Archaeology in Oceania最新文献

Fifty years have passed since the first systematic archaeological surveys and excavations were conducted in Lutruwita (Tasmania). Despite numerous Late Pleistocene archaeological discoveries in the southwest region, no indisputable pre-Holocene sites have been found in eastern Tasmania. This profound difference raises questions about how Aboriginal people utilised the Lutruwita landscape; first as a projecting peninsula into the Southern Ocean and then as an island cut off by rising seas c.14000 years ago.

To examine the difference between east and west further, legacy data excavated by one of us (RJ) in 1964 at the Oatlands OL1 site and stored at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) has been analysed. The results of pXRF chemical analysis of artefact raw material, radiocarbon dating and studies of faunal remains have produced information that highlights the Holocene interaction between people in eastern Lutruwita. Despite the current lack of Late Pleistocene evidence from eastern Lutruwita, this pattern appears to be different from land use models for Late Pleistocene southwestern Lutruwita. With new information from the OL1 rock shelter site we can now contrast the Late Pleistocene hunting economics with the exceptionally well-preserved faunal remains found in the Holocene site, OL1.

Little is known of helminth parasites in Micronesia in archaeological contexts. This study presents a parasitological analysis of soil and sediment samples from Ebon Atoll in the Marshall Islands, eastern Micronesia. Microscopic eggs of the dog (Canis lupus familiaris) nematode Toxocara canis, which could have adversely affected the health of local people as well as their dogs, were found at two sites, in one example in habitation layers dated to 1830–1625 calBP (95% CI), extending the date for the known presence of dogs in the Marshall Islands by at least 600 years. This study represents the first confirmed evidence of pre-European helminth parasites in Micronesia. As similar Melanesian and Polynesian studies have previously been reported, the study also completes the initial, pre-contact helminth record for the three main island regions of Oceania.

This paper examines the previous theoretical interfaces of Indigenous oral tradition and archaeology in Oceania, specifically in Aotearoa (New Zealand). Historical processes of writing down kōrero, or oral histories, by amateur historians and ethnologists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, culminated in the romanticised traditions of the early Polynesian society and influenced contemporary archaeological scholarship. In response to criticisms, archaeologists attempted to validate kōrero using Western research methodologies. However, attempts often fell short and processual archaeologists of the mid-late-20th century considered oral tradition and archaeology as incapable of cross-validation. Parallel ethnological scholarship focused on the symbolism in oral histories as indicators of their function in contemporary society or as legitimate forms of recounting actual historical events after critical evaluation. More recent archaeologists use kōrero about the last few centuries like any other historical source. Māori scholars have taken inspiration from previous theoretical arcs to position kōrero in a postmodern space of relative truths or to critically analyse its historical and functional values. The review concludes with how the interface of oral history and archaeology might follow Kaupapa Māori research methodologies and current materialist critiques of dominant settlement pattern theory.

Prehistoric Polynesian voyaging into high latitudes with landfall in Antarctica remains a widely credited proposition. We examine it through archaeological and environmental evidence from the Subantarctic region of the southwest Pacific, focussing upon an extensive archaeological site at Sandy Bay on Enderby Island. Combining a new set of radiocarbon ages with former, older, ages we show that the site is now within the same rapid expansion phase in which South Polynesia was first colonised. Radiocarbon ages across the site indicate a single continuous settlement, probably of some decades. Consideration of limiting factors in Subantarctic settlement, including of seafaring capability and critical resources, suggests that the site was about as far south as prehistoric habitation could be sustained and was probably vacated at the onset of the Little Ice age (LIA) in the late 14th century. An absence of prehistoric remains on islands further south also suggests that Polynesian exploration reached a boundary 2000 km short of Antarctica. The southern case is discussed briefly in the wider context of Polynesian expansion.

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.

Tok stori, a Melanesian pidgin term meaning “conversate or share stories”, has emerged over the last decade as a Melanesian research methodology in the fields of education, pedagogy and leadership. This paper contributes to this scholarship by exploring the value of its application to the conceptualisation and practice of archaeological research in Solomon Islands. From our perspectives as Solomon Islander archaeologists, we reflect on our experiences engaging in tok stori with two communities from Santa Isabel and Lauru (Choiseul) while undertaking field work. We use these examples to demonstrate the highly dynamic nature of tok stori in research, serving as a mechanism to build trust and reciprocal relationships centred upon shared social values, but also to facilitate more transactional partnerships fixated on negotiating financial “benefits”. Drawing from our experiences, we also discuss key challenges facing archaeological practice in Solomon Islands. These are a lack of awareness of the purpose and values of archaeological research, and a legacy of monetary enticement we refer to as a “handout mentality” generated by extractive industries. Tok stori, we contend, can aid in navigating these challenges and serves as a valuable research tool for archaeologists due to its adaptability and the cultural bearing it holds for Melanesian peoples.