Village‐specific Kula partnerships revealed by obsidian sourcing on Tubetube Island, Papua New Guinea

Abstract

The inter‐island Kula exchange network within the Massim region of eastern New Guinea is unique in its complexity, with the historically recorded configuration between the northern islands archaeologically visible between 1350 and 1500 AD (600–450 calBP). The southern islands were incorporated sometime later, and Tubetube Island formed a major hub in this southern extension of the Kula. To assess the timing and extent of Tubetube Islander involvement, excavated obsidian was used as a proxy to assess social connections with other island communities within the ambit of Kula. Forty‐nine pieces from two sites, Lagisuna and Tupwana, spanning the relevant period were chemically characterised using pXRF and determined to have been sourced almost exclusively from western and eastern Fergusson sources, respectively. We argue social connections between communities were village specific. Lagisuna had connections with the West Fergusson source region outside of the ethnographically known Kula network from 1500 to 1650 AD (450–300 calBP). Tupwana had maintained historically recorded kinship connections with important Kula communities on Duau and Dobu in the East Fergusson source region over several generations by at least 1800 AD (150 calBP), and probably intermittently from 1500 to 1650 AD. Our results support an increasingly nuanced model for the past development of Kula exchange.

Obsidians from the Archaeological Site of San Francisco Toxpan, Mexico: Supply Sources and Trade Routes

“…The concentrations of the analyzed elements, on a logarithmic scale, were applied by HCA and then dendrograms were generated (SPSS-IBM software). This program is reported for determining the provenance of other obsidian collections (Agha-Aligol et al, 2015;Shaw et al, 2021).…”

Trading valuables to foreigners in south-east New Guinea in the nineteenth century: The case of Conus armshells

“…The people living in the Massim and on the Papuan South Coast share a related cultural heritage. This is evident not only from the pottery styles they share, such as between Mailu on the Papuan South Coast and Tubetube Island in the Massim (Shaw et al 2021), but also by the comparable armshell decoration that was used in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries along much of the eastern Papuan South Coast and in the Massim. This shared heritage was recognised by the government of Papua New Guinea when a currency denomination was named after a Papuan South Coast Conus armshell (the Toea) and the drawing of a Massim armshell was placed on the two-kina banknote.…”

Landscapes of exchange in the Willaumez Peninsula, West New Britain, Papua New Guinea

“…In many areas of coastal Papua New Guinea, relatively large quantities of flaked obsidian artefacts are ubiquitous within archaeological contexts (e.g. Fredericksen 1997;Gaffney et al 2018;Golitko et al 2012;Irwin and Holdaway 1996;Mialanes et al 2016;Shaw et al 2021;Summerhayes 2009;Summerhayes et al 1998;White et al 2006). Obsidian was also distributed widely by people colonising other parts of Melanesia (e.g.…”

“…It is interesting to note, for example, that Fergusson Island obsidian does not have the same persistence through time as the New Britain sources (e.g. Golitko et al 2012;Irwin and Holdaway 1996;Mialanes et al 2016;Shaw et al 2021). Can changes in the mix of obsidian sources at sites in the Admiralty Islands (e.g.…”