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Cultural landscapes on Garua Island, Papua New Guinea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Robin Torrence
Robin Torrence*
Affiliation:
Division of Anthropology, Australian Museum, 6 College Street, Sydney NSW 2010, Australia. [email protected]
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Extract

Important new insights about long-term changes in human behaviour are gained when cultural landscapes rather than focal points or ‘sites’ are studied. The abundance of obsidian artefacts preserved on easily recognized, well-defined and short-lived ground surfaces makes Garua Island an excellent setting for monitoring the changing patterns of human behaviour through time and within cultural landscapes. The results raise questions about traditional interpretations of settlement and land use in Near Oceania, particularly during the time of Lapita pottery.

Keywords

Pacific archaeologylandscape archaeologyLapita potteryobsidianPapua New Guinea
Type
Papers
Information
Antiquity , Volume 76 , Issue 293 , September 2002 , pp. 766 - 776
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2002

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