Building culturally meaningful chronologies: negotiating Indigenous and Western temporalities in Oceania

Abstract

This paper examines some of the ways in which Indigenous and Western archaeological chronologies are being negotiated and entwined in Oceania. Indigenous pasts are often known through oral traditions, genealogies and ancestral landscapes; these are vital pasts populated by the ancestors. The archaeological past is often interpreted through taphonomy, stratigraphy and direct dating techniques. There are tensions and intersections between these perspectives, and research partnerships between archaeologists and Indigenous communities must negotiate how to build chronologies and narrate the past. Drawing on case studies from our research in Australia and Papua New Guinea, we discuss how these seemingly different ways of knowing the past can be brought into productive conversation and how these understandings are transforming today. We argue that incorporating diverse temporalities for ancestral places can generate richer historical narratives of value to communities and researchers.