1,721,021 research outputs found
Archaeological perspectives on conflict and warfare in Australia and the Pacific
Full text linkWhen James Boswell famously lamented the irrationality of war in 1777, he noted the universality of conflict across history and across space – even reaching what he described as the gentle and benign southern ocean nations. This volume discusses archaeological evidence of conflict from those southern oceans, from Palau and Guam, to Australia, Vanuatu and Tonga, the Marquesas, Easter Island and New Zealand. The evidence for conflict and warfare encompasses defensive earthworks on Palau, fortifications on Tonga, and intricate pa sites in New Zealand. It reports evidence of reciprocal sacrifice to appease deities in several island nations, and skirmishes and smaller scale conflicts, including in Easter Island. This volume traces aspects of colonial-era conflict in Australia and frontier battles in Vanuatu, and discusses depictions of World War II materiel in the rock art of Arnhem Land. Among the causes and motives discussed in these papers are pressure on resources, the ebb and flow of significant climate events, and the significant association of conflict with culture contact. The volume, necessarily selective, eclectic and wide-ranging, includes an incisive introduction that situates the evidence persuasively in the broader scholarship addressing the history of human warfare
Developing approaches for understanding Indigenous Australian glass bead use during the contact period
No full textDeveloping approaches for understanding Indigenous Australian glass bead use during the contact period
No full textResearch into Indigenous bead use in Australia has emphasised the use of organic materials, such as seeds, reeds, bone and shell, in contrast to recently introduced beads made from glass. Indigenous collections housed at both Australian and international institutions, however, contain material culture that incorporates glass beads, such as chokers, necklaces and biting bags, in addition to both archaeological finds and ethnographic photos that illustrate the use of such items during the contact period. These beads and beaded objects bring to light questions concerning the use and production of beaded material culture. In this chapter, we propose an approach for the future study of these materials, incorporating methods from archaeology and anthropology, to explore the Indigenous use of glass beads and the production of beaded objects during the contact period
In search of the archaeology of portable art from Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and Australia
No full textResearch into prehistoric Eurasian, American, and African portable art is well established; however, such artefacts remain proportionally underreported from Australian, Pacific, and Southeast Asian archaeological contexts. This volume attempts to address this gap introducing the readership to past and present research in this region. This chapter outlines the research presented in this volume and also explores the role and relevance of portable art research in the Asia-Pacific within broader international dialogues
Shell beads as markers of Oceanic dispersal: A rare Cypraeidae ornament type from the Mariana Islands
No full textWe present experimental and micro-trace evidence for an unusual Cypraeidae bead type associated with the earliest cultural deposits of the Bapot-1 site in the Marianas Islands in Western Micronesia. Results show that these ground-section cowry beads were strung together while worked dorsum found at this same site were used as pendants/lids. The probable occurrence of ground-section beads on Tikopia island ~4000 km from the Marianas suggests that these distinctive shell artefacts can assist archaeological understanding of early Oceanic dispersals and interaction among different colonising Neolithic groups in the Indo-Pacific
Figure 12 in Metal-Age Maritime Culture at Jareng Bori Rockshelter, Pantar Island, Eastern Indonesia
No full textFigure 12. Slipped sherds by spit at Jareng Bori.Published as part of Hawkins, Stuart, Arumdhati, Fayeza Shasliz, Litster, Mirani, Lim, Tse Siang, Basile, Gina, Leclerc, Mathieu, Reepmeyer, Christian, Maloney, Tim Ryan, Boulanger, Clara, Louys, Julien, Mahirta, Clark, Geoff, Keling, Gendro, Willan, Richard C., Yuwono, Pratiwi, O, Sue & Connor, 2020, Metal-Age Maritime Culture at Jareng Bori Rockshelter, Pantar Island, Eastern Indonesia, pp. 237-262 in Records of the Australian Museum 72 (5) on page 252, DOI: 10.3853/j.2201-4349.72.2020.1726, http://zenodo.org/record/794607
Figure 14 in Metal-Age Maritime Culture at Jareng Bori Rockshelter, Pantar Island, Eastern Indonesia
