Contact
Room 2C11
Tel +64 3 479 8750
Email zac.mcivor@otago.ac.nz
Research interests
I focus on the archaeology of tangata whenua in Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu and the people of Oceania in general. My Current research is on the whakapapa (genealogy and development) of pā (fortified ancestral places) construction in Waikato. The research is at the interface between Mātauranga Māori (traditional knowledge and worldviews) and archaeology and involves:
- GIS and remote sensing analyses
- Archival research into Māori Land Court minute books and Te Reo Māori manuscripts
- Reflexive qualitative analysis of wānanga with descendant communities (ngā kanohi ora)
- Chronological network analysis to interface radiocarbon dates with genealogies (whakapapa)
I am interested in Community and Indigenous Archaeologies with power-sharing frameworks that centre research outputs and knowledge generation on the interests of descendants. My background as a heritage and archaeological consultant and working for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga has assists me in this venture. Through my whakapapa, I engage with several heritage management kaupapa ā-hapū (tribal projects) in Waikato.
Publications
McIvor, I. H., Hogg, A., Roa, T., Waitoki, W., Boswijk, G., Gumbley, W., … McBride, R. (2025). Genealogies and oral histories as chronological networks: iInterfacing whakapapa (Māori genealogies) with Gregorian calendar year archaeological radiocarbon dates. Archaeometry. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/arcm.13074 Journal - Research Article
McIvor, I., Roa, T., & Waitoki, W. (2024). Kia kōrerorero tonu ai: A review of the dialogue at the interface of Indigenous oral tradition and archaeology in Aotearoa New Zealand and Oceania. Archaeology in Oceania. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1002/arco.5338 Journal - Research Article
McIvor, I. H., Walter, R., & Ng, J. (2024). Developing a 3D virtual reconstruction of the Lawrence Chinese Camp, Central Otago: Method and impacts on descendant aspirations. Proceedings of the 51st Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA) International Conference. 122, (pp. 154-155). Retrieved from https://2024.caaconference.org/ Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
McIvor, Z. (2023). Kia takahi ai ngaa takahangahanga tuupuna: Kaitiaki Maaori relationships to waahi tupuna. Proceedings of the New Zealand Archaeological Association (NZAA) Annual Conference. Retrieved from https://nzarchaeology.org Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
McIvor, I. (2022). Interfacing time: An introduction to the chronological network analysis method of relating whakapapa Māori to calendar years. Proceedings of the New Zealand Archaeological Association (NZAA) Annual Conference. (pp. 28-29). Retrieved from https://nzarchaeology.org Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract