Associate Professor Sally May
Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow
School of Humanities
Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.
Associate Professor Sally K. May is an ARC Future Fellow with the School of Humanities at the University of Adelaide. She is also Associate Head of Research for the School of Humanities and a convener of the Graduate Program in Curatorial and Museum Studies. During 2024-5 Sally was pleased to co-lead (with Professor Craig Batty, University of South Australia) the development of the Creative and Cultural Signature Research Theme for Adelaide University (https://adelaideuni.edu.au/research/).
Sally's research explores the intersections of art, history, and heritage in northern Australia, with a particular focus on Arnhem Land. Over the past two decades, she has worked in long-term collaboration with Aboriginal communities to understand how visual traditions, collecting practices, and cross-cultural encounters shape both local histories and broader narratives of Australia’s past. At the heart of her work is a commitment to emphasising the central role of Aboriginal artists and knowledge holders in recording, interpreting and transforming history. Whether through studies of contact period rock art, bark painting collections, or oral histories of mission life, she foregrounds Indigenous agency and creativity in the face of profound social and political change. This biographical and community-centred approach highlights how art and heritage are not static artefacts, but dynamic forms of cultural expression that negotiate memory, identity, and resilience.
Sally's research also situates Arnhem Land within global networks of exchange and knowledge production. She examines Aboriginal engagement with 'Macassan' trepangers, the impact of scientific expeditions and missionary enterprises, and the circulation of artworks into museums and international markets. By interrogating these transcultural and institutional histories, she seeks to reframe Australia’s place within Indian Ocean and world histories, while also addressing the legacies of colonial science and collecting.
Applied dimensions of Sally's work focus on heritage management and art centres as vital contemporary institutions. Through collaborative exhibitions, community-led archives, and policy engagement, she aims to ensure that research supports cultural renewal, strengthens heritage connections, and contributes to ethical and sustainable futures for Aboriginal communities.
- My Research
- Career
- Publications
- Grants and Funding
- Teaching
- Supervision
- Professional Activities
- Contact
Key research themes:
Contact rock art and artist biography
I examine how Aboriginal artists responded to colonial, missionary, and other external forces through visual means. My ARC Future Fellowship Painting Country focuses on the life histories and legacies of known rock art painters in western Arnhem Land. Recent publications explore topics such as the introduction of new pigments in rock art, biographical perspectives on contact art, and rapid loss of contact-period rock art. This strand foregrounds the agency of artists as historical actors, and sees rock art as more than 'artefacts' — they are expressive media through which individuals negotiated change, memory, and identity. Our recent book on this topic is Aboriginal Rock Art and the Telling of History (Cambridge, 2024), co-authored with Laura Rademaker, Nawakadj Maralngurra and Joakim Goldhahn.
Historical encounters, missions, and community memory
I investigate the social and historical dynamics of missions, colonial encounters, and archival memory, especially in Arnhem Land. My co-authored book The Bible in Buffalo Country: Oenpelli Mission 1925–1931 (ANU Press, 2020) combines archival, photographic, and oral history sources to reveal how Aboriginal communities engaged with missionary presence. This work highlights the entanglement of mission history with Aboriginal resilience, memory, and cultural continuity.
Ethnographic museum collections
A key strand of my research examines the histories, legacies, and contemporary relevance of ethnographic museum collections, particularly those from western and northwestern Arnhem Land. I have worked extensively with major collections of bark paintings, focusing on their biographies as objects: how they were created, collected, and circulated, and how they continue to carry cultural meaning within both community and museum contexts. I am committed to working with Aboriginal communities and art centres to ensure that collections are not static remnants of the past, but living cultural resources. Through collaborative exhibitions, community-led research, and repatriation-related projects, I explore how bark paintings and other ethnographic objects can support cultural renewal, strengthen heritage connections, and reframe museum narratives. Recent publications on this topic include Paddy Compass Namadbara and Baldwin Spencer (Australian Aboriginal Studies, 2022).
Macassan contact, maritime worlds, and transcultural histories
My research also addresses the long history of Aboriginal–Macassan interaction in northern Australia, situating Arnhem Land within wider Indian Ocean and Southeast Asian networks of mobility, trade, and cultural exchange. Through archaeology, rock art, and oral traditions, I examine how Aboriginal communities engaged with Macassan trepangers incorporating foreign technologies, motifs, and materials into local cultural practices. This work interrogates the entanglement of maritime economies, visual traditions, and Indigenous agency, showing how Macassan contact prefigured later colonial encounters and continues to resonate in community memory. By foregrounding Indigenous perspectives, I reposition Macassan–Aboriginal relations not as a peripheral episode, but as part of a deep and enduring history of transcultural engagement that connects northern Australia to global maritime worlds. Publications include: Macassan History and Heritage (ANU Press, 2013) and The Missing Macassans (Australian Archaeology, 2021).
History of science and the legacy of research encounters
I also examine the history of anthropology, archaeology, and collecting in northern Australia, focusing on how expeditions and scientific research shaped knowledge production. My work on the 1948 American–Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land interrogates how collecting, documentation, and representation occurred within this colonial scientific framework. My book Collecting Cultures: Myth, Politics, and Collaboration in the 1948 Arnhem Land Expedition (2009) explores one such research encounter and was fundamental in helping to secure the return of Ancestral remains from the Smithsonian Institution. By re-examining archival records, collections, and oral histories, I highlight Aboriginal contributions to scientific knowledge while critiquing the legacies of expeditionary research and its ongoing influence on museums and scholarship. This research continues with a new focus on Ronald and Catherine Berndt and their fieldwork in Arnhem Land.
