# Janet Davidson > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Janet_Davidson > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Janet_Davidson.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Davidson > Source revision: 1348582237 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Janet Marjorie Davidson** (born 1941) is a New Zealand archaeologist who has carried out extensive field work in the [Pacific Islands](/source/Pacific_Islands) throughout [Polynesia](/source/Polynesia), [Micronesia](/source/Micronesia) and [Melanesia](/source/Melanesia). ## Early life Janet Marjorie Davidson was born in 1941. Educated in Wellington, she was a teenager when she commenced work at the Dominion Museum as a vacation assistant. She studied for a Bachelor of Arts at the [Victoria University of Wellington](/source/Victoria_University_of_Wellington) but subsequently switched to the [University of Auckland](/source/University_of_Auckland). Early archaeology work included excavations of middens at Porirua and the site of the [Paremata barracks](/source/Fort_Parramatta).[1] ## Career Davidson carried out field work in the Society Islands at [Moorea](/source/Moorea) (1961–1962), [Samoa](/source/Samoa) (1964, 1965–1966), [Tonga](/source/Tonga) (1964) and [Nukuoro](/source/Nukuoro) (1965) in the [Federated States of Micronesia](/source/Federated_States_of_Micronesia) as well as [Papua New Guinea](/source/Papua_New_Guinea) and the [Solomon Islands](/source/Solomon_Islands). In 1964, Davidson graduated with a [Master of Arts](/source/Master_of_Arts) degree in anthropology from the University of Auckland. She was the E. Earle Vaile archaeologist at the Auckland Institute and Museum from 1965[2] to 1980, when she moved to [Dunedin](/source/Dunedin) to join her husband, [Foss Leach](/source/Foss_Leach),[3] and was appointed an honorary research associate in archaeology by the [Auckland War Memorial Museum](/source/Auckland_War_Memorial_Museum).[4] She was an honorary lecturer at the [University of Otago](/source/University_of_Otago) and later held the position of senior curator, Pacific, at the [Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa](/source/Museum_of_New_Zealand_Te_Papa_Tongarewa). Davidson and [Roger Green](/source/Roger_Green_(archaeologist)) carried out archaeological field work in Samoa in the 1960s. They co-authored *Archaeology in Western Samoa* and laid the foundation for [archaeology in Samoa](/source/Archaeology_in_Samoa). Part of Davidson's field work was studying settlement patterns in Samoa before 1840.[5] In 1969 Davidson participated in the [Cook Bicentenary Expedition](/source/Cook_Bicentenary_Expedition) undertaking archaeological research at the Vava'u Group, Tonga.[6] Davidson has published widely on the prehistory of New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. She edited the *New Zealand Journal of Archaeology* from 1985 to 2008.[7] She was also a major contributor to the *[Journal of the Polynesian Society](/source/Journal_of_the_Polynesian_Society)*. ## Honours In the [1996 Queen's Birthday Honours](/source/1996_Birthday_Honours_(New_Zealand)), Davidson was appointed an [Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit](/source/New_Zealand_Order_of_Merit) for services to archaeology.[8] The book *Vastly Ingenious: The Archaeology of Pacific Material Culture – in honour of Janet M. Davidson* was published in 2007. It presented essays of new research by leading international scholars with an introduction by Roger Green. Published by [Otago University Press](/source/Otago_University_Press), the book was edited by three Pacific prehistorians: [Atholl Anderson](/source/Atholl_Anderson), Kaye C. Green, and [Foss Leach](/source/Foss_Leach). In 2017, Davidson was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "[150 women in 150 words](/source/150_women_in_150_words)", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.[1] ## Works - *The Prehistory of New Zealand*. Longman Paul. 1984. ## References 1. ["Janet Davidson"](https://www.royalsociety.org.nz/150th-anniversary/150-women-in-150-words/1968-2017/janet-davidson). Royal Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 13 April 2026. 1. ["Contributors of articles in this issue"](http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_78_1969?action=null). *Journal of the Polynesian Society*. **78** (1): 2. 1969. Retrieved 1 November 2009. 1. Bellwood, Peter (1986). ["Peter Bellwood's review of Janet Davidson's The Prehistory of New Zealand"](https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1758&context=pacific-studies-journal). *Pacific Studies*. **9** (3): 182. Retrieved 15 January 2026. 1. Wikidata item [Q115749458](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q115749458) 1. Davidson, Janet M. (1969). ["Settlement patterns in Samoa before 1840"](https://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_78_1969/Volume_78,_No._1/Settlement_patterns_in_Samoa_before_1840,_by_Janet_M._Davidson,_p_44_-_82/p1?page=0&action=searchresult&target=). *Journal of the Polynesian Society*. **78** (1): 44–82. Retrieved 1 November 2009. 1. Wikidata item [Q125502663](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q125502663) 1. [New Zealand Journal of Archaeology Contents Index](http://www.nzarchaeology.org/NZJA/index.htm) New Zealand Journal of Archaeology website 1. ["Queen's Birthday honours list 1996"](https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/queens-birthday-honours-list-1996). Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 3 June 1996. Retrieved 20 July 2020. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Janet Davidson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Davidson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Davidson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.