Richard Walter

The archaeology of Aotearoa and the tropical Pacific; historical anthropology; the archaeology of culture contact; indigenous history and knowledge, material culture studies, the archaeology of exchange, and cultural heritage management.

I am a field archaeologist and I work in Aotearoa and the tropical Pacific with ongoing projects in the Solomon Islands, Cook Islands and Aotearoa. In the Solomons my research has focussed on prehistoric colonisation including Lapita settlement, and the emergence of late-period Melanesian diversity. I co-directed a long-term project on the development of Solomon Island chiefdoms with an emphasis on the role of cult practices, headhunting and ritual violence in the growth of the Roviana Chiefdom. I am currently working on village-based cultural heritage management projects on Santa Isabel and the Arnavon Islands.

In Aotearoa my major work is in prehistoric colonisation, understanding the lifeways of the first Polynesian settlers as they adapted to the new lands, and on the emergence of the tribal chiefdoms of classical Maori society. The currently direct research and projects in the North and Islands with major funding from the Marsden Fund.

I am also a member of the Coastal People: Southern Skies collaboration that connects communities with world-leading, cross-discipline research to rebuild coastal ecosystems.
Coastal People: Southern Skies

I am a founder and director of Southern Pacific Archaeological Research (SPAR) which is a research unit within the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology that carries out pure, applied and commercial research in archaeology and heritage management throughout Aotearoa and the tropical Pacific. SPAR currently employs three full-time and two part-time staff in a research and consulting capacity.