Aboriginal art centres, cultural economies, and contemporary practice
A further strand of my research examines the role of Aboriginal art centres as hubs of cultural production, economic development, and community identity. Working in partnership with centres such as Injalak Arts (Gunbalanya), I explore how art centres support intergenerational knowledge transfer, foster innovation, and mediate relationships between local artists, national markets, and global audiences. My research highlights the biographical, historical, and institutional dimensions of these centres: how they document and sustain artistic legacies, navigate the politics of heritage and copyright, and act as critical sites of community resilience. I continue to work closely with art centres today, co-developing heritage-related projects such as community exhibitions, oral history archives, and collaborative documentation initiatives that return knowledge to Country and strengthen cultural futures. My publications on this theme include the book Karrikadjurren: Aboriginal art, community and identity in western Arnhem Land (Routledge, 2022). By connecting art centre practice to broader histories of collecting, missionisation, and cross-cultural exchange, I position these institutions not only as contemporary workplaces, but also as dynamic cultural archives that reshape how Aboriginal art is understood within Australia and internationally.
Heritage management
I am actively engaged in cultural heritage management across northern Australia, working in close partnership with Aboriginal Traditional Owners, community organisations, and government. Through consultancy, advisory roles, and academic collaborations, I aim to bridge the gap between research and policy, ensuring heritage practice is both rigorous and community-led. Central to this work is supporting Aboriginal authority and agency, safeguarding tangible and intangible heritage, and developing practical tools to address the challenges of conservation, interpretation, tourism, and the intergenerational transmission of knowledge.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2024 - ongoing Co-lead, Creative and Cultural Research Thematic (Adelaide University) Adelaide University 2023 - ongoing Associate Head of Research University of Adelaide 2022 - ongoing Associate Professor University of Adelaide 2017 - 2022 Senior Research Fellow Griffith University 2009 - 2017 Senior Lecturer Australian National University 2008 - 2009 ARC Postdoctoral Fellow Griffith University -
Awards and Achievements
Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount 2025 Award Finalist, Chief Minister's Northern Territory History Book Award 2025 Northern Territory Government Australia - 2024 Scholarship Fred Johns Scholarship for Biography University of Adelaide Australia $13,837.27 2021 Award Chief Minister's Northern Territory History Book Award 2021 Northern Territory Government Australia - 2011 Teaching Award ANU Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Education (Programs that Enhance Learning) Australian National University Australia - 2010 Teaching Award ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences Teaching and Learning Award Australian National University Australia - 2008 Fellowship ARC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Griffith University Australia - 2001 Scholarship Australian Postgraduate Award (Scholarship) Australian National University Australia - -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2001 - 2006 Australian National University Australia PhD 2000 - 2000 Flinders University of South Australia Australia Bachelor of Arts (Honours) 1997 - 1999 Flinders University of South Australia Australia Bachelor of Arts (Archaeology and History) -
Research Interests
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Journals
Year Citation 2025 May, S. K., Troncoso, A., Harper, S., & Goldhahn, J. (2025). Christianity in the Rock Art of Australia and Chile. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 1-14.
2025 May, S., Lee, J., & Goldhahn, J. (2025). Contact Rock Art: A Biographical Perspective from Western Arnhem Land, Australia. International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 1-25.
2024 Goldhahn, J., May, S. K., & Lee, J. (2024). The audience and the message: Nayombolmi's bark paintings from western Arnhem Land, Australia. Aboriginal History Journal, 47, 3-36.
Scopus1 WoS12024 May, S. K., Brady, L. M., Taçon, P. S. C., Miller, E., Jalandoni, A., Taylor, L., . . . Goldhahn, J. (2024). Brilliant blue: The blue rock art of Awunbarna, Northern Territory, Australia. Australian Archaeology, 90(3), 263-279.
Scopus1 WoS12023 Tacon, P., Taylor, L., May, S., Goldhahn, J., Jalandoni, A., Ressel, A., & Mangiru, K. (2023). Majumbu ('Old Harry') and the Spencer-Cahill bark painting collection. Australian Archaeology, 89(1), 14-31.
Scopus2 WoS22023 Tsang, R., Katuk, S., May, S., Taçon, P., Ricaut, F. -X., & Leavesley, M. (2023). Hand stencils and communal history: A case study from Auwim, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea. Archaeology in Oceania, 58(1), 115-130.
2022 Goldhahn, J., May, S., & Tacon, P. (2022). Picturing Nayombolmi: The most prolific known rock art artist in the world. Rock Art Research, 39(2), 155-167.
WoS62022 Miller, E., May, S. K., Goldhahn, J., Taçon, P. S. C., & Cooper, V. (2022). Kaparlgoo Blue: On the Adoption of Laundry Blue Pigment into the Visual Culture of Western Arnhem Land, Australia. International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 26(2), 316-337.
