Oceania (Geographic Keyword)
51-75 (240 Records)
Murujuga comprises one of the most complex rock art provinces in the world.The iron red boulders of this ancient landscape host petroglyphs which communicate a myriad of sociocultural dynamics of groups utilizing changing landscapes over millennia.These petroglyphs are situated within a landscape marked by complex and diverse archaeological signatures including stone arrangements,lithic scatters,quarries,middens and hut structures.Currently our archaeological understanding of the prehistoric...
Do dingoes hold the key to understanding human behavioural change in ancient Australia? (2015)
Archaeological evidence suggests dingos were brought to Australia sometime during the mid-Holocene (c. 5,000-3,500 years ago). Their introduction coincides with significant changes in human behaviour, specifically in technology, settlement patterns and diet. While their relationship with Aboriginal people is commonly held to have been commensal, this interesting amalgamation of changes certainly begs the question of whether there may be a dingo ‘signature’ in the archaeological record....
Early pottery manufacturing in Sydney, Australia, 1801-1830 (2013)
Pottery manufacturing in Sydney produced a mixture of decorated and utilitarian products. This paper focuses on pottery manufactured by Thomas Ball (c1801-1823) and a few fine examples by John Moreton and an unidentified potter. Thomas Ball was an early potter in Sydney, an emancipated convict who trained in Staffordshire and was tried for his unknown crimes in Warwickshire. He arrived in Sydney in 1799 and was soon operating a pottery (c1801-1823) in the Brickfields. Analysis of over 625 kg...
Early Settlement of Atolls in Eastern Micronesia: Investigations on Mwoakilloa Atoll (2015)
While atolls are the most ubiquitous island type in the Pacific, there has been a general dearth of archaeological research to help elucidate when they were settled prehistorically and how they fit into regional systems of exchange and interaction, particularly in Micronesia. Recent fieldwork on Mwoakilloa Atoll in the eastern Caroline Islands have shown that settlement of the island ca. 1700 cal. BP coincides with the earliest occupation of larger high islands in the region (1700-2000 BP)....
Ecological contingency in very early offshore seafaring (2016)
Recent interest in accounting for very early offshore seafaring, generally from about 15,000 to 50,000 years ago, but in some cases extending up to one million years ago, has seen arguments for and against the influence of biogeographic factors, human behavioural ecology, and advances in cognition, language and technical expertise. I suggest that the seafaring milieu, as a natural system taking in conditions for offshore passages and the availability of resources for making offshore-capable...
El Corrido de Pablo y Suzy Pescado: Inspiring Archaeological Investigations in Northwest Mexico (2017)
We discuss Paul and Suzy Fish´s integral role in archaeological research in northwest Mexico, an important region that has been little studied by relatively few archaeologists to date. Over more than 25 years, along with our colleagues and many students, our archaeological investigations have included a reanalysis of the funerary mound at Guasave, Sinaloa and an evaluation of the relationship between Mesoamerica and Northwestern Mexico, the Pleistocene people of Sonora and Mexico, the Early...
Embodiment and Relatedness: the rock art of Muluwa, Wulibirra, and Kamandarringabaya (2017)
As an interpretive tool for rock art studies, the concept of embodiment has much to offer especially when used in conjunction with ethnographic data. In this paper we focus on embodiment in the context of relatedness using a case study involving Yanyuwa rock art from three sites – Muluwa, Wulibirra, and Kamandaringabaya – in the Sir Edward Pellew islands in northern Australia’s southwest Gulf of Carpentaria region. Although not stylistically similar, the rock art from these sites is intimately...
Emergent Landscapes: Simulating the Distribution of Residential Features in a Hawaiian Dryland Agricultural System (2017)
Cultivation in the Leeward Kohala Field System (Hawai‘i Island) required sufficient rainfall for crops to flourish. Periodic droughts restricted production to upper elevations where orographic rainfall was higher and more dependable, likely influencing the labour needs and settlement patterns of resident populations. We employ a series of spatially-explicit agent based models incorporating cultural conceptions of kapu (sacred) and noa (profane) in conjunction with environmental parameters and...
