Long-distance connections in Vanuatu: New obsidian characterisations for the Makué site, Aore Island

Jean Christophe Galipaud, Christian Reepmeyer*, Robin Torrence, Sarah Kelloway, Peter White

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    22 Citations (Scopus)

    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.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)110-116
    Number of pages7
    JournalArchaeology in Oceania
    Volume49
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jul 2014

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