Scopus6 WoS52022 Brady, L. M., Taylor, L., May, S. K., & Taçon, P. S. C. (2022). Meaningful choices and relational networks: Analysing western Arnhem Land’s Painted Hand rock art style using chaîne opératoire. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 65, 1-16.
Scopus5 WoS12022 Taçon, P. S. C., May, S. K., Goldhahn, J., Taylor, L., Brady, L. M., Ressel, A., . . . Maralngurra, G. (2022). Extraordinary Back-to-Back Human and Animal Figures in the Art of Western Arnhem Land, Australia: One of the World's Largest Assemblages. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 32(4), 707-720.
Scopus3 WoS12022 Goldhahn, J., Taylor, L., Tacon, P. S. C., May, S., & Maralngurra, G. (2022). Paddy Compass Namadbara and Baldwin Spencer: an artist's recollection of the first commissioned Aboriginal bark paintings in Oenpelli, 1912. Australian Aboriginal Studies, 2021(2), 46-65. 2022 Tsang, R., Katuk, S., May, S. K., Taçon, P. S. C., Ricaut, F. -X., & Leavesley, M. G. (2022). Rock Art and (Re)Production of Narratives: A Cassowary Bone Dagger Stencil Perspective from Auwim, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 32(4), 547-565.
Scopus3 WoS22021 Hayward, J. A., May, S. K., Goldhahn, J., Jalandoni, A., & Taçon, P. S. C. (2021). An Analysis of Motif Clusters at the Nanguluwurr Rock Art Site, Kakadu National Park, N. T. Australia. Journal of Field Archaeology, 46(6), 414-428.
Scopus3 WoS62021 Taçon, P. S. C., May, S. K., Wesley, D., Jalandoni, A., Tsang, R., & Mangiru, K. (2021). History Disappearing: The Rapid Loss of Australian Contact Period Rock Art. Journal of Field Archaeology, 46(2), 119-131.
Scopus9 WoS62021 May, S. K., Taçon, P. S. C., Jalandoni, A., Goldhahn, J., Wesley, D., Tsang, R., & Mangiru, K. (2021). The re-emergence of nganaparru (water buffalo) into the culture, landscape and rock art of western Arnhem Land. Antiquity, 95(383), 1298-1314.
Scopus4 WoS52021 May, S. K., Rademaker, L., Goldhahn, J., Taçon, P. S. C., & Narndal Gumurdul, J. (2021). Narlim’s Fingerprints: Aboriginal Histories and Rock Art. Journal of Australian Studies, 45(3), 292-316.
Scopus6 WoS62021 Goldhahn, J., May, S. K., & Taçon, P. S. C. (2021). Revisiting Francis Birtles’ painted car: exploring a cross-cultural encounter with Aboriginal artist Nayombolmi at Imarlkba Gold Mine, 1929–1930. History Australia, 18(3), 469-492.
Scopus22021 Taçon, P. S. C., Wesley, D., & May, S. K. (2021). R. Lamilami, 1957–2021: Negotiating two worlds for cultural heritage. Australian Archaeology, 87(2), 220-225.
WoS12021 May, S. K., Wesley, D., Goldhahn, J., Lamilami, R., & Taçon, P. S. C. (2021). The missing Macassans: Indigenous sovereignty, rock art and the archaeology of absence. Australian Archaeology, 87(2), 127-143.
Scopus10 WoS92021 May, S., Goldhahn, J., Rademaker, L., Badari, G., & Taçon, P. (2021). Quilp's Horse: Rock art and artist life-biography in western Arnhem Land, Australia. Rock Art Research, 38(2), 211-221.
Scopus6 WoS62021 Goldhahn, J., Biyalwanga, L., May, S. K., Blawgur, J., Taçon, P. S. C., Sullivan, J., . . . Lee, J. (2021). "Our dad's painting is hiding, in secret place": reverberations of a rock painting episode in Kakadu National Park, Australia. Rock Art Research, 38(1), 59-69.
Scopus3 WoS82021 May, S., Domingo Sanz, I., Goldhahn, J., Wright, D., & Maralngurra, G. (2021). Broadening out understanding beyond the 'Buffaroo'. Rock Art Research, 38(2), 222-223. 2021 Smith, C., May, S. K., & Domingo, I. (2021). Special collection of selected papers presented at the 2018 IFRAO Congress in Valcamonica, Italy, ROCK ART AND ETHNOGRAPHY. ROCK ART RESEARCH, 38(2), 137. 2021 May, S. K., Sanz, I. D., Goldhahn, J., Wright, D., & Maralngurra, G. (2021). Broadening our understanding beyond the 'Buffaroo'. ROCK ART RESEARCH, 38(2), 224-226. 2021 Smith, C., May, S. K., & Domingo, I. (2021). Special collection of selected papers presented at the 2018 IFRAO Congress in Valcamonica, Italy ROCK ART AND ETHNOGRAPHY. ROCK ART RESEARCH, 38(1), 31.
WoS12020 May, S. K., Wright, D., Sanz, I. D., Goldhahn, J., & Maralngurra, G. (2020). The buffaroo: A ‘first-sight’ depiction of introduced buffalo in the rock art of western Arnhem Land, Australia. Rock Art Research, 37(2), 204-216.