Environmental Influences on the Prehistoric Movement of Modern Humans through Wallacea (2017)
Archaeological evidence for early population dispersals from Sunda to Sahul extends back to at least 50 kya in Australia and between 42–40 kya in Timor-Leste and Sulawesi. An increasing number of sites dating to between ca. 41–14 kya on these and other islands such as Halmahera suggest that modern humans were becoming more proficient and spatially expansive than once believed. What were the prime variables environmentally, socially, or climatically that may have influenced these movements during...
Ethical practice, digital technologies and historical archaeology in NSW, Australia. (2013)
The NSW Archaeology Online (NSW AOL) Project (2009-13) is Co-Directed by Sarah Colley and Martin Gibbs and is the first sustainable digital archive of archaeological information developed in Australia. The project involves collaboration with the University of Sydney Library, the Archaeology of Sydney Research Group and local professional historical archaeologists with funding from a NSW state heritage grant. NSW AOL is configured to support full-text search and display and will soon provides...
Ethnoarchaeology: More than cautionary tales (2015)
Rather than being just a set of warnings, ethnoarchaeology has made major contributions to a range of archaeological endeavours, especially in Papua New Guinea and Australia. These include broadening our view of stone and wood technologies, of site formation processes and of human-environment relations. SAA 2015 abstracts made available in tDAR courtesy of the Society for American Archaeology and Center for Digital Antiquity Collaborative Program to improve digital data in archaeology. If you...
Evaluating NAA, pXRF, and LIBS from the Perspective of Ochre from Gledswood Shelter 1, Queensland, Australia (2015)
Title: Evaluating NAA, pXRF, and LIBS from the Perspective of Ochre from Gledswood Shelter 1, Queensland, Australia Authors: Neil Hauser, Jenny Milligan, Lynley Wallis, Alan Watchman, and Wayne Wilson Gledswood Shelter 1, Queensland, Australia was utilized by prehistoric people for 40,000 years. As part of the investigation of ochre from Gledswood Shelter 1, several samples recovered from different levels of the shelter were subjected to NAA (neutron activation analysis), pXRF (portable X-ray...
The evolution of "hyper-locality" on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) (2015)
The archaeology and prehistory of Rapa Nui (Easter Is.) reveals a paradox. Despite the island’s diminutive size and the lack of natural barriers preventing social interaction, prehistoric populations on the island show patterns of "hyper-locality." Evidence from ancient human genetics and multiple artifact classes show significant co-variation with space on an enigmatically small scale. Such spatial autocorrelation is likely explained by the structure of interactions in the context of Rapa Nui’s...
Examining the Causes of Migration into East Polynesia: A Bayesian Chronology Perspective on the Ideal-Free Distribution Model (2017)
The colonization of the islands of East Polynesia was one of the most rapid and expansive migratory events in human history. While extensive research focuses on determining the chronology of East Polynesia colonization, far less attention has been placed on elucidating the processes that influenced this migration. The Ideal Free Distribution Model of human behavioral ecology has proven useful for exploring a range of issues regarding colonization and mobility in varying ecological contexts...
Examining The Temporal Scale of Human-Environmental Relationships on Ofu Island, Manu‘a Group, American Samoa (2015)
Pacific Islands have long been considered natural laboratories or model systems for the examination of human-environmental relationships. The impact of temporally variable environments on human populations is now well-documented throughout the Pacific, though questions remain on how the variable temporal scale of environmental change can modify the human response to these changes. An opportunity to address this question is presented by the cultural sequence of Ofu Island, a small island in the...
Exploring religious practices on the Polynesian atolls: a comprehensive architectural approach towards the marae complex in the Tuamotus (2015)
The Tuamotu Archipelago consists of one of the largest concentrations of atolls in the world. However, the archaeological history of these islands remains much less documented in comparison with the other high islands of French Polynesia. The harsh environmental conditions of the atolls have not favored the preservation of archaeological structures, with the exception of the coral-built marae. Since the pioneering works of K.P. Emory in the 1930s, around six hundred of these ceremonial sites...
Exploring the Spatial Distribution of Rapa Nui Ahu with Costly Signalling Theory: An Agent-Based Model (2015)
Despite, its small size and marginal environment, Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile) boasts some of the world’s most impressive monumental ceremonial architecture. While the production of ahu and moai have been linked to an assumed collapse of Rapa Nui society, we suggest instead that the construction of these stone monuments contributed to social stability by reducing inter-group violence and endemic warfare. To examine this hypothesis, we develop a theoretical agent-based model using concepts...
