Dr Monica Tromp

Contact

Tel +64 3 479 4295
Email monica.tromp@otago.ac.nz

Research interests

I am an archaeological scientist, specialising in the archaeology of the invisible, mostly in the Pacific, with the occasional deviation into American, Southeast Asian and European archaeology. A core thread in my work is the development of minimally invasive, culturally appropriate methods that make archaeological science relevant and accessible to communities.

My current projects, funded through the Marsden and Endeavour Funds, focus on reconnecting iwi with their marine mammal heritage and use of non-destructive species identification protocols for taonga tūturu. I am committed to applying science and kaupapa Māori approaches together, including community co-design, that support the advancement of Indigenous researchers. These principles shape both my research practice and my supervision of the next generation of archaeological scientists.

I am Co-Director of Southern Pacific Archaeological Research (SPAR). SPAR is a research unit in the Archaeology Programme, School of Social Sciences, at the University of Otago. Our aim with SPAR is to make archaeological science accessible for researchers, communities, and heritage consultancies in New Zealand and the wider Pacific.

Visit the SPAR website

I am also a member of the Coastal People: Southern Skies collaboration that connects communities with world-leading, cross-discipline research to rebuild coastal ecosystems.

Visit the Coastal People: Southern Skies website

Beyond the labs, I am one third of  The Taonga Files, a podcast about provenance research, the detective work of uncovering the histories of taonga Māori held in museum collections, and how tracing those journeys restores whakapapa, returns mana to taonga, and strengthens the bonds between museums and the communities whose heritage they hold.

Listen to The Taonga Files

Expertise

• Archaeological science, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region
• Analysis of residues in dental calculus, sediments, pottery and tools to reconstruct past human diet, health and environmental interactions
• Ancient proteomics, including ZooMS (zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry / collagen peptide mass fingerprinting) and ancient proteomics
• Microparticle analysis, using light and scanning electron microscopy, as well as morphometrics
• Stable isotope analysis
• Trace element analysis
• Ancient DNA analysis
• Development and use of minimally invasive, culturally appropriate methods for archaeological science
• Provenance research and the histories of taonga Māori held in museum collections