Long-distance connections in Vanuatu: New obsidian characterisations for the Maku site, Aore Island
Date
2014
Authors
Galipaud, Jean-Christophe
Reepmeyer, Christian
Torrence, Robin
Kelloway, Sarah
White, Peter
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Sydney University Press
Abstract
A geochemical study using pXRF and LA-ICP-MS to characterise artefacts from sites dating to the initial phase of colonisation on Aore and Malo islands, Vanuatu, has confirmed the dominance of obsidian from the distant Kutau/Bao source in West New Britain, with a smaller group from local outcrops in the Banks Islands, Vanuatu. Three flakes from the Umleang/Umrei source in the Admiralty Islands have also been identified in later levels. Distance fall-off analysis of metric and technological attributes suggests that during the early phase of human colonisation of Remote Oceania, obsidian circulated within a series of separate, loosely connected social spheres.
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Archaeology in Oceania
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Journal article
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2037-12-31