Professor Ian Barber, Contact us, Division of Humanities

Contact

Room 2C19
Tel +64 3 479 8758
Email ian.barber@otago.ac.nz

Research interests

New Zealand Māori and Moriori archaeology; cultural change and contact; archaeological resource management and politics; anthropology of revitalisation and religion; agricultural innovation and introductions in New Zealand and Polynesia.

I specialise in the study of dynamic historical environments, including new uses of the past. I apply innovative and frequently interdisciplinary theory and methods to investigate changing relationships between material and social environments. I work closely and in collaboration with several New Zealand Māori and Chatham Island Moriori communities in my research.

Courses

ANTH 103 Anthropology, Culture and Society
ANTH 324 Archaeological Practice
ANTH 330 New Zealand Archaeology
ANTH 427 Archaeological Theory
ANTH 430 Advanced New Zealand Archaeology

Current projects

Archaeology of agricultural innovation and introductions in New Zealand and Oceania

In this research I investigate the archaeological evidence of Polynesian agronomic innovation and change over time and space. This work incorporates research into the early development of Polynesian crop production systems, and the pre-Hispanic introduction and dispersal of sweet potato in Oceania. Important recent outputs include papers in World Archaeology (2010), Rapa Nui Journal (2012), and Archaeology in Oceania (2013). This research has been extended and supported by two Royal Society Marsden awards on which I am PI and AI respectively. These are concerned with tropical agricultural contributions and adaptations (“Pushed to the limits” UOO1415), and animal-human relationships (UOO1322, P. Wehi PI) in the Polynesian colonization of New Zealand.

First contact in Polynesia

I engage archaeology and historical anthropology to investigate the original settings and outcomes of first contact in Polynesia, including encounters that have become iconic national events, and/or associated with violent events and claims of cannibalism. I have reported the New Zealand phase of this research in national media and public lectures in New Zealand and the USA (Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies, Georgetown University, and The Field Museum, Chicago, October 2011). I have published on this research in Current Anthropology (Barber 2012).

Moriori archaeology

A collaboration with Moriori authority Hokotehi Moriori Trust is framed to research and offer advice on the conservation of living kopi trees carved historically by Chatham Island Moriori, and to investigate the archaeological chronology, meaning and landscapes associated with this tradition. This project has resulted in considerable national media interest and several publications in national and international journals (Barber 2012; Barber & Maxwell 2011; 2012; Barber et al. 2014).

Cultural identity and the material past

I investigate how engagements with historic materials and places support identity formation at national and other community levels, applying a hybrid methodology between archaeology, anthropology and heritage studies. For example, in an international research project initiated in 2006 as a Visiting Fellow at Princeton University (Center for the Study of Religion), I have published and presented on the relationship between place, the material past, and identity. In a recent extension of this project, I received a Fulbright (New Zealand) Senior Scholar Award in 2010 to study links between the past and present in revitalization movements, with a focus on LDS (Mormon) communities in the US and Polynesia. For the duration of this award I was based in the Department of Anthropology at Brigham Young University, Utah, Fall semester 2011. My most recent publication in this area explores the historical anthropological engagement between Māori and Mormon prophet movements (Barber 2015).

Publications

Barber, I. G., & Benham, R. W. (2024). American sweet potato and Asia-Pacific crop experimentation during early colonisation of temperate-climate Aotearoa/New Zealand. Antiquity. Advance online publication. doi: 10.15184/aqy.2024.143 Journal - Research Article

Barber, I. (2023, June). Archaeology and the mātauranga science debate. University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Inaugural Professorial Lecture]. Other Research Output

Walne, O., & Barber, I. (2022). Multi-element analysis and its application to pre-European cultivation sites in New Zealand: Preliminary findings from T11/2789, Cooks Beach, Coromandel. Proceedings of the New Zealand Archaeological Association (NZAA) Annual Conference. (pp. 17). Retrieved from https://nzarchaeology.org Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Barber, I. G., & Higham, T. F. G. (2021). Archaeological science meets Māori knowledge to model pre-Columbian sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) dispersal to Polynesia's southernmost habitable margins. PLoS ONE, 16(4), e0247643. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247643 Journal - Research Article

Barber, I. G. (2020). Lands of contrast: Latter-day Saint societies in New Zealand/Aotearoa and Australia. In R. G. Shepherd, A. G. Shepherd & R. T. Cragun (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of global Mormonism. (pp. 455-474). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-52616-0_17 Chapter in Book - Research

2024

Journal - Research Article

2023

Other Research Output

Barber, I. (2023, June). Archaeology and the mātauranga science debate. University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Inaugural Professorial Lecture].

