Dr. Stuart Bedford

Biography

Stuart Bedford is an archaeologist with over twenty years of fieldwork experience, primarily focused on the islands of Vanuatu in the southwestern Pacific. His research explores the origins, timing, and strategies of colonization, settlement patterns, and interactions among communities. He has a particular interest in the archaeology of colonialism and empire and has published extensively on these topics. Currently, he is engaged in an ARC Discovery project investigating the multi-disciplinary perspectives of the Kuwae super-eruption in 1452 CE, the largest global volcanic climatic event in the past 2000 years. This project aims to reconstruct local social and environmental conditions before the eruption, as well as to develop practical volcanic risk reduction strategies in collaboration with local communities in Vanuatu. His ongoing research includes examining the archaeology of Malakula, northern Vanuatu, and the southern Vanuatu islands, focusing on the cultural transformation and archaeological findings related to prehistoric societies. He has supervised numerous PhD candidates and has held various academic positions throughout his career, fostering extensive collaborations in archaeological research.

Research Interests

Experience