Co-Director
Professor Richard Walter
Archaeology of Oceania with a special interest in Melanesia and Polynesia including Aotearoa:
- Archaeological excavation and survey
- Ethnoarchaeology
- Faunal analysis
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Material culture analysis
Professor Richard Walter's profile
Co-Director
Dr Karen Greig
Archaeology of Oceania with a special interest in Polynesia including Aotearoa:
- Archaeozoology
- Ancient DNA analysis
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Heritage conservation.
Senior Archaeologist
Chris Jennings
Chris manages SPAR's archaeological consulting projects. He coordinates archaeological field work and is a Section 45 approved archaeologist.
Chris has worked as an archaeologist for over 15 years, undertaking both research and consulting projects in New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea. His areas of expertise include archaeological site mapping, survey and excavation, lithic analysis and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Senior Laboratory Analyst
Dr Monica Tromp
Monica manages SPAR's archaeological laboratory and research projects.
Monica received an MA from Idaho State University in Archaeological Science and a PhD in Bioarchaeology from the University of Otago. She has primarily worked as a microbioarchaeologist, with a specialisation in plant microparticle analysis and various microscopy techniques including SEM-EDS. Most of her work has focused on the extraction and identification of starch granules and phytoliths from dental calculus and sediments throughout the Pacific, and in Ireland and Germany. Monica also has experience in human osteology, trace element analysis, stable isotope analysis, proteomics, and aDNA analysis.
Archaeologists
Tristan Russell
At SPAR, Tristan is responsible for conducting archaeological assessments, monitoring urban development projects, and overseeing excavation and field surveys.
Tristan completed his master's degree in archaeology at the University of Otago, focusing on the diets of early European missionaries at Hohi Mission Station in the Bay of Islands. He has worked on a wide variety of sites, ranging from Moriori middens on the Chatham Islands, a Pre-Angkorian Iron Age burial site in Cambodia, both pre-Classic and Classic period Maya sites in Guatemala, as well as historic and pre-contact sites throughout New Zealand.
Specialisations:
- Archaeological excavation
- Archaeozoology
- Archaeological photography
- Material culture analysis
Nick Sutton
At SPAR, Nick is responsible for conducting archaeological assessments, monitoring urban development projects, and conducting excavation and field surveys.
Nick completed his master's degree in archaeology at the University of Otago, which examined changes in pottery production technology and the movement and use of stone resources as proxies for the mobility of people along the south coast of Papua New Guinea in the first millennium AD. He has archaeological experience throughout New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Israel.
Specialisations:
- Archaeological excavation
- Material culture analysis
- Geochemical analysis (including XRF and SEM-EDS)