Scopus7 WoS82020 Brady, L. M., May, S. K., Goldhahn, J., Taçon, P. S. C., & Lamilami, P. (2020). What painting? Encountering and interpreting the archaeological record in western Arnhem Land, northern Australia. Archaeology in Oceania, 55(2), 106-117.
Scopus8 WoS82020 Jalandoni, A., & May, S. K. (2020). How 3D models (photogrammetry) of rock art can improve recording veracity: a case study from Kakadu National Park, Australia. Australian Archaeology, 86(2), 137-146.
Scopus24 WoS202020 Taçon, P. S. C., May, S. K., Lamilami, R., McKeague, F., Johnston, I. G., Jalandoni, A., . . . Goldhahn, J. (2020). Maliwawa figures—a previously undescribed Arnhem Land rock art style. Australian Archaeology, 86(3), 208-225.
Scopus26 WoS252020 Jones, T., Wesley, D., May, S. K., Johnston, I. G., McFadden, C., & Taçon, P. S. C. (2020). Rethinking the age and unity of large naturalistic animal forms in early Western Arnhem Land Rock Art, Australia. Australian Archaeology, 86(3), 238-252.
Scopus9 WoS72020 Frieman, C., & May, S. K. (2020). Navigating Contact: Tradition and Innovation in Australian Contact Rock Art. International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 24(2), 342-366.
Scopus20 WoS212020 Goldhahn, J., May, S. K., Maralngurra, J. G., & Lee, J. (2020). Children and Rock Art: A Case Study from Western Arnhem Land, Australia. Norwegian Archaeological Review, 53(1), 59-82.
Scopus15 WoS162020 May, S. K., Taylor, L., Frieman, C., Taçon, P. S. C., Wesley, D., Jones, T., . . . Mungulda, C. (2020). Survival, Social Cohesion and Rock Art: The Painted Hands of Western Arnhem Land, Australia. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 30(3), 491-510.
Scopus17 WoS202020 May, S. K., Huntley, J., Marshall, M., Miller, E., Hayward, J. A., Jalandoni, A., . . . Taçon, P. S. C. (2020). New Insights into the Rock Art of Anbangbang Gallery, Kakadu National Park. Journal of Field Archaeology, 45(2), 120-134.
Scopus24 WoS222019 May, S. K., Maralngurra, J. G., Johnston, I. G., Goldhahn, J., Lee, J., O'Loughlin, G., . . . Tacon, P. S. C. (2019). 'This is my father's painting': a first hand account of the creation of the most iconic rock art in Kakadu National Park. Rock Art Research, 36(2), 199-213.
WoS282018 Goldhahn, J., & May, S. K. (2018). Beyond the colonial encounter: global approaches to contact rock art studies. Australian Archaeology, 84(3), 210-218.
Scopus9 WoS102018 Hayward, J. A., Johnston, I. G., May, S. K., & Taçon, P. S. C. (2018). Memorialization and the Stencilled Rock Art of Mirarr Country, Northern Australia. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 28(3), 361-378.
Scopus8 WoS92018 May, S. K., Johnston, I. G., Taçon, P. S. C., Domingo Sanz, I., & Goldhahn, J. (2018). Early Australian Anthropomorphs: Jabiluka's Dynamic Figure Rock Paintings. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 28(1), 67-83.
Scopus23 WoS142018 Wesley, D., Litster, M., O’Connor, S., Grono, E., Theys, J., Higgins, A., . . . Taçon, P. (2018). The archaeology of Maliwawa: 25,000 years of occupation in the Wellington Range, Arnhem Land. Australian Archaeology, 84(2), 108-128.
Scopus10 WoS112017 May, S. K., Wesley, D., Goldhahn, J., Litster, M., & Manera, B. (2017). Symbols of Power: The Firearm Paintings of Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II). International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 21(3), 690-707.
Scopus23 WoS222017 Domingo, I., Smith, C., & May, S. K. (2017). Etnoarqueología y arte rupestre: potencial, perspectivas y ética. Complutum, 28(2), 285-305.
Scopus5 WoS32017 May, S. K., Marshall, M., Domingo Sanz, I., & Smith, C. (2017). Reflections on the Pedagogy of Archaeological Field Schools within Indigenous Community Archaeology Programmes in Australia. Public Archaeology, 16(3-4), 172-190.
Scopus10 WoS62016 Wright, D., Langley, M. C., May, S. K., Johnston, I. G., & Allen, L. (2016). Painted shark vertebrae beads from the Djawumbu-Madjawarrnja complex,western Arnhem Land. Australian Archaeology, 82(2), 43-54.
Scopus13 WoS122015 May, S., & Jones, T. (2015). Current themes in the study of material culture in the rock art of northern Australia. The Artefact, 38, 3-7. 2015 Jones, T., & May, S. (2015). Rock Art and Ritual Function: the Northern Running Figures of western Arnhem Land. The Artefact, 38, 53-66. 2014 Wright, D., May, S. K., Taçon, P. S. C., & Stephenson, B. (2014). A SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF A NEW CUPULE SITE IN JABILUKA, WESTERN ARNHEM LAND. Rock Art Research, 31(1), 92-100.
Scopus17 WoS92013 Clark, M., & May K., S. (2013). Macassan History and Heritage: Journeys, Encounters and Influences.
