Late Pleistocene Complexities in the Bismarck Archipelago

Abstract

Behavioral complexity can be defined in a number of ways. It can be defined in linear terms, as a trajectory, process, or progression. In this context the zenith of complexity is the present, with decreasing degrees of complexity receding into the past. This can be regarded as the received view oflong-term cultural variation. Alternatively, complexity may be considered in terms of a process of adaptation that is responsive to local conditions but is not inevitably unidirectional (Rowley-Conwy 2001). From the latter perspective, complex behavior is as likely to have occurred in the Pleistocene as in more recent times. This position is a quite radical departure from conventional social theory regarding long-term trajectories of cultural change, but one that is gaining substantial support from current research in Oceania. The obvious difficulty for archaeologists in dealing with behavioral complexity in either framework, however, is that not all aspects of human behavior have a physical manifestation. Archaeological investigation relies on material evidence and so sorrie aspects of human complexity, such as cognitive processes, must to some degree be considered archaeologically epiphenomenal unless they have a demonstrable material connection. In an archaeological framework, complexity might thus best be considered a reflection of the number of steps or stages in a process that leads to a given material outcome: More steps produce greater complexity.This chapter will consider the economic, technological, and social complexities of life in the Bismarck and Solomon archipelagoes during the Pleistocene (Figure 9.1), with particular emphasis on the fit between different models of Pleistocene behavior and the evidence upon which they rest. Discussion begins with a general description of the study area and an overview of regional archaeological patterns.

Smallest Late Pleistocene inhabited island in Australasia reveals the impact of post-glacial sea-level rise on human behaviour from 17,000 years ago

“…The low density of material culture suggests only small groups of people had intermittently utilised the cave during the Late Pleistocene and were likely relatively mobile across these island landscapes. Such a pattern is consistent with Pleistocene records from the Bismarck Archipelago (Allen and Gosden, 1996;Gosden and Robertson, 1991;Leavesley, 2006;Summerhayes et al, 2017).…”

“…Both the timing and location of the cave suggests people had begun utilising the higher limestone platform on Panaeati (~10 m asl) as lower-lying coastlines became increasingly unstable. The timing of initial use may also reflect expansion or perhaps reexpansion of people into the Massim islands which were less attractive for settlement during the LGM, as has been modelled archaeologically in the Bismarck Archipelago and Wallacea (Leavesley, 2006;O'Connor et al, 2019). Genetic evidence supports this model with the diversification of mitochondrial genomes in the Massim and the Bismarck Archipelago during and after the LGM, from 26e18 ka (Pedro et al, 2020).…”

“…A significant decrease in land size and endemic biota in the Bismarck and Solomon Archipelagoes relative to the vast mosaic landscapes of continental Sahul required innovative behavioural adaptations in resource use, settlement and long-distance seafaring (Fredericksen et al, 1993;Leavesley, 2006;Summerhayes et al, 2017). For the first 20 ka following colonisation relatively small and mobile groups of people exploited marine foods predominantly from fringing reefs and vertebrate fauna from the surrounding rainforest (Gosden and Robertson, 1991;Leavesley, 2004).…”

“…For the first 20 ka following colonisation relatively small and mobile groups of people exploited marine foods predominantly from fringing reefs and vertebrate fauna from the surrounding rainforest (Gosden and Robertson, 1991;Leavesley, 2004). Low-density settlement continued during significant sea-level drawdown from 30 ka, with reduced cave use or complete abandonment apparent at most sites during the LGM (Leavesley, 2006). Behavioural adaptations during the LGM reinforced foodways and social networks, which included the introduction of cuscus (Phalanger orientalis) as a protein resource in a depauperate terrestrial ecosystem, and the commencement of inter-island obsidian trade across distances over 200 km (Allen and Gosden, 1996;Summerhayes and Allen, 1993).…”

Historical Ecology in Kiribati: Linking Past with Present

“…Exchange and population mobility are very much part of the contemporary Pacific. But these phenomena have a long pedigree, going back to at least 20,000 years ago in Near Oceania, as evidenced by the distribution of exotic obsidian and animal translocation (Leavesley 2006). Moreover, archaeologists have distanced themselves from a dogmatic approach to studying island societies as ''isolates,'' emphasizing contact between groups instead of perceiving islands and islanders through old Western interpretive lenses where insularity was synonymous with isolation (Lape 2004, D'Arcy 2006, Rainbird 2007, but see Anderson 2004, Cox et al 2007, Fitzpatrick and Anderson 2008.…”