Burke obtained a Bachelor's Degree in archaeology from the University of New England in 1987, and a PhD from the same university in 1997. Her doctoral thesis investigated the expression of ideology through architectural style in the city ofArmidale, New South Wales, during the period 1830–1930. It was published in 1999 as Meaning and Ideology in Historical Archaeology.
Career
After completing her PhD, Burke worked in consulting archaeology, having previously taught briefly at the University of New England. She was subsequently employed within the archaeology program at Flinders University, where she is currently a professor. From 2011 to 2015, she was the co-editor of the journal Australian Archaeology. Burke has called for improving graduate programs in archaeology to better prepare students for positions outside of academic research. Together with Claire Smith, in 2004 she published the first edition of The Archaeologist's Field Handbook, a standard manual for teaching archaeological field methods, which was revised and expanded for a second edition in 2017. Burke's current research focuses primarily on processes of contact and colonialism on the Australian frontier. She is a chief investigator of the ARC-funded project "Archaeology of the Native Mounted Police", which is investigating the experience of life in the Queensland NMP, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal memories of the NMP, and the institution's history and development. She is also part of the team studying Indigenous foodways in the Cape York Peninsula, far north Queensland.
Selected publications
Books
H. Burke, M. Morrison and C. Smith. The Archaeologist’s Field Handbook. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. 2nd edition..
H. Burke, C. Smith and L. Zimmerman. The Archaeologist’s Field Handbook. North American Edition. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press..
H. Burke, C. Smith, D. Lippert, J. Watkins and L. Zimmerman . Kennewick: Perspectives on the Ancient One. Walnut Grove, CA: Left Coast Press. .
H. Burke and C. Smith. Archaeology to Delight and Instruct. Active Learning in the University Classroom. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press..
I. Domingo, H. Burke and C. Smith. Manual de Campo Para Arqueologos. Barcelona: Ariel Editorial. .
C. Smith and H. Burke. Digging it up Down Under: A Practical Guide to Doing Archaeology in Australia. New York: Springer..
H. Burke and C. Smith. The Archaeologist’s Field Handbook. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. 1st edition..
H. Burke. Meaning and Ideology in Historical Archaeology: Style, Social Identity, and Capitalism in an Australian Town. New York: Plenum..
Journal Articles
Smith, C., Burke, H.D., Ralph, J., Pollard, K., Gorman, A.C., Wilson, C.J., et al.. Pursuing social justice through collaborative archaeologies in Aboriginal Australia. Archaeologies 15: 536–569.
Auld, D., Ireland, T. and Burke, H.D.. Affective Aprons: Object Biographies from the Ladies' Cottage, Royal Derwent Hospital, New Norfolk, Tasmania. International Journal of Historical Archaeology 23: 361–379.
Muller, S.W., Burke, H.D., De Leiuen, C., Degner, H. and Farrell, Z.. 'Childness’: an alternative approach to the archaeology of childhood through cemetery studies. Religions 10: 1-15.
Burke, H.D., Barker, B., Cole, N., Wallis, L.A., Hatte, E., Davidson, I., et al.. The Queensland Native Police and strategies of recruitment on the Queensland Frontier 1849–1901. Journal of Australian Studies 42: 297-313.
Roberts, A.L., Van Duivenvoorde, W., Morrison, M.J., Moffat, I.A., Burke, H.D., Kowlessar, J., et al.. ‘They call ‘im Crowie’: An investigation of the Aboriginal significance attributed to a wrecked River Murray barge in South Australia. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 46: 132–148.
Wallis, L.A., Davidson, I., Burke, H.D., Mitchell, S.A., Barker, B., Hatte, E., et al.. Aboriginal stone huts along the Georgina River, southwest Queensland. Queensland Archaeological Research 20: 1–8.
Burke, H.D., Wallis, L.A., Barker, B., Tutty, M.J., Cole, N., Davidson, I., et al.. The homestead as fortress: fact or folklore? Aboriginal History 41: 151–177.
Smith, C.E., Burke, H.D., De Leiuen, C. and Jackson, G.T.. The Islamic State's symbolic war: Socially mediated terrorism as a threat to cultural heritage. Journal of Social Archaeology 16: 164–188.
Burke, H.D., Roberts, A.L., Morrison, M.J. and Sullivan, V.. The space of conflict: Aboriginal/European interactions and frontier violence on the Western Central Murray, South Australia, 1830–1841. Aboriginal History 40: 145–179.
Burke, H.D., Arthure, S.A. and De Leiuen, C.. A context for concealment: the historical archaeology of folk ritual and superstition in Australia. International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 20: 45–72.
C. Smith and H. Burke. "Glass Ceilings, Glass Parasols and Australian Academic Archaeology." Australian Archaeology 62:13-25.