2013 May, S. K., Taçon, P. S. C., Paterson, A., & Travers, M. (2013). The world from Malarrak: Depictions of South-East Asian and European subjects in rock art from the Wellington Range, Australia. Australian Aboriginal Studies, (1), 45-56.
Scopus25 WoS212013 May, S., Tacon, P. S. C., Wesley, D., & Pearson, M. (2013). Painted Ships on a Painted Arnhem Land Landscape. The Great Circle: Journal of the Australian Association for Maritime History, 35(2), 83-102. 2013 Tacon, P. S. C., & May, S. (2013). Ship Shape: An exploration of Maritime-Related Depictions in Indigenous Rock Art and Material Culture. The Great Circle: Journal of the Australian Association for Maritime History, 35(2), 7-15. 2012 Taçon, P. S. C., Aubert, M., Gang, L., Decong, Y., Hong, L., May, S. K., . . . Herries, A. I. R. (2012). Uranium-series age estimates for rock art in southwest China. Journal of Archaeological Science, 39(2), 492-499.
Scopus44 WoS402011 Tacon, P. S. C., Langley, M., May, S., Lamilami, R., Brennan, W., & Wesley, D. (2011). A bird in the hand: response to Franklin and Szabo. Antiquity: a quarterly review of archaeology, 85, 327. 2010 Taçon, P. S. C., Gang, L., Decong, Y., May, S. K., Hong, L., Aubert, M., . . . Herries, A. I. R. (2010). Naturalism, nature and questions of style in Jinsha River Rock Art, Northwest Yunnan, China. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 20(1), 67-86.
Scopus27 WoS232010 May, S. K., Taçon, P. S. C., Wesley, D., & Travers, M. (2010). Painting history: Indigenous observations and depictions of the 'other' in northwestern Arnhem Land, Australia. Australian Archaeology, 71(71), 57-65.
Scopus57 WoS522010 Tacon, P. S. C., May, S. K., Fallon, S. J., Travers, M., Wesley, D., & Lamilami, R. (2010). A MINIMUM AGE FOR EARLY DEPICTIONS OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN PRAUS. AUSTRALIAN ARCHAEOLOGY, (71), 1-10.
WoS602010 Taçon, P. S. C., Langley, M., May, S. K., Lamilami, R., Brennan, W., & Guse, D. (2010). Ancient bird stencils discovered in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. Antiquity, 84(324), 416-427.
Scopus24 WoS272010 Taçon, P. S. C., May, S. K., Fallon, S. J., Travers, M., Wesley, D., & Lamilami, R. (2010). A minimum age for early depictions of Southeast Asian Praus in the Rock Art of Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. Australian Archaeology, 71(1), 1-10.
Scopus842010 May, S. K., & Sanz, I. D. (2010). Making sense of scenes. Rock Art Research, 27(1), 35-42.
Scopus32 WoS182009 May, S. K., Mckinnon, J. F., & Raupp, J. T. (2009). Boats on bark: An analysis of groote eylandt aboriginal bark-paintings featuring macassan prau s from the 1948 arnhem land expedition, Northern Territory, Australia. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 38(2), 369-385.
Scopus10 WoS72003 May, S. (2003). Colonial collections of portable art and intercultural encounters in Aboriginal Australia. Before Farming, 2003(1), 1-21.
2003 Richards, N., & May, S. (2003). South Australia’s ‘Floating Coffin’: the diseased, the destitute, and the derelict Fitzjames (1852-c.1900). The Great Circle: Journal of the Australian Association for Maritime History, 25(1), 20-39. - Farrar, C., Jalandoni, A., Taçon, P. S. C., May, S. K., Namundja, M., & Maralngurra, G. (2025). Virtual Representations and Imagined Reconstructions of one of Australia’s most significant Bark Painting Collections. ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, X-M-2-2025, 81-88.
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Books
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Book Chapters
Year Citation 2025 Rademaker, L., May, S., Goldhahn, J., & Maralngurra, G. (2025). History on the rocks. In A. McGrath, & J. Huggins (Eds.), Deep History: Country and Sovereignty (1 ed., pp. 151-165). Sydney: UNSW Press. 2025 Smith, C., Pollard, K., Kanungo, A. K., May, S., López Varela, S., & Watkins, J. (2025). Global Perspectives on Indigenous Archaeologies. In C. Smith, K. Pollard, A. K. Kanungo, S. May, S. López Varela, & J. Watkins (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Global Indigenous Archaeologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
DOI2025 Smith, C., Pollard, K., Kanungo, A. K., May, S., López Varela, S., & Watkins, J. (2025). Global Perspectives on Indigenous Archaeologies. In C. Smith, K. Pollard, A. K. Kanungo, S. May, S. López Varela, & J. Watkins (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Global Indigenous Archaeologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
DOI2025 May, S., & Smith, C. (2025). Section VI: Cultural Survival and Sustainable Futures. In C. Smith, K. Pollard, A. K. Kanungo, S. May, S. L. López Varela, & J. Watkins (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Global Indigenous Archaeologies (1 ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
DOI2025 May, S., Narndal Gumurdul, J., & Goldhahn, J. (2025). Nipper Marakarra Gumurdul (c. 1882–1964). In M. Nolan (Ed.), Indigenous Australian Dictionary of Biography. online: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. 2024 May, S., Goldhahn, J., & Lee, J. (2024). Oral Histories and Indigenous Rock Art: Capturing Lives, Moments, Memories and Emotions. In C. Smith, K. Pollard, A. Kanungo, S. May, S. Lopez Varela, & J. Watkins (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Global Indigenous Archaeologies (pp. 19 pages). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
DOI2024 May, S., Goldhahn, J., & Lee, J. (2024). Oral Histories and Indigenous Rock Art: Capturing Lives, Moments, Memories and Emotions. In C. Smith, K. Pollard, A. Kanungo, S. May, S. Lopez Varela, & J. Watkins (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Global Indigenous Archaeologies (pp. 19 pages). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
DOI2022 Gumbuwa Maralngurra, J., May, S., & Goldhahn, J. (2022). Djimongurr (c. 1910-1969). In M. Nolan (Ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. 2022 Tacon, P. S. C., May, S., Frederick, U. K., McDonald, J., & Blyth, M. (2022). Introduction. In P. S. C. Tacon, S. May, U. K. Frederick, & J. McDonald (Eds.), Histories of Australian Rock Art Research (pp. 1-8). Canberra: ANU Press.
