. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Shewan, Louise; O'Reilly, Dougald; Armstrong, Richard; Toms, Phillip; Webb, John; Beavan, Nancy; Luangkhoth, Thonglith; Wood, Jaime; Halcrow, Siân; Domett, Kate; Van Den Bergh, Julie; Chang, Nigel (2021) 'Dating the megalithic culture of Laos:
radiocarbon, optically stimulated
luminescence and U/Pb zircon results'. PLoS ONE, 16 (3). [DOI]
Cadet, Mélissa; Tereygeol, Florian; Sayavongkhamdy, Thongsa; Souksavatdy, Viengkeo; Luangkhoth, Thonglith; Chang, Nigel; Dillmann, Philippe; Pryce, T.O. (2021) 'Late prehistoric copper smelting in the Lao PDR: Experimental reconstruction based on the Vilabouly Complex evidence'. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 37 . [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Kanthilatha, Nelum; Boyd, William; Chang, Nigel (2020) 'Sedimentary landscape of Mun Valley prehistoric site: construction history of moated site of Ban Non Wat, northeast Thailand'. Quaternary, 3 (1). [DOI]
Pedersen, Lucille T.; Domett, Kate M.; Chang, Nigel J.; Halcrow, Siân E.; Buckley, Hallie R.; Higham, Charles F.W.; O'Reilly, Dougald J.W.; Shewan, Louise (2019) 'A bioarchaeological study of trauma at Late Iron Age to Protohistoric Non Ban Jak, Northeast Thailand'. Asian Perspectives, 58 (2):220-249. [DOI]
Cadet, Melissa; Sayavongkhamdy, Thongsa; Souksavatdy, Viengkeo; Luangkhoth, Thonglith; Dillman, Philippe; Cloquet, Christophe; Vernet, Justine; Piccardo, Paolo; Chang, Nigel; Edgar, John; Foy, Eddy; Pryce, Thomas (2019) 'Lao's central role in Southeast Asian copper exchange networks: a multimethod study of bronzes from the Vilabouly Complex'. Journal of Archaeological Science, 109 . [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Higham, C.F.W.; Manly, B.F.J.; Thosarat, R.; Buckley, H.R.; Chang, N.; Halcrow, S.E.; Ward, S.; O'Reilly, D.J.W.; Shewan, L.G.; Domett, K. (2019) 'Environmental and social change in northeast Thailand during the Iron Age'. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 29 (4):549-569. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Social responses to climate change in Iron Age north-east Thailand: new archaeobotanical evidence
2018
Castillo, Cristina C.; Higham, Charles; Miller, Katie; Chang, Nigel; Douka, Katerina; Higham, Tom; Fuller, Dorian (2018) 'Social responses to climate change in Iron Age north-east Thailand: new archaeobotanical evidence'. Antiquity, 92 (365):1274-1291. [DOI]
Kanthilatha, Nelum; Boyd, William; Chang, Nigel (2017) 'Multi-element characterization of archaeological floors at the prehistoric archaeological sites at Ban Non Wat and Nong Hua Raet in Northeast Thailand'. Quaternary International, 432 :66-78. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Domett, Kate; Evans, Caitlin; Chang, Nigel; Tayles, Nancy; Newton, Jennifer (2017) 'Interpreting osteoarthritis in bioarchaeology: highlighting the importance of a clinical approach through case studies from prehistoric Thailand'. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 11 :762-773.
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Kanthilatha, Nelum; Boyd, William; Parr, Jeffrey; Chang, Nigel (2017) 'Implications of phytolith and diatom assemblages in the cultural layers of prehistoric archaeological sites of Ban Non Wat and Nong Hua Raet in Northeast Thailand'. Environmental Archaeology, 22 (1):15-27. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Duke, Belinda J.; Chang, Nigel J.; Moffat, Ian; Morris, Wayne (2016) 'The invisible moats of the Mun River Valley, NE Thailand: the examination of water management devices at mounded sites through ground-penetrating radar(GPR)'. Journal of Indo-Pacific Archaeology, 40 :1-11. [DOI]
Shimizu, Naho; Souksavatdy, Viengkeo; Chang, Nigel; Luangkhot, Thonglith (2016) 'Trade ceramics recovered from the MMG-LXML Sepon mining tenement, Savannakhet Province, the Lao PDR – preliminary review: trading and distribution based on composition, origin and age'. Journal of Southeast Asian Archaeology, 36 :47-60.
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Evans, Caitlin; Chang, Nigel; Shimizu, Naho (2016) 'Sites, survey, and ceramics: settlement patterns of the first to ninth centuries CE in the Upper Mun River Valley, northeast Thailand'. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 47 (3):438-467. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Khongthon, Netchanok; Chang, Nigel (2016) 'The folk healers' local knowledge transfer before Angkor at the Upper Mun River Catchment: a case study of Phol Songkram Community, None Soung District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand'. SNRU Journal of Science and Technology, 1 (1):60-66.
