Joakim Goldhahn (PhD, Umeå University, 2000) is a professor of archaeology working at The University of Adelaide, Australia. He began his career in Sweden, focusing his research on northern European rock art and Bronze Age societies, particularly exploring human-animal relationships, rituals, burials, memory, landscape, ritual specialists, warriorhood, and the history of archaeology. About a decade ago, he relocated to Australia, where he now conducts community-led research with various Indigenous stakeholders, primarily in western Arnhem Land and Kakadu National Park. His research here focuses on the impact of colonialism, Contact Rock Art, and the life and legacy of known Indigenous rock art artists.
Goldhahn has authored over 250 academic publications, including 29 books and anthologies, five special issues of peer-reviewed journals, and more than 120 articles. Among his notable works are Birds in the Bronze Age: A North European Perspective (Cambridge University Press, 2019) and Rock Art and the Telling of History (co-authored with Laura Rademaker, Sally K. May, and Gabriel Maralngurra, Cambridge University Press, 2024).
He is the current Editor-in-Chief of the journal Open Archaeology, and in 2018, The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History, and Antiquities awarded him the Oscar Montelii Prize.
Photo credit: Joakim Goldhahn at Djulirri, Namunijbuk clan estate. Photograph by Sally K. May.