DOI2022 Tacon, P. S. C., May, S., Frederick, U. K., McDonald, J., & Blyth, M. (2022). Introduction. In P. S. C. Tacon, S. May, U. K. Frederick, & J. McDonald (Eds.), Histories of Australian Rock Art Research (pp. 1-8). Canberra: ANU Press.
DOI2022 Clarke, A., May, S., Frederick, U. K., & Johnston, I. G. (2022). Style and substance: McCarthy versus Mountford and the emergence of an archaeology of rock art 1948–1960. In P. S. C. Tacon, S. May, U. K. Frederick, & J. McDonald (Eds.), Histories of Australian Rock Art Research (pp. 11-25). Canberra: ANU Press.
DOI2022 Clarke, A., May, S., Frederick, U. K., & Johnston, I. G. (2022). Style and substance: McCarthy versus Mountford and the emergence of an archaeology of rock art 1948–1960. In P. S. C. Tacon, S. May, U. K. Frederick, & J. McDonald (Eds.), Histories of Australian Rock Art Research (pp. 11-25). Canberra: ANU Press.
DOI2022 Lee, J., Goldhahn, J., & May, S. (2022). Nayombolmi (c. 1895–1967). In M. Nolan (Ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. 2022 Goldhahn, J., & May, S. (2022). Nayombolmi and Djimongurr: Two prolific artists from western Arnhem Land. In M. Appel (Ed.), Inspired by Country: Bark Paintings from Arnhem Land, Northern Australia, The Gerd and Helga Plewig Collection. Münich: Museum Fünf Kontinente. 2020 May, S., & Goldhahn, J. (2020). Rock Art and Children: Towards an Inter-Generational Perspective on Past and Present Visual Cultures. In C. Smith (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology (2nd ed., pp. 1-13). Cham: Springer Nature.
DOI2018 Domingo Sanz, I., May, S., & Smith, C. (2018). Etnoarqueología y arte rupestre en el siglo XXI: de la analogía directa a la redefinición del método arqueológico. In D. Garate (Ed.), Redescubriendo el arte parietal paleolítico. Últimas novedades sobre los métodos y las técnicas de investigación (Vol. 16, pp. 163-180). Spain: Kobie (anejos). 2018 Wright, D., Langley, M. C., Litster, M., & May, S. K. (2018). In search of the archaeology of portable art from Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and Australia. In M. C. Langley, M. Litster, D. Wright, & S. K. May (Eds.), The Archaeology of Portable Art: Southeast Asian, Pacific, and Australian Perspectives (pp. 1-10). London, United Kingdom: Routledge.
DOI Scopus12017 Johnston, I. G., Goldhahn, J., & May, S. (2017). Dynamic Figures of Jabiluka: Chaloupka’s 4-phase theory and the question of variability within a rock art ‘style’. In B. David, P. S. C. Tacon, J. -M. Geneste, & J. -J. Delannoy (Eds.), The Archaeology of Rock Art in Western Arnhem Land (Vol. 47, pp. 109-127). Canberra, Australia: ANU Press. 2017 May, S., Shine, D., Wright, D., Denham, T., Tacon, P. S. C., Marshall, M., . . . Stephens, S. P. (2017). The Rock Art of Ingaanjalwurr, western Arnhem Land, Australia. In B. David, P. S. C. Tacon, J. -M. Geneste, & J. -J. Delannoy (Eds.), The Archaeology of Rock Art in Arnhem Land (pp. 51-68). Canberra, Australia: ANU Press. 2017 May, S. K., Taçon, P. S. C., Wright, D., Marshall, M., Goldhahn, J., & Sanz, I. D. (2017). The rock art of Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II). In B. David, P. Taçon, J. -J. Delanno, & J. -M. Geneste (Eds.), The Archaeology of Rock Art in Western Arnhem Land, Australia (pp. 51-68). ACT, Australia: ANU Press.