2022

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

2021

Journal - Research Article

2020

Chapter in Book - Research

Journal - Research Other

Barber, I. G. (2020). Further wet-taro evidence from Polynesia's southernmost Neolithic production margins. PNAS, 117(3), 1257-1258. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1918374117

2019

Journal - Research Article

Barber, I. (2019). Faith across cultures: Research on Mormonism in Oceania. Mormon Studies Review, 6, 55-66.

Journal - Research Other

Barber, I. (2019). [Review of the book Tangatatau rockshelter: The evolution of an Eastern Polynesian socio‐ecosystem]. Archaeology in Oceania, 54(2), 127-128. doi: 10.1002/arco.5171

2018

Journal - Research Article

Maxwell, J. J., McCoy, M. D., Tromp, M., Hoffmann, A., & Barber, I. G. (2018). The difficult place of deserted coasts in archaeology: New archaeological research on Cooks Beach (Pukaki), Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand. Journal of Island & Coastal Archaeology, 13(1), 1-20. doi: 10.1080/15564894.2017.1285833

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Wills, N., & Barber, I. (2018). A tale of two managed landscapes: Using anthracology to compare Māori plant management between coastal and inland plant production sites. Proceedings of the New Zealand Archaeological Association (NZAA) Australian Archaeological Association (AAA) Combined Conference: Trans-Tasman Dialogues. (pp. 119). Retrieved from https://nzarchaeology.org

Potts, K., & Barber, I. (2018). Multi-tasking at Horotiu: Mixed crops, pits and pounamu. Proceedings of the New Zealand Archaeological Association (NZAA) Australian Archaeological Association (AAA) Combined Conference: Trans-Tasman Dialogues. (pp. 96-97). Retrieved from https://nzarchaeology.org

2017

Journal - Research Article

Barber, I. (2017). New radiocarbon ages clarify chronology of Waimea Plains Māori settlement and dry agronomy, northern Te Waipounamu. Journal of Pacific Archaeology, 8(2), 103-107.

Journal - Research Other

Barber, I. G. (2017). [Review of the book Unearthing the Polynesian past: Explorations and adventures of an island archaeologist]. American Anthropologist, 119(4), 770-771. doi: 10.1111/aman.12946

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Maxwell, J. J., Hoffman, A., & Barber, I. G. (2017). Early landscape clearance, horticultural and eventual abandonment, 500 years of site use at Cooks Beach (Pukaki): Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand. Proceedings of the New Zealand Archaeological Association (NZAA) Annual Conference. (pp. 15). Retrieved from https://nzarchaeology.org/

2016

Journal - Research Article

Barber, I. G., Maxwell, J. J., & Petchey, F. (2016). A radiocarbon investigation of Moriori forest use on Rēkohu (Chatham Island), southwestern Polynesia. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 10, 96-109. doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.08.040

Maxwell, J. J., Howarth, J. D., Vandergoes, M. J., Jacobson, G. E., & Barber, I. G. (2016). The timing and importance of arboriculture and agroforestry in a temperate East Polynesia Society, the Moriori, Rekohu (Chatham Island). Quaternary Science Reviews, 149, 306-325. doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.08.006

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Barber, I. (2016). Investigating proposed climate change proxies in New Zealand archaeology. Proceedings of the New Zealand Archaeological Association (NZAA) Conference. Retrieved from http://nzarchaeology.org/cms/index.php/conferences

2015

Chapter in Book - Research

Barber, I. (2015). As a lion among the sheep: Indigenous Americans and the national apocalypse in early Mormon thought. In S. C. Bibb & A. Simon-López (Eds.), Framing the apocalypse: Visions of the end-of-times. (pp. 37-66). Oxford, UK: Inter-Disciplinary Press.

