21st Century Innovation in Conserving the Rock Art of Northern Australia Paul S.C. Taçon Place, Evolution and Rock Art Heritage Unit (PERAHU) Griffth Centre for Social and Cultural Research Gold Coast campus, Griffth University Queensland 4222, Australia p.tacon@griffth.edu.au Professor Paul S.C. Taçon FAHA FSA is an ARC Australian Laureate Fellow (2016- 2021), Chair in Rock Art Research, and Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology in the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Grifth University, Queensland, Australia. He also directs Grifth University’s ‘Place, Evolution and Rock Art Heritage Unit’ (PERAHU), and leads research themes in the ‘Grifth Centre for Social and Cultural Research’ and Grifth’s ‘ Australian Research Centre of Human Evolution’. He has conducted archaeological and ethnographic feldwork since 1980, and has over 90 months feld experience in remote parts of Australia, Cambodia, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, southern Africa, Tailand, the Philippines and the USA. Prof. Taçon co-edited ‘ Te Archaeology of Rock-art’ with Dr Christopher Chippindale, and has published over 280 academic and popular papers on rock art, material culture, colour, cultural evolution and identity. In 2015, he co-authored a book that outlines a new strategy for the conservation of world rock art and in late 2016 an edited book with Liam Brady, ‘Relating to rock art in the contemporary world: navigating symbolism, meaning and signifcance’ (University Press of Colorado). In 2017 he co-edited a major volume on the archaeology of Arnhem Land rock art. In December 2016 Prof. Taçon was awarded the top award at the annual Australian Archaeological Association conference, the Rhys Jones Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Australian Archaeology. He also received the 2016 Grifth University Vice-Chancellor’s Research Excellence Award for Research Leadership. Abstract Rock art conservation requires a holistic approach, and continual maintenance. It is not simply a matter of using science to understand processes that afect the art directly, but must also consider important social, cultural and tourism concerns. Tese aspects need to be dovetailed so that information obtained in one study can be disseminated to every component of the conservation process. Tis idea underpins the ‘Rock Art Protection Research Program’, which began in 2011 and is committed to the following: (1) direction by, and involvement of, Indigenous owners and local communities; (2) intellectual 20