No full textFigure 14. Total number of lithic (chert and obsidian) artefacts by excavation unit (5 cm spit) at Jareng Bori.Published as part of Hawkins, Stuart, Arumdhati, Fayeza Shasliz, Litster, Mirani, Lim, Tse Siang, Basile, Gina, Leclerc, Mathieu, Reepmeyer, Christian, Maloney, Tim Ryan, Boulanger, Clara, Louys, Julien, Mahirta, Clark, Geoff, Keling, Gendro, Willan, Richard C., Yuwono, Pratiwi, O, Sue & Connor, 2020, Metal-Age Maritime Culture at Jareng Bori Rockshelter, Pantar Island, Eastern Indonesia, pp. 237-262 in Records of the Australian Museum 72 (5) on page 254, DOI: 10.3853/j.2201-4349.72.2020.1726, http://zenodo.org/record/794607
Geospatial analysis of fortification locations on the island of Tongatapu, Tonga
Full text linkRecent research investigating earthwork fortifications on Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga, using lidar data identified numerous defensive sites on the island (Parton et al. 2018), with the antiquity of the earliest building phase dating to at least 1300 CE (Clark et al. 2018; Spennemann 1989). This corresponds well with the hypothesis that fortifications appear in the Pacific at 1300–1800 CE (Field 2008). However, it is widely held that most fortifications on Tongatapu were constructed during the civil war era, from 1799 to 1852 CE (McKern 1929; Spennemann 1986; Wood 1975). Beyond questions about the exact timing of initial fortification construction, there is considerable debate about the reasons populations need to defend their land. This debate is not limited to Tonga, as it has been suggested that environmental factors and climate shifts played a significant role in the emergence of social conflict in the Pacific in general (Field 2004; Field and Lape 2010).
The selection of natural defensive locations on islands has been reported from numerous parts
of Oceania (Field 2008). Hill fort/ridgeline location is a common occurrence on well-researched
island groups, such as Fiji (Best 1993) and Samoa (Golson 1969). This argument is also reflected in previous descriptions of fort construction under Tongan influence, such as Spennemann’s (1989:481, see also Best 1993) assertion that Tongans constructed a large upland fort on the island of Lakeba in east Fiji:
Tongans were actually responsible for the erection of the Ulunikoro fortification, and Best’s argument appears convincing in the light of present evidence, it is a good example to show that fortification types are predominantly governed by topographical conditions rather than by ‘cultural’ traits.
In this chapter, we report geospatial analyses of earthwork fortifications on Tongatapu (Figure 9.1). Our primary concern is the location of forts in the landscape rather than the age of defensive sites as the majority of Tongatapu forts are currently undated. In addition, we focus on enclosed/partially enclosed earthwork fortifications that are the dominant type of defensive site on Tongatapu compared with the small number of linear earthworks (Parton et al. 2018). Tongatapu is a low-lying limestone island with few natural defences. There are no steep escarpments on the lagoon side of the island, and few inland high points or vertical ridges
Warfare in Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
No full textEvidence of massacre, trauma on human skeletal remains, finds of used weapons, depictions of fighting on rock carvings and pottery, destruction of monuments, built defensive structures such as earth forts, and descriptions of warfare and violence in oral traditions point to the existence of organised warfare in pre-text societies. The aim of this chapter is to review and discuss the evidence of warfare and violence in pre- and protohistoric Rapa Nui (Easter Island) using data from oral traditions, the analysis of material culture, and information from human skeletal remains
Archives, oral traditions and archaeology: Dissonant narratives concerning punitive expeditions on Malakula Island, Vanuatu
Full text linkABSTRACT OF THE BOOK: When James Boswell famously lamented the irrationality of war in 1777, he noted the universality of conflict across history and across space – even reaching what he described as the gentle and benign southern ocean nations. This volume discusses archaeological evidence of conflict from those southern oceans, from Palau and Guam, to Australia, Vanuatu and Tonga, the Marquesas, Easter Island and New Zealand. The evidence for conflict and warfare encompasses defensive earthworks on Palau, fortifications on Tonga, and intricate pa sites in New Zealand. It reports evidence of reciprocal sacrifice to appease deities in several island nations, and skirmishes and smaller scale conflicts, including in Easter Island. This volume traces aspects of colonial-era conflict in Australia and frontier battles in Vanuatu, and discusses depictions of World War II materiel in the rock art of Arnhem Land. Among the causes and motives discussed in these papers are pressure on resources, the ebb and flow of significant climate events, and the significant association of conflict with culture contact. The volume, necessarily selective, eclectic and wide-ranging, includes an incisive introduction that situates the evidence persuasively in the broader scholarship addressing the history of human warfare
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