Associate Professor Fiona Petchey

Director - Radiocarbon Dating
Qualifications: MA(Hons) Anthropology Auckland, DPhil Waikato
Personal Website: https://radiocarbondating.com
Research Interests
Dr. Petchey's research involves the application of radiocarbon techniques to the improvement of archaeological chronologies by the joint investigation of site taphonomy combined with sample-specific radiocarbon (14C) effects in shell and bone caused by diet and environmental conditions. Her research is based on the premise that isotopic analysis, combined with geographic, archaeological, and metabolic information, can help disentangle the mix of 14C from terrestrial and marine sources. This research has led the way in obtaining reliable calibrated radiocarbon data from Neolithic burials from Portugal and Lapita age sites in Fiji, Samoa, New Britain, Saipan, and Vanuatu.
Research Supervised
PhD
- McBride, Rowan (in progress).The chronology of Waikato wetland pā. (Supervisor).
- Lauren Linnenlucke (in progress). Applying chronometric quality standards to evaluate the reliability of data from archaeological sites in Torres Strait. James Cook University. (International Supervisor).
- Mojca Zega (in progress). Deep sand time capsules: past environmental records from sediments surrounding Gledswood Shelter 1, Northwest Queensland, Australia. James Cook University. (International Supervisor).
MSc (Research)
- Milson, Catherine (in progress). Reliable ages from archaeological shells from hard water environments using micro-carbon dating.
Teaching Commitments
Expertise
Anthropology; Radiocarbon Dating
Archaeological science
Recent Publications
Jackes, M., Petchey, F., Roksandic, M., & Meiklejohn, C. (2022). The identification of the sample dated as Wk-26796: what that tells us about Cabeço da Amoreira, Muge, Portugal. Mesolithic Miscellany, 29(2), 14-28.
Oliveira, S., Nägele, K., Carlhoff, S., Pugach, I., Koesbardiati, T., Hübner, A., . . . Stoneking, M. (2022). Ancient genomes from the last three millennia support multiple human dispersals into Wallacea. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 19 pages. doi:10.1038/s41559-022-01775-2
Piper, P. J., Mỹ Dung, L. T., Trung Kiên, N. K., Thi Thuy, N., Higham, C. F. W., Petchey, F., . . . Bellwood, P. (2022). The Neolithic of Vietnam. In C. F. W. Higham, & N. C. Kim (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Early Southeast Asia. Oxford University of Press. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199355358.013.14
David, B., Richards, T., McNiven, I. J., Aplin, K., Petchey, F., Szabó, K., . . . Jennings, C. (2022). Tanamu 1: A 5000 year sequence from Caution Bay. In B. David, K. Szabó, M. Leavesley, I. J. McNiven, J. Ash, & T. Richards (Eds.), The Archaeology of Tanamu 1: A Pre-Lapita to Post-Lapita Site from Caution Bay, South Coast of Mainland Papua New Guinea (pp. 13-54). Archaeopress Publishing Ltd.