Matthew Coller

Master of Information Technology (Research)

Taking a time-warp to explore Australasian archaeology

Monash University’s Matthew Coller, a masters student with the Faculty of Information Technology, has been working in collaboration with researchers in geography and archaeology to create an interactive map of Australasia over the last 100,000 years.

Using ocean survey data, ancient coastline images were generated in the style of today's satellite imagery, and combined with graphs of sea level over the last ice age using an interactive timeline.  The geographic model changes as the mouse is dragged across the timeline, and place names fade in and out as the land masses merge and separate. For example, Australia and Papua New Guinea were connected until 8000 years ago into a single continent known to geographers as Sahul.

"Overall, the idea is to take the paradigms of GoogleEarth and extend them through a further dimension in time," Mr Coller explains. "GoogleEarth brought us the Geographic Web, and SahulTime extends this concept into the ancient past to create a Geotemporal Web application.  It's a platform for presenting collaborative research while still linking back to primary sources."

Archaeological data can be plotted onto the model using time-aware icons, and the map has pop-up images and text about key archaeological sites and possible routes humans took from Asia to Australia during the last ice age.  Photos can even be taken through a time-warp using time-based landscape reconstructions synchronised with the main timeline.

Mr Coller explains: "Information Technology isn't just about building databases. It's also about giving people an interactive window onto complex bodies of knowledge, to help the experts formulate new theories, and to promote life-long learning in the wider community."

The website can be viewed at: http://sahultime.monash.edu.au

Master of Information Technology (Research)