DOI2016 Inès, D., May, S., & Claire, S. (2016). Communicating through rock art: an ethnoarchaeological perspective. In O. Buchsenschutz, C. Jeunesse, C. Mordant, & D. Vialou (Eds.), Signes et communication dans les civilisations de la parole (pp. 9-26). Paris, France: Open Edition Books.
DOI2016 May, S., Domingo Sanz, I., & Tacon, P. S. C. (2016). Arte rupestre de contacto: la versión Indígena de los encuentros interculturales en el noroeste de la Tierra de Arnhem (Australia). In F. Berrojalbiz (Ed.), La vitalidad de las voces indígenas: arte rupestre del contacto y en sociedades coloniales (pp. 83-106). Mexico City: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. 2016 May, S. (2016). Learning art, learning culture: Art, education, and the formation of new artistic identities in Arnhem Land, Australia. In S. K. May, I. D. Sanz, & D. Fiore (Eds.), Archaeologies of Art: Time, Place, and Identity (pp. 171-194). New York, USA: Routledge.
DOI Scopus212016 Sanz, I. D., Fiore, D., & May, S. K. (2016). Archaeologies of art: Time, place, and identity in rock art, portable art, and body art. In I. Domingo Sanz, D. Fiore, & S. May (Eds.), Archaeologies of Art: Time, Place, and Identity (pp. 15-28). USA: Routledge.
DOI Scopus202015 May, S., Tacon, P. S. C., Wright, D., & Marshall, M. (2015). The Rock Art of Kakadu: past, present and future research, conservation and management. In S. Winderlich (Ed.), Kakadu National Park Symposia Series (pp. 36-44). Darwin: Parks Australia. 2014 May, S. K. (2014). Maritime Contact Rock Art. In Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology (pp. 4642-4645). Springer New York.
DOI Scopus12014 May, S., & Tacon, P. S. C. (2014). Kakadu National Park rock art. In C. Smith (Ed.), Global Encyclopedia of Archaeology (pp. 3235-3240). New York: Springer. 2014 May, S. K., & Tacon, P. S. C. (2014). Kakadu National Park: Rock Art. In Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology (pp. 4235-4240). Springer New York.
DOI Scopus82013 Clark, M., & May, S. (2013). Understanding Macassans: a regional approach. In M. Clark, & S. K. May (Eds.), Macassan history and heritage: journeys, encounters and influences (pp. 1-18). Canberra: ANU Press. 2013 Clark, M., & May, S. (2013). Understanding Macassans: a regional approach. In M. Clark, & S. K. May (Eds.), Macassan history and heritage: journeys, encounters and influences (pp. 1-18). Canberra: ANU Press. 2013 Taçon, P. S. C., & May, S. K. (2013). Rock art evidence for Macassan–Aboriginal contact in northwestern Arnhem Land. In Macassan History and Heritage: Journeys, Encounters and Influences. ANU Press.
DOI2012 Taçon, P. S. C., Ross, J., Paterson, A., & May, S. (2012). Picturing Change and Changing Pictures: Contact Period Rock Art of Australia. In A Companion to Rock Art (pp. 420-436). Wiley.
DOI Scopus442011 May, S. (2011). Piecing the History Together: An overview of the 1948 Arnhem Land Expedition. In M. Thomas, & M. Neale (Eds.), Exploring the Legacy of the 1948 Arnhem Land Expedition (pp. 171-188). Canberra: ANU Press. 2010 May, S. (2010). Art in Gunbalanya Today. In P. Carroll (Ed.), Bark Art from Western Arnhem Land (pp. 20). Darwin: Northern Territory Anglican Foundation for the Promotion of Aboriginal Art and Literature, Ltd. 2008 Domingo Sanz, I., & May, S. (2008). La pintura y su simbología en las comunidades de cazadores-recolectores de la Tierra de Arnhem (Territorio del Norte, Australia). In J. Salazar, I. Domingo Sanz, J. Azkárraga, & H. Bonet (Eds.), Mundos tribales: una visión etnoarqueológica (pp. 78-91). Valencia: Servicio de Publicaciones de la Diputación de Valencia. 2008 May, S. (2008). The Art of Collecting: Charles Pearcy Mountford. In N. Peterson, L. Allen, & L. Hamby (Eds.), The Makers and Making of Indigenous Australian Museum Collections (pp. 446-471). Melbourne: Museum Victoria. 2005 May, S., Murphy, A., Garde, M., Yulidjirri, T., Nabegeyo, B., Nabegeyo, G., & Nganjmirra, J. (2005). Some Baskets are Special Ones. In L. Hamby, & J. Nganjmirra (Eds.), Twined Together (pp. 45-51). Melbourne: Museum Victoria. 2005 May, S. (2005). Collecting the ‘Last Frontier’. In L. Hamby, & J. Nganjmirra (Eds.), Twined Together (pp. 77-81). Melbourne: Museum Victoria. 2005 May, S. (2005). Injalak Arts and Crafts: A Brief History. In L. Hamby, & J. Nganjmirra (Eds.), Twined Together (pp. 187-195). Melbourne: Museum Victoria. 2005 May, S. K., Gumurdul, D., Manakgu, J., Maralngurra, G., & Nawirridj, W. (2005). 'You write it down and bring it back...that's what we want'-revisiting the 1948 removal of human remains from Kunbarlanja (Oenpelli), Australia. In C. Smith, & H. M. Wobst (Eds.), Indigenous Archaeologies Decolonizing Theory and Practice (pp. 102-121). Routledge.
