The data
The data you’ll find in MoAŌ comes from the archaeological reports and artefact catalogues that were produced as a result of the archaeological authority process (learn more about this process). These reports are publicly available from Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga’s Digital Library. No extra research was carried out when the data was entered in MoAŌ – but some information was amended based on the research Jessie Garland has carried out for her PhD research. These updates were typically to artefact identifications, and reflect new knowledge gained in the interim. Some original feature types have also been changed to make comparative analysis easier. Information about these changes has been recorded.
A considerable quantity of data has been entered into MoAŌ. It covers details about archaeological projects, archaeological sites, the features and contexts found, the artefacts recovered and historical data about the people and organisations who owned or lived at the site. Because we don’t know how the data will be used, but can see the range of potential uses, we have tried to capture everything about a particular archaeological project or site. Some of this is administrative-type data, such as the extent of earthworks for a project, which we’ve recorded in order to understand the implications of this for what types of archaeology are found. Other information is much more archaeologically-specific, such as the dimensions of a given feature.
The complexity of the data is increased by the fact that systems for archaeological recording have changed over time, and because different consultants use different approaches. These changes and differences were not always readily compatible. A further consideration was ensuring that the data is understandable and useful to the general public, as well as archaeologists. These two groups need different sorts of data, presented in different ways. As a result, there are a dauntingly large number of data fields in the database that underlies MoAŌ, most of which are not visible in the publicly accessible website, but many of which are visible in the researcher section.
Researcher access
The researcher section of MoAŌ provides access to the technical data about the archaeological projects, sites, features, artefacts and historical data. The data is presented in tables, which can be filtered and sorted, and data can be exported for you to analyse in more detail.
The data in the researcher section of MoAŌ has been left in a raw form, until we are better able to understand how you would like to use it. If you have suggestions or feedback on improving the functionality of this part of the website, we’d love to hear from you.
If you’re using the data for professional research, we ask that you acknowledge the Museum of Archaeology Ōtautahi in your work. We recommend using the following referencing format:
Christchurch Archaeology Project, 2024. Museum of Archaeology Ōtautahi. [online] Available at: www.museumofarchaeology.org [Accessed 15 May 2024].
Some information in MoAŌ is attributed to specific people, whose names are listed alongside that information. If you’re using that information, please use the following format to reference it:
Smith, J., 2024. [Record name], Museum of Archaeology Ōtautahi. [online] Available at: www.museumofarchaeology.org [Accessed 15 May 2024].
If you’re analysing MoAŌ data, we’d love to hear about your project! Please get in touch (info@museumofarchaeology.org) to tell us more about your work.