MATTHEWS, Peter J.
Staff Members
MATTHEWS, Peter J.
Professor
Department of Cross-Field Research
| Research Specialization | Ethnobotany, prehistory, crop plant biogeography; Asia, Pacific |
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| Individual Research Projects | Ethnobotany and Prehistory in Asia and the Pacific |
Academic Qualifications
- University of Auckland, 1978-1983, BSc MSc
- Free University of Berlin, 1984 (DAAD scholarship)
- Australian National University, 1985-1989, PhD
Research Interests
History of Agriculture and Plant Domestication Using Biological and Archaeological Approaches.
Current Research Topics
Natural and Cultural History of Taro (Colocasia Esculenta), Giant Taro (Alocasia Macrorrhizos), and Paper Mulberry (Broussonetia Papyrifera).
Selected Publications
| 2020 | Ahmed, I, PJ Lockhart, EMG Agoo, KW Naing, DV Nguyen, DK Medhi and PJ Matthews. Evolutionary origins of taro (Colocasia esculenta) in Southeast Asia. Ecology and Evolution 10:13530–13543. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6958 |
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| 2014 | Matthews, PJ, On the Trail of Taro: An Exploration of Natural and Cultural History (Senri Ethnological Studies 88) National Museum of Ethnology: Osaka, pp. 429. |
| 2012 | M Spriggs, D Addison and Matthews PJ (eds.). Irrigated Taro (Colocasia esculenta) in the Indo-Pacific: Biological, Social and Historical Perspectives. Osaka: National Museum of Ethnology, pp. 363. |
| 1996 | Matthews, PJ, Ethnobotany, and the origins of Broussonetia papyrifera in Polynesia (an essay on tapa prehistory). In JM Davidson, G Irwin, BF Leach, A Pawley, and D Brown (eds.), Oceanic Culture History: Essays in Honour of Roger Green, pp. 117-132. New Zealand Journal of Archaeology, Wellington. |
Other Interests
I created a non-profit website:
The Research Cooperative, a meeting place for academic and scientific writers, editors, translators, and others. See : https://researchcooperative.org/
Academic Degrees
- MSc, Auckland, 1984 (Colocasia esculenta in New Zealand – Nga taro o Aotearoa)
- PhD, ANU, 1990 (The Origins, Dispersal and Domestication of Taro)
Professional Career
| 1990 | National Institute for Vegetables, Ornamental Plants and Tea, Ano, Japan (Science and Technology Agency of Japan Fellow) |
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| 1991 | Visiting Researcher, National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka |
| 1992 | Visiting Fellow, Australian National University, Canberra |
| 1993 | Visting Researcher, Kyoto University, Kyoto (Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science fellowship) |
| 1994 | Free-lance academic editor |
| 1995 | –1999 Researcher, National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka |
| 2000 | – Associate Professor, National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka |
Fieldwork Areas
Australia (1987, 1992), Bangladesh (2019), China (PRC) (2017, 2018), Cook Islands (1994), Cyprus (1996, 2000), Egypt (2001), Greece (1996, 2000), India (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019), Indonesia (1992, 1996), Italy (2001), Japan (1990, 1996-2003, 2005, 2016), Myanmar (2003, 2004, 2006, 2014), New Zealand (1978-1983, 2009), Papua New Guinea (1985, 2008), Philippines (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012), Taiwan (2013, 2014), Thailand (2020), Vietnam (2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018).