Journal - Research Article

Barber, I. G. (2015). Matakite, Mormon conversions, and Māori-Israelite identity work in colonial New Zealand. Journal of Mormon History, 41(3), 167-220.

2014

Journal - Research Article

Barber, I. G., Maxwell, J., & Hemi, R. (2014). Growing images: Generating 3D digital models to investigate archaeological Moriori carvings on live trees. World Archaeology, 46(1), 63-77. doi: 10.1080/00438243.2013.871947

Lawrence, M., McCoy, M. D., Barber, I., & Walter, R. (2014). Geochemical sourcing of obsidians from the Pūrākaunui site, South Island, New Zealand. Archaeology in Oceania, 49(3), 158-163. doi: 10.1002/arco.5032

2013

Journal - Research Article

Barber, I. (2013). Molluscan mulching at the margins: investigating the development of a South Island Māori variation on Polynesian hard mulch agronomy. Archaeology in Oceania, 48(1), 40-52. doi: 10.1002/arco.5005

Journal - Research Other

Barber, I. (2013). [Review of the book Irrigated taro (Colocasia esculenta) in the Indo-Pacific: Biological, social and historical perspectives]. Archaeology in Oceania, 48(1), 60-61. doi: 10.1002/arco.5011

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Maxwell, J., Barber, I., Vandergoes, M., & Howarth, J. (2013). Rekohu research project and pre-historic East-Polynesian adaptation to climate. In C. M. Reid & A. Wandres (Eds.), Geoscience Society of New Zealand Miscellaneous Publication. 136A, (pp. 65). Takaka, New Zealand: GSNZ. [Abstract]

2012

Chapter in Book - Research

Barber, I. (2012). Archaeology of New Zealand. In N. A. Silberman (Ed.), The Oxford companion to archaeology (vol. 2). (2nd ed.) (pp. 485-488). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Journal - Research Article

Barber, I. G. (2012). A fast yam to Polynesia: New thinking on the problem of the American sweet potato in Oceania. Rapa Nui Journal, 26(1), 31-42.

Barber, I. G. (2012). Archaeological art debates and Polynesian images in place. World Archaeology, 44(3), 436-451. doi: 10.1080/00438243.2012.728036

Barber, I. (2012). Gardens of Rongo: Applying cross-field anthropology to explain contact violence in New Zealand. Current Anthropology, 53(6), 799-808. doi: 10.1086/667834

Barber, I., & Maxwell, J. (2012). Evaluating new radiocarbon dates from midden deposits near Moriori tree carvings, Rēhoku (Chatham Island). Journal of the Polynesian Society, 121(1), 33-50.

2011

Journal - Research Article

Barber, I., & Maxwell, J. (2011). A collaborative archaeological research and conservation project for Moriori carved trees (rakau momori), Rekohu (Chatham Island). Archaeology in New Zealand, 54(1), 62-75.

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Barber, I. (2011). An archaeological investigation of Moriori kopi forest management and settlement, Rekohu (Chatham Island): Preliminary results. Archaeology in New Zealand, 54(3), (pp. 151). [Abstract]

Other Research Output

Barber, I. (2011, May). The national conservation and research crisis for the last Moriori carved trees on Rekohu (Chatham Island). University of Otago Department of Anthropology & Archaeology Seminar, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Department Seminar].

Barber, I. (2011, November). Of cargo cults, dream mines, and tea parties: Considering transnational resemblances among revitalization movements. Department of Anthropology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT. [Public Seminar].

Barber, I. (2011, October). Lost in transition: New research into iconic, first-contact violence between Europeans and indigenous New Zealanders. The Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, DC. [Public Seminar].

Barber, I. (2011, October). Once were cannibals? Old evidence and new debates about Maori violence and cannibalism. A. Watson Armour Seminar Series, The Field Museum, Chicago, USA. [Research Presentation].

