Over the course of the last year, Dr. John Peterson, Vice President of Graduate Studies, Research and Sponsored Programs at the University of Guam, co-authored and was published in four archeology books and journals—with one publication on the way.

Peterson, whose background and area of interest revolves around archeology, said these labors of love came about all at once—although it took the last four years to complete the research and effort put into each article.

“For any scholar, if they get a couple things published a year, that’s good,” Peterson said. “So to have five in a year’s time…I’m really grateful.”

Nearly every article touches on a different aspect of historical ecology—the relationship between culture and nature—in the Philippines and Pacific regions, which has been Peterson’s focus since the early 2000s. Others directly focus on the archeology of those regions in regards to colonialism and development.

Peterson said it’s not only common but also critical for executives and deans at UOG to engage in research because it elevates the profile of the University.

“Research is a critically important part of my job and the jobs of others here at UOG because it raises the visibility and profile of the University’s units and UOG as a whole,” he said. “UOG is taken more seriously when we’re more serious about the production of knowledge. It’s an important job for all of us. And it diminishes the University not to promote that.”


List of Articles
From 2015 to 2016, Peterson was published in the following academic books and journals:

-“Pacific islands on the brink of submergence: Rising seas in an age of climate changes,” Water and Heritage, 2015.
In this article, Peterson discusses the situation in Micronesia relative to climate change. Atolls in Micronesia submerged underwater thousands of years ago were made habitable with the changing of climate. Now, as sea levels continue to rise, the question is not if but when will rising tides cause more frequent and dense migrations away from the islands.

-“Spanish Colonial History and Archeology in the Mariana Islands: Echoes from the Western Pacific,” Archeologies of Modern Spanish Colonialism, 2016.
Peterson and his colleague James M. Bayman discuss Spanish colonialism of the Mariana Islands with respect to political economy, food production, architecture, transport, gender relations, contemporary heritage and identity, and more.

-“Did the Little Ice Age Contribute to the Emergence of Rice Terrace Farming in Ifugao, Philippines?” National Museum of the Philippines Journal of Cultural Heritage, 2015.
Peterson and his colleague Stephen B. Acabado explored whether climate change, in the form of the Little Ice Age, helped motivate people to move into the mountains of Ifugao, Philippines and develop rice terrace farming.

-“Contesting modes of colonialism: The Southern Philippines in the global net of Asian, Islamic and European exchange and colonialism in the second millennium A.C.E.,” Historical and Archeological Perspectives on Early Modern Colonialism in the Asia-Pacific, 2015.
In this article, Peterson discusses how the southern Philippines became a hub of trade and interaction not only with Spanish colonizers but also Indian, Chinese, and Muslim foreigners and how each spread its own influences throughout the Philippines over the centuries.

-“An archaeological survey of an underwater cave in Marigondon, Philippines,” The Archaeology of Underwater Caves, not yet published.
Peterson, along with his colleagues Andrea Jalandoni from the University of the Philippines Diliman, and Carmen Rocha from The University of Texas at El Paso, researched Marigondon Cave off Mactan Island, Cebu. Now submerged underwater, as early as 20,000 years ago, the Cave existed above water due to climate change and sea level recession, making it an attractive habitat for human settlement and now-extinct Pleistocene paleo-fauna.