Dr Holly Jones-Amin is a conservation specialist and researches archaeological and ethnographic materials.

I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians and Country of the unceded lands of the Kulin Nation on which I work, research and live, and I pay my respects to their Elders, past and present.

Holly’s conservation practice is people-centred. She is driven to understand and generate the survival of the intangible and structural properties of archaeological, and Indigenous and world cultures materials. She has been the Leader and Principal of Objects Conservation at the University of Melbourne for over 20 years, straddling research, teaching, engagement, and commercialisation. She manages the objects, textiles, and archaeology consultancy lab. From 2004 to 2014, Holly managed postgraduate coursework programs, developed curriculum, lectured and tutored Masters of Cultural Materials Conservation students. She continues to teach as an expert in practice, delivering sessional lectures and practicums and examining minor theses.

Holly has a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Archaeology, a Bachelor of Applied Science in Conservation of Cultural Materials, and a PhD. She has a transdisciplinary mindset and works with and understands how archaeologists, conservators, curators, collection managers, organic residue experts, and ancient DNA experts think. She has worked for organisations in Australia, the Pacific, Southeast and Central Asia, Italy, the Himalayas, and the Middle East, leading archaeological projects in Syria, Georgia, Turkey, and Australia.

Holly has been an assistant coordinator for the International Council of Museums Committee for Conservation—Archaeological Materials and Sites Working Group since its inception in 2018. She is also an associate investigator for CABAH (the Australian Research Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity and Heritage). CABAH’s research safeguards Australia’s national heritage and has transformed research culture connected with Indigenous communities and informed policy. Via her position in CABAH and her PhD, she has worked with academics from Australian universities and Indigenous communities advising on archaeological projects within Australia and the Pacific.

She has participated in scientific and organising committees of international conferences, chaired sessions, and has published over 20 articles in peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, and books. Holly is currently writing a book on the Conservation and Archaeology of Low-Fired Pottery and co-editing a book, Exploring Conservation and Management in Australian Aboriginal Rock Art. She is regularly invited to give international lectures and tutorials and delivers archaeological conservation practicums and lectures in Australia and overseas. She is recognised globally for the Loong Conservation Project and as an expert in conserving low-fired archaeological pottery.

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