2010

Journal - Research Article

Barber, I. (2010). Diffusion or innovation? Explaining lithic agronomy on the southern Polynesian margins. World Archaeology, 42(1), 74-89. doi: 10.1080/00438240903429755

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Barber, I. (2010). Moriori dendroglyphs and sacred space: An archaeological evaluation from northwestern Rekohu (Chatham Island). Archaeology in New Zealand, 53(3), (pp. 144-145). [Abstract]

Other Research Output

Barber, I. (2011, 8 April). Carved kopi trees on Chatham Islands. Radio New Zealand National: Nine to noon. [Radio Broadcast].

Barber, I. (2010, 22 September). New light on Tasman's first contact with Maori. Radio Australia: Presenter Bruce Hill. [Radio Broadcast].

Barber, I. (2010, 18 September). First contact and food. Radio New Zealand National: Saturday Morning. [Radio Broadcast].

Barber, I. (2010, September). Lost in transition: New research into iconic, first-contact violence between Europeans and indigenous New Zealanders. University of Otago Winter Lecture Series. Wellington, New Zealand. [Public Seminar].

Barber, I. (2010, September). Lost in transition: New research into iconic, first-contact violence betweeen Europeans and indigenous New Zealanders. University of Otago Winter Lecture Series. Auckland, New Zealand. [Public Seminar].

2009

Journal - Research Article

Barber, I. (2009). Dream mines and religious identity in twentieth-century Utah: Insights from the Norman C. Pierce Collection. Princeton University Library Chronicle, LXX(3), 433-470.

Journal - Research Other

Barber, I. (2009). [Review of the book Kon-Tiki revisited]. Journal of Pacific History, 44(3), 362-363. doi: 10.1080/00223340903356906

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Barber, I. (2009). Lost in space? Reconstructing the sacred site on anthropological grounds. Proceedings of the Association of Social Anthropologists of Aotearoa/New Zealand (ASAANZ) Conference. Retrieved from http://www.otago.ac.nz/asaanz/

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Barber, I. (2009, December). Lost in space? Reconstructing the sacred site on anthropological grounds. Invited presentation at the Association of Social Anthropologists of Aotearoa/New Zealand (ASAANZ) Conference, Picton, New Zealand.

Other Research Output

Barber, I. (2009, August). Making space for a site of shame: Memorializing the infamous 9/11/1857 massacre at Mountain Meadows, Utah. University of Otago Department of Anthropology, Gender & Sociology, Anthropology Seminar, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Department Seminar].

2008

Chapter in Book - Research

Barber, I. (2008). Can postmodern regulatory archaeology respect diverse cultural values? An evaluation from bicultural New Zealand. In F. P. McManamon, A. Stout & J. A. Barnes (Eds.), Managing archaeological resources: Global context, national programs, local actions. (pp. 107-128). Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.

Journal - Research Other

Barber, I. (2008). [Comment on the article Variable development of dryland agriculture in Hawai'i: A fine‐grained chronology from the Kohala field system, Hawai'i Island]. Current Anthropology, 49(5), 787-788. doi: 10.1086/591424

Other Research Output

Barber, I. (2008, September). Explaining early Pacific encounters: In Golden Bay, 1642, for example. University of Otago Department of Anthropology, Gender & Sociology, Anthropology Seminar, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Department Seminar].

2007

Chapter in Book - Research

Barber, I. G. (2007). Oceania. In R. Wuthnow (Ed.), Encyclopedia of politics and religion (Vol. II). (2nd ed.) (pp. 669-673). Washington, DC: CQ Press.

Journal - Research Article

Horrocks, M., Nichol, S. L., Augustinus, P. C., & Barber, I. G. (2007). Late Quaternary environments, vegetation and agriculture in northern New Zealand. Journal of Quaternary Science, 22(3), 267-279. doi: 10.1002/jqs.1027

Journal - Research Other

Barber, I. (2007). [Review of the book The archaeology of Pouerua]. Asian Perspectives, 46(1), 233-234. doi: 10.1353/asi.2007.0000

Other Research Output

Barber, I. (2007, August). When public heritage goes sacred: Conflict and reconciliation at the hallowed sites of national culture. RA Lawson Lecture, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Public Seminar].

