Population and prehistory : the late phase on Aneityum
Date
1974
Authors
McArthur, Norma
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Abstract
The documentary evidence available about Aneityum -
the southernmost island of the New Hebrides - and its people
soon after continuing European contact provides a unique
opportunity for an exploration of the likely relationships
between archaeological evidence and the populations which
created that evidence. This case study examines the documentary
and archaeological records for the Aneityumese in the late
phase of their prehistory; and the demographic record - such
as it is - for the ensuing half-century highlights the problems
of inference which might be encountered in attempts to translate
an inanimate archaeological record into people long dead. As the
title suggests, the emphasis is on population, partly because
the archaeological evidence is limited (though no more so than
on many islands of the Pacific), partly because this is one of
the few well-attested examples of a diminishing population.
The probable causes of its diminution are discussed, as are its
archaeological implications. The concluding chapter reflects
more broadly on the difficulties inherent in the interpretation
of both archaeological and some historical evidence in terms of
populations, and outlines the kind of procedure that must be
followed if the estimation of population is to be an objective
of an archaeological investigation.
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