“By all means let us complete the exercise”: the 50‐year search for Lapita on Aneityum, southern Vanuatu and implications for other “gaps” in the Lapita distribution

Abstract

Archaeological research on the island of Aneityum, the southernmost inhabited island of the Vanuatu archipelago (the former New Hebrides), began in 1963 under the direction of Richard and Mary Shutler. It was soon after this that William Dickinson began analysing pottery sherds from various sites across the archipelago. He ultimately went on to study hundreds of samples, including -most recently -112 from the site of Teouma on Efate Island. Early pottery sites remained elusive in the southern islands for two decades after the Shutlers' pioneering work and on Aneityum for nearly 50 years. Assessments of the island's geomorphology, a key aspect regularly emphasised by Dickinson, coupled with perseverance and some serendipitous test-pitting finally led to the discovery of a Lapita site on Aneityum. Dickinson's petrographic expertise was once again called on some 50 years after research first started on the island, to contribute to initial identification of the site's significance. We examine the difficulty of finding Lapita on Aneityum through a historical lens in order to reflect back on other presumed Lapita "gaps" that remain today, such as in much of the main Solomons' chain and -with one current exceptionin Samoa. Perhaps the gaps in other regions are not as extensive as is often argued. RÉSUMÉ Les recherches archéologiques sur l'île d'Anatom,île peuplée la plus au sud de l'archipel du Vanuatu, ont débuté en 1963 sous la direction de Richard et Mary Shutler. William Dickinson a commencé peu de temps après l'analyse de tessons de poterie provenant de divers siteś etalés sur l'archipel. Ses travaux se sont finalementétendusà l'étude de centaines d'échantillons incluant 112 tessons provenant du site deTeouma situé sur l'île de Efate. Suite aux travaux novateurs des Shutlers, la recherche de sites anciens contenant des vestiges céramiques est demeurée infructueuse pendant plus de vingt ans dans lesîles du sud et près de cinquante ans sur Anatom. L'étude géomorphologique des sols, un aspect régulièrement mis en valeur par Dickinson, combinéeà la persévérance età des sondages fortuits ont finalement menéà la découverte d'un site Lapita sur Anatom. L'expertise pétrographique de Dickinson fut dès lorsà nouveau requise quelques cinquante ans après le début des recherches sur cetteîle afin de déterminer l'importance de ce site. La difficulté de trouver un site Lapita sur Anatom est ici examinée en relation avec l'historique des travaux afin de reconsidérer les présumées « régions vides » de sites Lapita comme l'est encore aujourd'hui la grande majorité de la chaîne principale desîles Salomons et,à une exception près, Samoa. Il pourraitêtre suggéré que ces « vides » ne sont pas aussiétendus que ce qu'il est souvent affirmé.

Who was Polynesian? Who was Melanesian? Hybridity and ethnogenesis in the South Vanuatu Outliers

“…These three are much larger than Aniwa (8 km 2 ), a tiny coral atoll located close to Tanna, and Futuna (11 km 2 ), an uplifted limestone makatea-type island (Carney and Macfarlane, 1971;Colley and Ash, 1971;Neef and McCullough, 2001). The area of TAFEA was settled 3000 years ago, and while we only have direct evidence at this point for Lapita pottery on Erromango (Bedford, 2006: 32-39) and Aneityum (Bedford et al, 2016), we can assume that all of the islands, which are intervisible, were known to Lapita people if not permanently inhabited during that time. Following the Lapita period, Vanuatu underwent a period of regionalisation, as the northern, central, and southern islands began to differentiate themselves culturally and linguistically (Bedford, 2006;Bedford and Spriggs, 2008;Tryon, 1996).…”

Connecting with Lapita in Vanuatu: Festivals, sporting events and contemporary themes

“…It was of course through just such a training program that the Teouma Lapita site was ultimately found (Bedford et al 2004). Heightened awareness among local communities also aided in adding other Lapita sites, including the recent case of Anelcauhat on Aneityum (Bedford et al 2016).…”

“…However, the site that was to really transform our understanding of Lapita and provide a whole series of opportunities for its promotion and wider understanding among the Vanuatu community was that of Teouma, found in early 2004, and the subsequent excavations that were carried out at the site (2004-2006, terra australis 52 [2008][2009][2010] (Bedford et al 2010b;Shing 2013). Other Lapita sites have also been found since Teouma, including on the island of Mota Lava in the far north and on Aneityum in the far south (Bedford and Spriggs 2014;Bedford et al 2016). Lapita sites have now been found across almost the full stretch of inhabited islands of the archipelago with only the Torres Islands in the very far north yet to reveal any Lapita occupation.…”

Interaction and Isolation in New Georgia: insights from the Nabo Point ceramic assemblage, Tetepare

“…Earlier Lapita sites may not yet have been discovered in the Solomons, due to lower levels of survey or sampling (Bedford et al . 2016; Spriggs 1997: 128); Lapita sites may be present but comparatively infrequent due to low population growth in the face of already resident people and endemic disease (Felgate 2007); or there may be taphonomic processes removing earlier sites (Felgate et al . 2013).…”