{"title":"Irrigation, fortification, and the proto-historic settlement landscape of the Ndughore Valley, Kolombangara, Western Solomon Islands","authors":"PATRICK V. KIRCH, DOUGLAS E. YEN","doi":"10.1002/arco.5269","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Archaeological sites in the Ndughore Valley of Kolombangara Island in the New Georgia group of the western Solomon Islands were investigated in 1971. The sites include formerly-irrigated pondfield terrace complexes in the valley bottom, ridgetop residential hamlets and specialised ritual sites. The presence of European material culture such as trade beads, clay pipes, glass, a musket barrel and iron axe head all indicate that these sites were occupied and utilised during the nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, a turbulent period marked by increased inter-island raiding and head-hunting as well as by trade with Europeans. The residential hamlets and ritual sites are situated in defensible positions on ridgetops, while one site was extensively modified for musket warfare. Ancestor shrines at the residential sites are consistent with a widespread New Georgia cultural tradition, containing shell exchange valuables indicating that the Kolombangara community was linked into a larger exchange network.</p>","PeriodicalId":46465,"journal":{"name":"Archaeology in Oceania","volume":"57 2","pages":"127-145"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2022-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Archaeology in Oceania","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/arco.5269","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ANTHROPOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Archaeological sites in the Ndughore Valley of Kolombangara Island in the New Georgia group of the western Solomon Islands were investigated in 1971. The sites include formerly-irrigated pondfield terrace complexes in the valley bottom, ridgetop residential hamlets and specialised ritual sites. The presence of European material culture such as trade beads, clay pipes, glass, a musket barrel and iron axe head all indicate that these sites were occupied and utilised during the nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, a turbulent period marked by increased inter-island raiding and head-hunting as well as by trade with Europeans. The residential hamlets and ritual sites are situated in defensible positions on ridgetops, while one site was extensively modified for musket warfare. Ancestor shrines at the residential sites are consistent with a widespread New Georgia cultural tradition, containing shell exchange valuables indicating that the Kolombangara community was linked into a larger exchange network.
期刊介绍:
Archaeology in Oceania is published online and in print versions three times a year: April, July, October. It accepts articles and research reports in prehistoric and historical archaeology, modern material culture and human biology of ancient and modern human populations. Its primary geographic focus is Australia, the islands of the Pacific Ocean and lands of the western Pacific rim. All articles and research reports accepted as being within the remit of the journal and of appropriate standard will be reviewed by two scholars; authors will be informed of these comments though not necessarily of the reviewer’s names.