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I live and study in Dunedin, New Zealand at the University of Otago where
I am currently undetaking a Masters degree in archaeology. In 2007 I
completed an honours degree in biological archaeology. during the 2003 -
2006 period of my undergraduate degree i obtained a solid basis of zoology
and biology aswell. My research looks at obtaining empirical evidence for mobility and migration in human and associated animal populations (mainly pigs) in and between the Pacific Islands using stable isotope analysis with evidence from the archaeological assemblage. Specifically Lapita poulations, Austronesian speaking people who were the initial colonists of East Polynesia, initially developing in the Papua New Guinea/Bismarck Archipelago region. My interest in archaeology began at an early age when I was eight and continued until I began university in 2003. During this time I have been involved in a number of exvacations including a historic chinese mining camp in Central Otago, a 13th - 14th century Archaic Maori site in Westport, South Island and a 15th - 16th century Maori Pa settlement at Pegasus in Canterbury. excavating in Tubuai was my first Pacific Island excavation, with my research taking me to Papua New Guinea and the Bismarck archipelago over the next few years. My intended course of study will be a PhD specialising in strontium, oxygen isotopic and trace element research looking at population migration. my overall interests include the origins and spread of Lapita people, presumably from Island Southeast Asia, analysis of human remains, archaeozoology, spatial analysis of archaeological sites and regional variation in material culture. Though my interests certainly are not limited to those listed here. Though my research is mainly on Lapita populations, my long term goals are to apply this research to areas all throughout New Zealand and the Pacific Islands including Tubuai and the Austral Islands. |
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