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The Archaeology programme is located in the Sir John Richardson Building in the heart of the Otago campus. We occupy the ground, first and second floors of the building.

Richardson Building

Our ground floor space is taken up by large archaeological laboratories and storage areas. On the first floor we have analytical laboratories, two teaching labs, Postgraduate Student offices, and an Archaeological Illustration Unit. The second floor contains the Departmental Administration and Academic Staff Offices, and also houses the library.

Otago Archaeological laboratories

Health and safety

The health and safety rules and guidelines are aimed at ensuring the safe usage of the laboratory spaces and the equipment held and used within them. Before allowing students and researchers to use our laboratory spaces and equipment, training is provided, after which a Laboratory Use Passport is granted.

Health and safety manual and laboratory passport

Atlas of plant material and fibres from New Zealand and the Pacific

This free-to-use database can help you identify plant materials used in artefacts. The database includes indigenous, common and botanical names; images of plants; scanning electron microscopy images of plant leaf/material surfaces and optical microscopy images of plant leaf/material cross-sections.

Atlas of plant materials and fibres database

Resources for students

Postgraduate students enrolled in MA and PhD courses in the programme are provided with permanent study space. Each office includes lockable filing cabinets, and four desks. Shared computers are available, although many students prefer to use their own laptop. Internet access and networked printers are also provided. MA students are allocated desk space for one year, and PhD students have space for three years. This time can be extended by a year if the student works as a tutor with the programme during their enrolment.

The programme has a photocopying fund at the rate of 200 free copies per MA/PhD student per month.

Isaac (Zac) McIvor is the Kaiāwhina Māori (Māori Students' Support Officer) for the programme.

Dr Charles Radclyffe is the Pacific Islands Students' Support Officer for the programme.

Assignment coversheets, extension forms and other useful forms

Information for international students

Pacific Islands students centre

Scholarships

University of Otago scholarships are available for both undergraduate and postgraduate study, and we encourage all eligible students to apply for these. A range of other scholarships relevant to aspects of research in the department are also available and the University maintains a database of these. Several external funding agencies may also have scholarships or research funds available to support your studies and it is worth looking into these. For example if you are studying Medical Anthropology you may apply for grants from the Health Research Council which has a number of scholarships and summer studentships. The Ministry of Education maintains a list of relevant funding agencies.

Our library

Room 2C23 houses the library collection which includes copies of most of the social anthropology and archaeology 480 research essays, 490 dissertations, and MA and PhD theses that have been completed in this Department. We have limited numbers of PhD dissertations from overseas universities relevant to our core research areas. A computer in the library has spreadsheets and an endnote database of what is available.

You will also find: archaeology consultant's reports; sundry back issues of academic journals.

Items are not to be removed from the building, but students may peruse items in their offices. There are two study spaces in the Library.

Other useful resources and information

University library

The Central Library provides useful subject guides with links to relevant subject specific books, websites, databases, and organisations.

Archaeology subject guide

The Library maintains a list of relevant Archaeology and Anthropology books recently acquired by the Library. This list is updated every Friday.

The list of recently-acquired Anthropology books

Other useful links:

The library's citation style guide for writing essays and dissertations.

The library page dedicated to the preparation of theses.

Professional organisations

The New Zealand Archaeological Association

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