Study Archaeology at Otago

Introduction – Professor Glenn Summerhayes:

Hi, I’m Professor Glenn Summerhayes. I’m an archaeologist. You know, there’s only two archaeology departments in New Zealand, and Otago is one of the two. In that department, we have some of the world leaders in what we do—working in the Pacific, New Guinea, New Zealand, and the Solomons. We also work in areas of Asia, the Americas, and Europe.

If you come to Otago, you can learn the rudiments of archaeology. If you’ve got fire in your belly, we’ll actually make sure that you can be trained as an archaeologist through the courses we offer.

In the first year, we have an introduction to archaeology, where we teach you the basic rudiments. We also have a course on the old world civilizations—the developments of the Neolithic, the great cities of the world, and, more importantly, how people reached this country. We specialise in Pacific archaeology and New Zealand archaeology. If you have fire in your belly, come to Otago—we’ve got the people to look after you.

Archaeology at Otago – Karen Grieg:

Hi, I’m Karen. I really enjoy the study of archaeology at Otago. It’s a very practical and hands-on course of study, and it’s very interdisciplinary.

If you’re interested in practical skills like working in the field, working in the laboratory, and working with the material that people have left from the past, then Otago is a really good place to come. We have world-class archaeological research laboratories.

Archaeology is a really exciting and varied study. Our questions are changing all the time. As Glenn said, we are interested in the study of the past, and we do this from the materials and things that people have left behind. But we’re always asking new questions, because of new discoveries that are prompting us to go in different areas, and also because of new research techniques that are coming along.

The work that I do uses ancient DNA, and this new technique has opened up a range of different questions that we can look at. My own area of interest is the relationship between people and animals. With new techniques like ancient DNA and stable isotopes, we can start looking at the impacts of human hunting and the environment of New Zealand when people first came here, and the extinction of birds like moa.

I’m also interested in the way that people transported domesticated animals around the Pacific. As well as lots of new questions going on here, we also work closely with Pacific communities, indigenous communities, and Māori groups. So as archaeologists, our work isn’t just about understanding the past—it’s also about how we can use our skills and techniques to help people manage their heritage places into the future.

Ancient Stone – Professor Glenn Summerhayes:

When we dig into the past, we find materials that haven’t been seen in thousands of years.

This bit of stone here is an actual adze. It’s like an axe, but it’s a bit different. This is 3,300 years old. The people who made this were the ancestors of all Māori, Hawaiians, and Tahitians—in fact, the whole Pacific. We discovered it with a team from Otago working up in New Guinea, the islands.

You can join us here at Otago.