Membership in Academic Associations
- The Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association
- The Society for Economic Botany
Publications
| 2021 | Richards, R. & Matthews, P. J. “Barkcloth from the Solomon Islands in the George Brown Collection”. In Specht, J., Attenbrow, V. & Allen, J. (eds), From Field to Museum—Studies from Melanesia in Honour of Robin Torrence. Tech. Rep. Aust. Mus. Online, No. 34, pp. 245–258. Sydney: The Australian Museum. |
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| 2021 | Matthews, PJ “Food in Oceania”. In Nobayashi, A. et al. (eds) Encyclopedia of Food Culture. Maruzen: Tokyo. |
| 2021 | Matthews, PJ and ME Ghanem. Perception gaps that may explain the status of taro (Colocasia esculenta) as an “orphan crop”. Plants People Planet 3, 99–112. DOI: 10.1002/ppp3.10155 |
| 2020 | Ahmed, I, PJ Lockhart, EMG Agoo, KW Naing, DV Nguyen, DK Medhi and PJ Matthews. Evolutionary origins of taro (Colocasia esculenta) in Southeast Asia. Ecology and Evolution 10:13530–13543. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6958 |
| 2020 | Abdullah , CL Henriquez, F Mehmood , A Hayat , A Sammad, S Waseem, MT Waheed , P J Matthews, TB. Croat, P Poczai, I Ahmed. Chloroplast genome evolution in the Dracunculus clade (Aroideae, Araceae). Genomics 113:183-192. DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2020.12.016 |
| 2019 | Prebble, M, PJ Matthews, and 12 others. Early tropical crop production in marginal subtropical and temperate Polynesia Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116 (18) 8824-8833. www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1821732116 |
| 2018 | Bammite, D, PJ Matthews, DY Dagnon, A Agbogan, K Odah, A Dansi, K Tozo, Agro morphological characterization of taro (Colocasia esculenta) and yautia (Xanthosoma mafaffa) in Togo, West Africa, African Journal of Agricultural Research 13(18): 934-945. |
| 2017 | Matthews, PJ, Evolution and Domestication of Clonal Crops. In D Hunter, L Guarino, C Spillane, PC McKeown (eds), Routledge Handbook of Agricultural Biodiversity, Chapt. 10. Oxford: Routledge. |
| 2017 | Matthews, PJ, PJ Lockhart and I Ahmed, Phylogeography, ethnobotany, and linguistics: Issues arising from research on the natural and cultural history of taro Colocasia esculenta (L) Schott. Man in India 97(1): 353-380. |
| 2016 | Nguyen, VD, PJ Matthews, I Ahmed, CS Nguyen, Colocasia yunnanensis (Araceae), a new record for the flora of Vietnam. The Journal of Japanese Botany 91: 223-229. |
| 2016 | Penailillo, J, G Olivares, X Moncada, C Payacan, C-S Chang, K-F Chung, PJ Matthews, A Seelenfreund, and D Seelenfreund, Sex distribution of paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) in the Pacific. PLoS ONE 11(8) e0161148. |
| 2015 | Matthews, PJ, VD Nguyen, D Tandang, EM Agoo and DA Madulid, Taxonomy and ethnobotany of Colocasia esculenta and C. formosana (Araceae): implications for evolution, natural range, and domestication of taro. Aroideana Supplement 38E(1): 153-176. |
| 2015 | Nguyen VD, VT Tran, T Masuno, and PJ Matthews, Useful aroids and their prospects in Vietnam. Aroideana Supplement 38E(1): 130-142. |
| 2013 | Prehistory in a nutshell: a Lapita-age nut-cracking stone from the Arawe Islands, Papua New Guinea Archaeology in Oceania Volume 48, Issue 3, pages 121-129. abstract / PDF [1.2MB] |
| 2009 | (With T. Denham, et al.) Archaeobotany in Australia and New Guinea: Practice, Potential and Prospects. Australian Archaeology 68: 1–10. Australian Archaeological Association Inc., Australia. |
| 2009 | Ethnobotany and Ecology of Wild Aroids. Minpaku Anthropology Newsletter 28: 8–10. National Museum of Ethnology. |
| 2008 | A Wandering Scholar at a Crossroad in Japan. Kaiho (Club Quarterly Report, Autumn) 218: 9–12. International Science Club of Osaka. |
| 2007 | The Great Ocean Voyage: Vaka Moana and Island Life Today. Minpaku Anthropology Newsletter 25: 27–28. National Museum of Ethnology. |
| 2006 | (With Y. Nishida) History and Aims of Starch Analysis. Bulletin of the Niigata Prefectural Museum of History 7: 1–6. Niigata Prefectural Museum of History. |
| 2006 | (With A. Shibutani and C. Suzuki) Starch Analysis of Palaeolithic Stone Tools. Bulletin of the Niigata Prefectural Museum of History 7: 17–24. Niigata Prefectural Museum of History. |