Barber, I. (2007, August). Authenticating the sacred site in the USA and New Zealand. University of Otago Department of Anthropology Seminar, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Department Seminar].

2006

Journal - Research Article

Barber, I. (2006). Is the truth down there? Cultural heritage conflict and the politics of archaeological authority. Public History Review, 13, 143-154.

2005

Journal - Research Article

Horrocks, M., & Barber, I. (2005). Microfossils of introduced starch cultigens from an early wetland ditch in New Zealand. Archaeology in Oceania, 40(3), 106-114.

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Barber, I. (2005). Nelson archaeology and Maori culture change. Verbal presentation at the Archaeology in New Zealand: Public address

2004

Chapter in Book - Research

Barber, I. G. (2004). Crops on the border: The growth of archaeological knowledge of Polynesian cultivation in New Zealand. In L. Furey & S. Holdaway (Eds.), Change through time: 50 years of New Zealand archaeology. (pp. 169-192). Auckland, New Zealand: New Zealand Archaeological Association Monograph 26.

Journal - Research Article

Horrocks, M., Shane, P. A., Barber, I. G., D'Costa, D. M., & Nichol, S. L. (2004). Microbotanical remains reveal Polynesian agriculture and mixed cropping in early New Zealand. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 131(3-4), 147-157.

Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Barber, I. (2004). [Review of the book The quest for origins: Who first discovered and settled New Zealand and the Pacific Islands?]. Sites, 1(2), 161-165. [Book Review].

2003

Journal - Research Article

Barber, I. G. (2003). Sea, land and fish: Spatial relationships and the archaeology of South Island Maori fishing. World Archaeology, 35(3), 434-448.

Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Barber, I. G. (2003). The New Zealand Archaeological Association list of consulting member archaeologists: Current status and a new proposal. Archaeology in New Zealand, 46(4), 217-222.

2002

Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Barber, I. G., & Walter, R. (2002). Archaeological assessment of an eroding site complex (no.I44/21) at Purakanui Inlet, Otago. Archaeology in New Zealand, 45(2), 153-170.

2001

Journal - Research Article

Barber, I. (2001). Journeys through space and time: Old models and new approaches in regional archaeology. (Review essay on C. Phillips, Waihou Journeys). New Zealand Science Review, 58(1), 35-36.

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Barber, I. G. (2001). Wet or dry? An evaluation of extensive archaeological ditch systems from far northern New Zealand. In C. M. Stevenson, G. Lee & F. J. Morin (Eds.), Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Easter Island and the Pacific. (pp. 41-50). Los Osos, California, USA: Bearsville Press. [Abstract]

2000

Chapter in Book - Research

Barber, I. (2000). History at ground level: Reading an archaeological site. In A. Trapeznik (Ed.), Common Ground: Heritage and Public Places in New Zealand. (pp. 107-119). Dunedin: University of Otago Press.

Barber, I., & McLean, G. R. (2000). Heritage and the big picture: Reading a cultural landscape. In A. Trapeznik (Ed.), Common Ground: Heritage and Public Places in New Zealand. (pp. 91-105). Dunedin: University of Otago Press.

Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Barber, I. G. (2000). Archaeological heritage management reform in New Zealand: What happened? Archaeology in New Zealand, 43, 22-36.

1999

Chapter in Book - Research

Barber, I. G. (1999). Early contact ethnography and understanding: An evaluation of the Cook expeditionary accounts of the Grass Cove conflict. In A. Calder, J. Lamb & B. Orr (Eds.), Voyages and Beaches: Pacific Encounters, 1769-1840. (pp. 155-179). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

Journal - Research Article

Barber, I. (1999). Archaeological investigation and the Historic Places Act 1993: A brief guide. Archaeology in New Zealand, 41, 59-64q.

Barber, I. (1999). Archaeological research in eastern Golden Bay: An interim report. Archaeology in New Zealand, 42, 134-150.