Archaeology of Oceania: Australia and the Pacific Islands

This book is a state–of–the–art introduction to the archaeology of Oceania. It is the first such text to provide integrated treatment of the archaeologies of Australia and the Pacific Islands, enabling readers to form a coherent overview of cultural developments across the region as a whole. The book brings together twenty–six of the region s leading scholars to address a wide range of questions, ranging from the deep pulses of the longue durée to contemporary postcolonial realpolitik. All the contributions discuss current theoretical perspectives and take account of the most recent research data. This volume is essential reading for all those studying the Australasian and Pacific region.

Series Editors Preface.

List of Figures.

List of Tables.

Notes on Contributors.

Acknowledgments.

1. Archaeology in Oceania: Themes and Issues. (Ian Lilley).

Part I: Australia.

2. Revisiting the Past: Changing Interpretations of Pleistocene Settlement Subsistence and Demography in Northern Australia. (Sue O Connor and Peter Veth).

3. Archaeology and the Dreaming: Towards an Archaeology of Ontology. (Bruno David).

4. Blunt and to the Point: Changing Technological Strategies in Holocene Australia. (Peter Hiscock).

5. Rock Art and Social Identity: A Comparison of Holocene Graphic Systems in Arid and Fertile Environments. (Jo McDonald and Peter Veth).

6. Closing the Distance: Interpreting Cross–cultural Engagements through Indigenous Rock Art. (Anne Clarke and Ursula Frederick).

Part II: The Pacific.

7. Archaeology in Melanesia: A Case Study from the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. (Richard Walter and Peter Sheppard).

8. Envisaging Early Agriculture in the Highlands of New Guinea. (Tim Denham).

9. Late Pleistocene Complexities in the Bismarck Archipelago. (Matthew Leavesley).

10. Life Before Lapita: New Developments in Melanesia s Long–term History. (Christina Pavlides).

11. The First Millennium BC in Remote Oceania: An Alternative Perspective on Lapita. (Jean–Christophe Galipaud).

12. Ethnoarchaeology in Polynesia. (Eric Conte).

13. The Formation of Hawaiian Territories: (Thegn Ladefoged and Michael Graves).

14. Ritual and Domestic Architecture, Sacred Places, and Images: Archaeology in the Marquesas Archipelago, French Polynesia. (Sidsel Millerstrom).

15. The Archaeology of the Conical Clan in Micronesia. (Paul Rainbird).

Part III: Politics.

16. What is Archaeology for in the Pacific? History and Politics in New Caledonia. (Christophe Sand, Jacques Bole and André Ouetcho).

17. Levuka, Fiji: A Case Study in Pacific Islands Heritage Management. (Anita Smith).

18. Last Words:.

A Few Words about Archaeology in French Polynesia. (Mickaelle–Hinanui Cauchois).

Shaking the Pillars. (Mark Dugay–Grist).

What is the Future of Our Past? Papua New Guineans and Cultural Heritage. (Herman Mandui).

Index

Ian Lilley is Reader in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies at the University of Queensland. He is a past President of the Australian Archaeological Association. Lilley currently conducts field research in Torres Strait and New Caledonia, and his recent publications include Le Pacifique de 5000 à 2000 BP: Suppléments à l histoire d une colonisation (with Jean–Christophe Galipaud, 1999), Native Title and the Transformation of Archaeology in the Postcolonial World (2000), and Histories of Old Ages: Essays in Honour of Rhys Jones (with Atholl Anderson and Sue O Connor, 2001).

"50,000 years of Australian and Pacific archaeology masterfully surveyed by a new generation of scholars – this is a ′must have′ for every archaeologist working in the region."
Matthew Spriggs, Australian National University

"This new collection usefully focuses attention on recent developments in the archaeology of Australia and the Pacific and includes particularly thoughtful perspectives on the politics of archaeology in the region."
Tim Murray, La Trobe University

"Ian Lilley′s edited volume is an interesting contribution to the archaeology of this vast region stretching from Western Australia to highland New Guinea, further to the Marquesas and the small islands of Micronesia. The interesting quality dervies in large part from many chapters′ uncommon approach to a regional survey text. In these chapters you will not always find the typical summary of current research in an area or time period with the author′s latest contribution attached to the end. Instead, many of the authors present research that moves in a very different direction from past work." Ethan E. Cochrane, University College London, Reviews in Australian Studies

"This very useful up–to–date collection will be an effective teaching asset in a variety of area courses on Oceania." Choice

"This book certainly provides a good introduction to current research and issues in the region Key research questions are illuminated by current research with a clear, accessible style."
Australian Archaeology