| 2006 | Plant Trails in Oceania. In K. R. Howe (ed.) Vaka Moana: Voyage of the Ancestors, pp.94–97. Auckland, New Zealand: David Bateman Ltd. |
| 2006 | Written Records of Taro in the Eastern Meditteranean. In Z. Fusun Ertug (ed.) Proceedings of the Fourth International Congress of Ethnobotany (ICEB 2005), Istanbul-Turkey, pp.419–426, 21–26 August, 2005, Yayinlari, Istanbul. |
| 2006 | Colour 2-green. (in Japanese). Different Society, Different Culture, essays by researchers at the National Museum of Ethnology, October 11, 2006, evening edition of Mainichi Shimbun Newspaper. |
| 2006 | (With H. Barton) Taphonomy. In R. Torrence and H. Barton (eds.) Ancient Starch Research, pp.75–94, Walnut Creek, California, U.S.A.: Left Coast Press. |
| 2006 | The Domestication of Nutrient Cycles: A Unifying Principle for Thinking about the Origins of Agriculture? In T. Osada and M. Witzel (eds.) Proceedings of the 7th ESCA Harvard-Kyoto Roundtable, Ethnogenesis of South and Central Asia, pp.80–95, 6–8 June, 2005, Kyoto: Research Institute for Humanity and Nature. |
| 2006 | How and When Did Taro Become the Most Widespread Starchy Food Crop in the World? In R. Torrence and H. Barton (eds.) Ancient Starch Research, pp. 22–23, Walnut Creek, California, U.S.A.: Left Coast Press. |
| 2005 | Metaphors Related to Taro. (in Japanese). Gekkan Minpaku 29 (7): 14. National Museum of Ethnology. |
| 2005 | (With K. W. Naing) Notes on the Provenance and Providence of Wildtype Taros (Colocasia esculenta) in Myanmar. Bulletin of the National Museum of Ethnology 29 (4): 587–615. National Museum of Ethnology. |
| 2004 | Taro. Encyclopedia of World Environmental History 3: 1185–1186, London: Routledge. |
| 2004 | Genetic Diversity in Taro, and the Preservation of Culinary Knowledge. Ethnobotany Research and Applications 2: 57–71. University of Hawaii at Manoa. |
| 2004 | Food Culture in New Zealand. (in Japanese). Food Culture in the World 7, Australia and New Zealand, pp.219–250. Tokyo: Rural Culture Association. |
| 2004 | (With J. Akamine) Preface. Research Writing in Japan: Cultural, Personal and Practical Perspectives, i-iii. Osaka: National Museum of Ethnology. |
| 2004 | Taro. In S. Krech III, J. R. McNeill and C. Merchant (eds.) Encyclopedia of World Environmental History, Volume 3, pp.1185–1186. New York and London: Routledge. |
| 2004 | Research Writing in Japan: The Bottleneck and Imperatives for a Conference Series. In P. J. Matthews and J. Akamine (eds.) Research Writing in Japan: Cultural, Personal and Practical Perspectives, pp.179–191. Osaka, National Museum of Ethnology. |
| 2003 | Taro planthoppers (Tarophagus spp) in Australia and the Origins of Taro (Colocasia esculenta) in Oceania. Archaeology in Oceania 38: 192–202. |
| 2003 | Identification of Benincasa Hispida (wax gourd) from the Kana Archaeological Site, Western Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea. Archaeology in Oceania 38: 186–191. |
| 2002 | (With M. Matsuda, and Y. Ochiai) Comments on the Classification and Naming of Root Crops and Other Crop Categories. In S. Yoshida and P. J. Matthews (eds.) Vegeculture in Eastern Asia and Oceania (JCAS Symposium Series No. 16), pp.331–335. The Japan Center for Area Studies, Osaka. |
| 2002 | Taro Storage Systems. In S. Yoshida and P. J. Matthews (eds.) Vegeculture in Eastern Asia and Oceania (JCAS Symposium Series No. 16), pp.135–163. The Japan Center for Area Studies, Osaka. |
| 2002 | (With S. Yoshida, eds.) Vegeculture in Eastern Asia and Oceania (JCAS Symposium Series No. 16), pp.335. The Japan Center for Area Studies, Osaka. |
| 2002 | An Introduction to the History of Taro as a Food. Paper presented at the Twelfth Symposium of the International Society for Tropical Root Crops (ISTRC), 10–16 September, 2000, Tsukuba, Japan. |
| 2002 | Genetic Diversity in Taro, and the Preservation of Culinary Knowledge. In J. Stevens and W. McClatchey (eds.) Proceedings of the Conference, Building Bridges with Traditional Knowledge II, 28 May–1 June, 2001, Honolulu. |
| 1999 | (With J. Tanaka and S. Koyama) The Eighth International Conference on Hunting and Gathering Societies (CHAGS 8). Bulletin of the National Museum of Ethnology 23: 809–813. |
| 1999 | Satoimo ka shokubutsu no riyo to denpa (Use and dispersal of Aroids). (in Japanese). In T. Akimichi and T. Obayashi (eds.) Ethnobiology of the Austronesians, pp.153–190. Tokyo: Heibonsha. |
