Jack Golson

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

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.

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

• History of Papua New Guinea
• Archaeology in Samoa
• History of Tonga

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. [1] 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.