Abstract
This research is concerned with the earliest Lapita populations of the western Pacific and those that immediately follow, within the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. Driven by research questioning traditional interpretations of the emergence of the Lapita Cultural Complex, it aims to clarify the chronology of populations marked by the presence of Lapita pottery in the Bismarck Archipelago of the Early and Middle Periods, investigate the cultural backgrounds of the earliest Lapita populations, examine the social and cultural transformations these populations underwent from the Early to the Middle Periods, clarify the nature of the extensive social networks which linked dispersed Lapita settlements together, and finally, examine the social and cultural mechanisms behind the establishment and maintenance of such connections over space and time.
Through an in-depth analysis of the form and decoration, and separately decorative motifs, of Lapita pottery assemblages from four sites from around the Bismarck Archipelago, including Tamuarawai (EQS) and Talepakemalai (ECA) of the St. Matthias Group, Kamgot (ERA) in the Anir Island Group, and Adwe (FOH) of the Arawe Islands of western New Britain, in concert with newly created radiocarbon chronologies, this study has arrived at the following important conclusions.
First, radiocarbon chronologies support the advent of Lapita during the Early Period in the Bismarck Archipelago to have occurred between ca. 3360-3150 cal BP, with the transition to the Middle Period dating to between ca. 3100-2750 cal BP.
Second, results of the analysis of form, decoration and decorative motifs suggest that the emergence of the Lapita Cultural Complex during the Early Period, as has been historically argued, was marked by the appearance of a distinct and complex form of pottery in Lapita settlements with unique characteristics that differed from those of the later Middle Period. The presence of this pottery within the Lapita sites of the Early Period is seen as indicative of a broadly similar culture shared between these populations.
Finally, results of the analysis of decorative motifs suggest, as others have done in the past, that interactions of the Early Period largely resulted from the direct movements of populations during and after colonisation. Comparison of the results of pottery analyses against data derived from the study of obsidian suggests these movements occurred within a series of defined “paths” which linked settlements together and facilitated the movements peoples and materials essential for the survival of fledgling communities. The decorative motif analyses also provide support for important changes to have occurred in the Middle Period, which saw populations become more self-reliant with interactions generally occurring within localised sub-systems of exchange.