DOI Scopus13 -
Report for External Bodies
Year Citation 2024 May, S., Blair, S., O'Loughlin, G., & Goldhahn, J. (2024). Anlarrh Bininj Bush Camps. 2024 May, S., Goldhahn, J., & Tacon, P. S. C. (2024). Pathways: People, Landscape and Rock Art in Djok Country. Adelaide. 2023 May, S., Blair, S., & O'Loughlin, G. (2023). An-garregen Cultural Heritage Strategy Review Report. 2011 May, S., Blair, S., Hall, N., & Sullivan, S. (2011). An-garregen: A strategy for cultural heritage management in Kakadu National Park. Jabiru: Parks Australia. -
Original Creative Works
Key research grants:
| Years | Program | Title | Chief Investigators | Amount |
| 2022 – 2026 (awarded 2021) | ARC Future Fellowship | Painting Country: The life and legacy of western Arnhem Land rock painters | Sally K. May | $961,139 |
| 2021 – 2024 (awarded 2020) | ARC Special Research Initiative Scheme | Art at a Crossroads: Aboriginal responses to contact in northern Australia | Sally K. May, Paul S.C. Taçon, Liam Brady, Daryl Wesley, Laura Rademaker, Andrea Jalandoni, Joakim Goldhahn, and Luke Taylor | $273,828 |
| 2016 – 2019 | ARC Discovery Project | History Places: Wellington Range rock art in a global context | Paul S.C. Taçon, Sally K. May, Liam Brady, Duncan Wright, Joakim Goldhahn, and Ines Domingo Sanz | $490,100 |
| 2008 – 2012 | ARC Discovery Project | Picturing Change: 21st Century perspectives on recent Australian rock art | Paul S.C. Taçon, June Ross, Alistair Paterson and Sally K. May | $565,000 |
Sally is a co-convenor of the Graduate Program in Curatorial and Museum Studies and the new Bachelor of Arts major in Archaeology and Classical Studies at Adelaide University.
Sally was previously convenor of the Cultural and Environmental Heritage graduate program at the Australian National University for 8 years and a lecturer within the School of Archaeology at Flinders University and the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University.
Teaching awards:
- ANU Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Education (Programs that Enhance Learning) 2011
- ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences Teaching and Learning Award 2010
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Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2025 Co-Supervisor T. Harvey Johnston, zoologist, the prickly pear and biological control Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Ms Bridget Jolly 2024 Principal Supervisor Weaving Stories Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Alison Margaret Giles 2023 Principal Supervisor Remembering the Makassar in western and northwestern Arnhem Land, Australia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Oscar Chadwick-Pask 2023 Principal Supervisor Reconceptualising the History of Human-Saltwater Crocodile relations in Arnhem Land Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Kerri Elisabeth Meehan
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Board Memberships
Date Role Board name Institution name Country 2025 - ongoing Board Member Current Anthropology Editiorial Board University of Chicago Press United States -
Committee Memberships
Date Role Committee Institution Country 2020 - ongoing Advisory Board Member Kakadu Research and Management Advisory Committee Parks Australia Australia -
Community Engagement
Date Title Engagement Type Institution Country 2023 - ongoing The Conversation: Returning a name to an artist: the work of Majumbu, a previously unknown Australian painter Public Community Engagement The Conversation - 2022 - ongoing The Conversation: Paddy Compass Namadbara: for the first time, we can name an artist who created bark paintings in Arnhem Land in the 1910s Public Community Engagement The Conversation Australia 2022 - ongoing The Conversation (Friday Essay): ‘this is our library’ – how to read the amazing archive of First Nations stories written on rock Public Community Engagement The Conversation Australia 2021 - ongoing The Conversation: Aboriginal art on a car? How an Indigenous artist and an adventurer met in the 1930 wet season in Kakadu Public Community Engagement The Conversation Australia 2021 - ongoing The Conversation: Threat or trading partner? Sailing vessels in northwestern Arnhem Land rock art reveal different attitudes to visitors Public Community Engagement The Conversation Australia 2021 - ongoing The Conversation: How historically accurate is the film High Ground? The violence it depicts is uncomfortably close to the truth Public Community Engagement The Conversation Australia 2020 - ongoing The Conversation: Introducing the Maliwawa Figures: A previously undescribed rock art style found in Western Arnhem Land Public Community Engagement The Conversation Australia 2020 - 2020 Guest for the podcast: Foreign Countries: conversations in archaeology with Ash Lenton. Topic: Innovative Research in Australia Public Community Engagement Foreign Countries: conversations in archaeology with Ash Lenton Australia -
Review, Assessment, Editorial and Advice
Date Title Type Institution Country 2022 - ongoing Guest Editor, Rock Art Research, v. 38/2 Editorial Rock Art Research Australia 2021 - ongoing Guest Editor, Rock Art Research, v.38/1 Editorial Rock Art Research Australia 2018 - ongoing Guest Editor, Australian Archaeology, v.84/3 Editorial Australian Archaeology Australia 2017 - ongoing Guest Editor, The Artefact, v.38 Editorial The Artefact Australia
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