Internet Archaeol. 16. Phillips. Land and history

3.1 Land and history

Data relating to physical attributes are readily available, although not always at the scale or in the manner suited for archaeological questions (McGlade 1997). Generally, existing data have to be augmented by other material. In the Hauraki example various studies enabled the reconstruction of the environment during the main time of occupation, including (listed in order of importance) aerial photography, tephrachronology, early survey plans, soil studies, radiocarbon dating, archaeological surveys and archival maps (Phillips 2000a). In another project that I am associated with, based in Taranaki (western North Island), the main studies have been palynology, radiocarbon dating, tephrachronology, early survey plans and aerial photography (Wilmshurst et al. 2004).

Such multi-disciplinary approaches not only identify physical changes such as volcanic eruptions, earthquake subsidence and coastal erosion, but also indicate human-induced changes. Fortunately, diachronic studies are starting to become more common, including displays of the environment as a series of time slices, or simulations of such aspects as human-induced vegetation changes (cf. contributors to Johnson and North 1997). These are essential to the development of more thoughtful questions of the physical data (McGlade 1997; Wheatley 1998).