| 1999 | How Do People Use Taro in the Eastern Mediterranean? (in Japanese) Gekkan Minpaku Editorial Committee (ed.) 100 Questions, 100 Answers: The Life of Peoples of the World., Tokyo: Kawade-shobo-shinsha. |
| 1998 | Wildtype Taro, and the Recent History of Cultivated Taro in Cyprus and Hawaii. In AFRC (ed.) Proceedings of 1998 TASAE (Tsukuba Asian Seminar on Agricultural Extension): Application of Biological Resources for the Innovation of Agricultural and Environmental Education in Asian-Pacific Countries, pp.99–108. Tsukuba: Agricultural and Forestry Research Center, University of Tsukuba. |
| 1998 | The Real Face of Cyprus. (in Japanese).Kikan Minzokugaku (Ethnology Quarterly) Autumn 86: 68–74. |
| 1998 | Taro in Hawaii: Present Status and Current Research. Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 116: 26–29. |
| 1997 | (With C. Gosden) Plant Remains from Waterlogged Sites in the Arawe Islands, West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea: Implications for the History of Plant Use and Domestication. Economic Botany 51(2): 121–133. |
| 1997 | Research on Taro in Cyprus. (in Japanese). Minpaku Gekkan (April) 21 (4): 15–17. |
| 1997 | Field Guide for Wild-type Taro. Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott. Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 110: 41–48. |
| 1996 | Ethnobotany, and the Origins of Broussonetia Papyrifera in Polynesia. (An essay on tapa prehistory). In J. M. Davidson, G. Irwin, B. F. Leach, A. Pawley, and D. Brown (eds.) Oceanic Culture History: Essays in Honour of Roger Green, pp.117–132. Wellington: New Zealand Journal of Archaeology. |
| 1996 | Plant Dispersal and Human Movement: Evidence for a Complex History in Polynesia. (In Japanese). Minpaku Tsushin 73: 80–85 (Communications of the National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka). |
| 1996 | Review: The Other Greeks: The Family Farm and the Agrarian Roots of Western Civilization. Economic Botany 50: 138. |
| 1995 | Aroids and the Austronesians. Tropics 4 (2): 105–126. |
| 1995 | Review: Foraging and Farming in the Eastern Woodlands. In C. M. Scarry (ed.) Economic Botany 49 (1): 108. |
| 1995 | Review: Plants in Hawaiian Culture. In B. H. Krauss (ed.) Man and Culture in Oceania 11: 125-128. |
| 1995 | Sadayuki Katayama of Ikeda. New Zealand Camellia Bulletin 19 (2): 41–43. |
| 1994 | (With R. Terauchi) The Genetics of Agriculture: DNA Variation in Taro and Yam. In J. G. Hather (ed.) Tropical Archaeobotany: Applications and new developments, pp.251–270. London and New York: Routledge. |
| 1994 | Ethnobiologist Receives Award. Man and Culture in Oceania 11: 131–132. |
| 1992 | (With E. Takei and T. Kawahara) Colocasia esculenta var. aquatilis on Okinawa Island, Southern Japan: The Distribution and Possible Origins of a Wild Diploid Taro. Man and Culture in Oceania 8: 19–34. |
| 1992 | (With Y. Matsushita, T. Sato, and M. Hirai) Ribosomal and Mitochondrial DNA Variation in Japanese Taro. (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott). Japanese Journal of Breeding 42: 825–833. |
| 1991 | (With Y. Sakata and T. Nishio) Chloroplast DNA Analysis of Eggplant (Solanum Melongena) and Related Species for Their Taxonomic Affinity. Euphytica 55: 21–26. |
| 1991 | A Possible Tropical Wildtype Taro: Colocasia esculenta var. aquatilis. Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association Bulletin 11: 69–81. |
| 1987 | Wild Taro and the Context of Cultivation. Aroideana 10: 9–13. |
| 1985 | Nga Taro o Aotearoa. Journal of the Polynesian Society 94: 253–272. |
| 1982 | Taro in the Bay of Islands. New Zealand Archaeological Society Newsletter 25 (4): 230–239. |
| 1980 | Patterns of Feeding on Dysoxylum and Planchonella Fruits. Tane 28: 79–82. |
| 1979 | Archaeological Site Survey on Ponui Island, Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand. Tane 25: 23–33. |
Other Affiliations
| 2009 | Honorary Research Fellow, University of Auckland |
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| 2008 | present Research Associate, Australian Museum, Sydney |
- Research Map 〈https://researchmap.jp/read0051439〉
- Research Gate 〈https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Peter-Matthews-12〉