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Kerdsap, Puangtip; Chang, Nigel (2016) 'Comparison in spindle whorls'. Science and Technology Research Journal Sakon Nahon Ratchasima Rajabhat University, 1 (1):48-59.
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Castillo, Cristina Cobo; Tanaka, Katsunori; Sato, Yo-Ichiro; Ishikawa, Ryuji; Bellina, Bérénice; Higham, Charles; Chang, Nigel; Mohanty, Rabi; Kajale, Mukund; Fuller, Dorian (2016) 'Archaeogenetic study of prehistoric rice remains from Thailand and India: evidence of early japonica in South and Southeast Asia'. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 8 (3):523-543. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Yankowski, Andrea; Kerdsap, Puangtip; Chang, Nigel (2015) 'Please pass the salt – an ethnoarchaeological study of salt and salt fermented fish production, use and trade in Northeast Thailand'. Journal of Indo-Pacific Archaeology, 37 :4-13. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Mayes, Warren; Chang, Nigel (2014) 'Discovering Sepon: cultural heritage management and the making of a modern mine'. The Extractive Industries and Society, 1 (2):237-248. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Kanthilatha, Nelum; Boyd, William; Dowell, Ashley; Mann, Alice; Chang, Nigel; Wohlmuth, Hans; Parr, Jeff (2014) 'Identification of preserved fatty acids in archaeological floor sediments from prehistoric sites at Ban Non Wat and Nong Hua Raet in northeast Thailand using gas chromatography'. Journal of Archaeological Science, 46 :353-362. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Tucci, Antonino; Sayavongkhamdy, Thongsa; Chang, Nigel; Souksavatdy, Viengkeo (2014) 'Ancient copper mining in Laos: heterarchies, incipient states or post-state anarchists'. Journal of Anthropology and Archaeology, 2 (2):1-15. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Higham, Charles; Cameron, Judith; Chang, Nigel; Castillo, Cristina; Halcrow, Sian; O'Reilly, Dougald; Petchey, Fiona; Shewan, Louise (2014) 'The excavation of Non Ban Jak, Northeast Thailand: a report on the first three seasons'. Journal of Indo-Pacific Archaeology, 34 :1-41.
Pryce, Thomas Oliver; Baron, Sandrine; Bellina, Bérénice H.M.; Bellwood, Peter S.; Chang, Nigel; Chattopadhyay, Pranab; Dizon, Eusebio; Glover, Ian C.; Hamilton, Elizabeth; Higham, Charles F.W.; Kyaw, Aung Aung; Laychour, Vin; Natapintu, Surapol; Nguyen, Viet; Pautreau, Jean-Pierre; Pernicka, Ernst; Pigott, Vincent C.; Pollard, Mark; Pottier, Christophe; Reinecke, Andreas; Sayavongkhamdy, Thongsa; Souksavatdy, Viengkeo; White, Joyce (2014) 'More questions than answers: the Southeast Asian Lead Isotope Project 2009–2012'. Journal of Archaeological Science, 42 :273-294. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Pryce, Thomas Oliver; Brauns, Michael; Chang, Nigel; Pernicka, Ernst; Pollard, A. Mark; Ramsey, Christopher; Rehren, Thilo; Souksavatdy, Viengkeo; Sayavongkhamdy, Thongsa (2011) 'Isotopic and technological variation in prehistoric Southeast Asian primary copper production'. Journal of Archaeological Science, 38 (12):3309-3322. [DOI]
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Duke, Belinda J.; Carter, Alison K.; Chang, Nigel J. (2010) 'The excavation of iron age working floors and small-scale industry at Ban Non Wat, Thailand'. Papers from the Institute of Archaeology, 20 :123-130.
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Hardy, Dianna; Chang, Nigel; Atkinson, Ian (2008) 'e-Research and archaeological datasets'. The Bulletin of the Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology, 32 :1-6.
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Chang, Nigel J; Voelker, Judy (2003) 'Wash and wear, disposable and cheap: Ceramic bangles as everyday personal ornaments not for symbolic use'. Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association Bulletin, 23 :19-26.
Journal Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Chang, Nigel (2009) 'The archaeology of Ban Non Wat: a view of the collaborative process' SAA Archaeological Record, 9 (3) :40-42.
Journal Contribution
ResearchOnline@JCU
Chang, Nigel (2008) 'Past and present at Ban Non Wat, Thailand' Archaeology Abroad, 39 :9-12.