Far Northern Queensland: Cape York and Aboriginal Historical Archaeology. (2015)
This poster outlines the initial findings of the first phase of fieldwork conducted in the central Cape York region of Queensland. The Cape York region of far northern Queensland has been the focus of intercultural interaction on the Australian continent for many years. It was not until the mid 19th century that colonial expansion in this area flowed up from the south and was the cause of major conflict between Europeans and Indigenous Australians. This history of invasion, genocide, mining...
Feasting and Concentrated Pottery Production in East Cape, Papua New Guinea (2017)
East Cape, the southeastern tip of Papua New Guinea mainland, is one of the pottery production areas in southern Massim. Domestic pottery production has continued to the present day, mainly made by female potters to supply their own needs. However, more extensive pottery production beyond the household level occasionally occurs, especially when funerals (toleha) are held. Toleha are organized by the matrilineal descent group (guguni) of a dead person; the potters who belong the descent group get...
Fire up the Uhmw: Deciphering Botanical Residues from Earth Ovens in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (2017)
In Pohnpei, Micronesia, the uhmw, or earth oven, is one important way of preparing food. These ovens are typically located in cookhouses next to residential sites. Pohnpeians use heated stones on the ground to cook food and cover items with large leaves while cooking. It is clear that umhw are a long-standing Pohnpeian tradition, as multiple examples have been found in the archaeological record. In this paper, we ask what botanical residues from uhmw can tell us about the prehistory and history...
Fishponds and Aquaculture in the Ancient Hawaiian Political Economy (2017)
The political economy of ancient Hawai'i, prior to European contact in 1778-79, has often been characterized as based primarily on a "staple economy" with highly intensified forms of both irrigated and dryland agriculture. Less appreciated is the role of intensive aquaculture of two species (milkfish and mullet) using several kinds of often extensive fishponds. This paper explores the role and significance of such aquaculture in the late pre-contact Hawaiian political economy, drawing especially...
Forensic Archaeological Research in the Recovery of WWII MIA’s on a Pacific atoll: Tarawa (2015)
Archaeological research on 538 MIA’s from WWII has been ongoing on the Pacific atoll of Tarawa over the past two years under the auspices of History Flight, an NGO. Tarawa, one of the bloodiest WWII battles in the Pacific, still has hundreds of MIA’s unaccounted for in one of the most densely populated locations on earth. History Flight, with the collaboration of professionals, para-professionals, military volunteers, DOD and the local community have been successful in locating and recovering...
Forming The Footprint Of A City: 19th Century Consumerism And Material Identity In Christchurch, New Zealand (2016)
The volume of archaeological work undertaken in Christchurch, New Zealand, since the 2011 earthquake has uncovered a vast quantity of material culture related to the 19th century settlement and development of the city. The challenge of interpreting this material has revealed several unique opportunities to examine questions of consumption and agency in the formation of the city’s material identity. In particular, the city-wide scale of archaeological excavation in combination with a site by site...
FRONTIER CONFLICT ALONG THE CENTRAL-MURRAY RIVER IN SOUTH AUSTALIA: A SPATIAL RECONSTRUCTION APPROACH TO THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF CONFLICT (2016)
The visibility of conflict in the archaeological record is often limited, especially when associated with the Australian frontier. As such, a holistic approach is proposed as a means to identify conflict and address the question: to what degree is the nature of conflict between Aboriginal groups and European settlers between 1830 and 1900 visible in the historical and archaeological record of the Central River Murray, South Australia? This approach applies methods from multiple disciplines and...
Further evidence for a terrestrial-focused protein diet in prehistoric Rapa Nui (2015)
Previous analyses of subsistence activities on Rapa Nui generated new classes of data to explain human persistence on this remote, subtropical and ecologically-marginal island. Even compared to other small to medium-sized islands in Eastern Polynesia, Rapa Nui appears anomalous for: 1) an apparent shift away from marine protein sources, determined from stable isotope analysis of bone collagen, and 2) a far greater reliance on a single terrestrial carbohydrate (Ipomoea batatas), determined from...