Janet Davidson | |
---|---|
Born | 1941 (age 80–81) |
Occupation | Archaeologist, Curator |
Academic background | |
Education | University of Auckland |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Pacific Archaeology |
Institutions | Auckland Institute and Museum University of Otago |
Janet Marjorie Davidson ONZM (born 1941) is a New Zealand archaeologist who has carried out extensive field work in the Pacific Islands throughout Polynesia,Micronesia and Melanesia.
Davidson carried out field work in the Society Islands at Moorea (1961–1962),Samoa (1964,1965–1966),Tonga (1964) and Nukuoro (1965) in the Federated States of Micronesia as well as Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
In 1964,Davidson graduated with a Master of Arts degree in anthropology from the University of Auckland. In 1965,she was the E. Earle Vaile archaeologist at the Auckland Institute and Museum, [1] a position she held until 1980 when she moved to Dunedin,and was appointed an honorary research associate in archaeology by the Auckland War Memorial Museum. [2] She was an honorary lecturer at the University of Otago and later held the position of senior curator,Pacific,at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
Davidson and Green carried out archaeological field work in Samoa in the 1960s. They co-authored Archaeology in Western Samoa and laid the foundation for archaeology in Samoa. Part of Davidson's field work was studying settlement patterns in Samoa before 1840. [3]
Davidson has published widely on the prehistory of New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. She edited the New Zealand Journal of Archaeology from 1985 to 2008. [4] She was also a major contributor to the Journal of the Polynesian Society .
In the 1996 Queen's Birthday Honours,Davidson was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit,for services to archaeology. [5]
In 2007,the archaeology publication Vastly Ingenious was published in her honour. Titled Vastly Ingenious:The Archaeology of Pacific Material Culture - in honour of Janet M. Davidson,the book presented essays of new research by leading international scholars with an introduction by Davidson's colleague Roger Curtis Green. Published by Otago University Press,the book was edited by three Pacific prehistorians:Atholl Anderson,Kaye C. Green,and Foss Leach. [6]
Janet’s career combined active and often pioneering fieldwork across the Pacific with an imaginative approach to museum research and display that attracted young scholars,explains contributor Roger Green;she kept material culture in the public eye.
In 2017,Davidson was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "150 women in 150 words",celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand. [7]
The Polynesian languages form a genealogical group of languages,itself part of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family.
The Polynesian Triangle is a region of the Pacific Ocean with three island groups at its corners:Hawai‘i,Easter Island and New Zealand (Aotearoa). It is often used as a simple way to define Polynesia.
Polynesian culture is the culture of the indigenous peoples of Polynesia who share common traits in language,customs and society. The development of Polynesian culture is typically divided into four different historical eras:
Taumako is the largest of the Duff Islands,in the Solomon Islands. This 5.7-kilometre-long (3.5-mile) island has steep sides and rises to a height of 400 metres above sea level. It is composed of basaltic lavas and pyroclastics like the other islands in the Duffs.
Nukuoro is an atoll in the Federated States of Micronesia. It is a municipality of the state of Pohnpei,Federated States of Micronesia. It is the secondmost southern atoll of the country,after Kapingamarangi. They both are Polynesian outliers. As of 2007,Nukuoro had a population of 372,though several hundred Nukuorans live on Pohnpei. Fishing,animal husbandry,and agriculture are the main occupations. A recent project to farm black pearl oysters has been successful at generating additional income for the island's people.
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Roger Curtis Green was an American-born,New Zealand-based archaeologist,Professor Emeritus at The University of Auckland,and member of the National Academy of Sciences and Royal Society of New Zealand. He was awarded the Hector and Marsden Medals and was an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his contributions to the study of Pacific culture history.
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania,made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in common,including language relatedness,cultural practices,and traditional beliefs. In centuries past,they had a strong shared tradition of sailing and using stars to navigate at night. The largest country in Polynesia is New Zealand.
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Jack Golson is an archaeologist who has done extensive field work in Melanesia,Polynesia and Micronesia. He was born in Rochdale,England.
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