Journal Contribution
ResearchOnline@JCU
Mayes, Warren; Chang, Nigel (2013) SRMining 2013: 2nd International Conference on Social Responsibility in Mining . In: Wiertz, Jacques eds. Cultural heritage management and local participation in the development of the Sepon mine Santiago, Chile,
Conference Publication
ResearchOnline@JCU
Harris, N.; Miles, D.; Chang, N.; Jones, P.; Francis, A.; Zuchowski, I. (2012) Social Work: Towards Inclusion, Social Justice and Human Rights (ASSWA 2012 International Conference) Exploring the benefits of international practice-based education experiences in social work and human services education White River, Mpumalanga, South Africa, .
Miles, Debra; Chang, Nigel; Jones, Peter; Francis, Abraham; Zuchowski, Ines; Harris, Nonie (2011) 2011 Practice Based Education Summit Creating partnerships and integrating cross cultural experiences into social work education Bathurst, NSW, Australia, .
Conference Contribution
ResearchOnline@JCU
Miles, Debra; Chang, Nigel; Jones, Peter; Francis, Abraham; Zuchowski, Ines; Harris, Nonie (2011) 2011 Practice-Based Education Summit Integrating international work-integrated-learning experiences into social work and human service education Bathurst, NSW, Australia, .
Conference Contribution
ResearchOnline@JCU
Kuttainen, Victoria; Lundberg, Anita; Wight, Linda; Chang, Nigel (2010) Enhancing Learning Experiences in Higher Education: International Conference Honest reflections: big ideas and real life experiences of a new first year BA Hong Kong, .
Domett, Kate; Newton, Jennifer; Colbert, Alana; Chang, Nigel; Halcrow, Sian (2016) 'Frail, foreign or favoured? a contextualized case study from Bronze Age northeast Thailand' In: Domett, Kate, Newton, Jennifer, Colbert, Alana, Chang, Nigel, and Halcrow, Sian (2016) Frail, foreign or favoured? a contextualized case study from Bronze Age northeast Thailand. In: Oxenham, Marc, and Buckley, Haillie R., (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Bioarchaeology in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. Routledge, New York, NY, USA, pp. 68-94(Eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Bioarchaeology in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. New York, NY, USA : Routledge.
Book Chapter
ResearchOnline@JCU
Halliwell, Alisha; Yankowski, Andrea; Chang, Nigel (2016) 'Gendered labor in pottery and salt production in northeast Thailand' In: Halliwell, Alisha, Yankowski, Andrea, and Chang, Nigel (2016) Gendered labor in pottery and salt production in northeast Thailand. In: Kelly, Sophia E., and Arden, Traci, (eds.) Gendered Labor in Specialized Economies: archaeologial perspectives on female and male work. University Press of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA, pp. 117-157(Eds.). Gendered Labor in Specialized Economies: archaeologial perspectives on female and male work. Boulder, CO, USA : University Press of Colorado. [DOI]
Book Chapter
ResearchOnline@JCU
Boyd, William E.; Chang, Nigel (2010) 'Integrating social and environmental change in prehistory: a discussion of the role of landscape as a heuristic in defining
prehistoric possibilities in northeast Thailand' In: Boyd, William E., and Chang, Nigel (2010) Integrating social and environmental change in prehistory: a discussion of the role of landscape as a heuristic in defining prehistoric possibilities in northeast Thailand. In: Haberle, Simon, Stevenson, Janelle, and Prebble, Matthew, (eds.) Altered Ecologies : fire, climate and human influence on terrestrial landscapes. Terra Australis, 32 . ANU E Press, Canberra, ACT, Australia, pp. 273-297(Eds.). Terra Australis. Canberra, ACT, Australia : ANU E Press.
Book Chapter
ResearchOnline@JCU
Chang, N.J. (1998) 'The Personal Ornaments' In: Chang, N.J. (1998) The Personal Ornaments. In: Higham, C.F.W., and Thosarat, R., (eds.) The Excavation of Nong Nor; a prehistoric site in Central Thailand. University of Otago Studies in Prehistoric Anthropology, No. 18 . The Department of Anthropology, University of Otago, pp. 265-304(Eds.). The Excavation of Nong Nor: a prehistoric site in Central Thailand. : The Department of Anthropology, University of Otago.
The Metal Artefacts
1998
Reay, A.; Chang, N. J. (1998) 'The Metal Artefacts' In: Reay, A., and Chang, N. J. (1998) The Metal Artefacts. In: Higham, C. F.W., and Thosarat, R., (eds.) The Excavation of Nong Nor; a prehistoric site in Central Thailand. University of Otago Studies in Prehistoric Anthropology, No. 18 . The Department of Anthropology, University of Otago, pp. 305-314(Eds.). The Excavation of Nong Nor: a prehistoric site in Central Thailand. : The Department of Anthropology, University of Otago.