About Dr Melissa Carter
Dr Carter's project on the archaeology of Santa Isabel in the central Solomon Islands represents the first comprehensive archaeological research program on the island. By undertaking archaeological fieldwork in the study area of Kia on the northwestern Isabel coast, her research aims to address broad questions about the timing and nature of human settlement in the Solomons, as well as the emergence of late prehistoric regional cultural complexes documented elsewhere in the Solomons and the wider Island Melanesian region. As an additional methodological tool her research also incorporates ethnoarchaeological investigations of contemporary marine and horticultural subsistence practices in Kia. During her four-year appointment Dr Carter's contribution to the teaching curriculum will reflect her background in Australian Archaeology, the archaeology of islands and archaeological methods and theory.