Free journal ISSN (Print) 1179-4704 - ISSN (Online) 1179-4712 This journal is no longer being updated because: the publisher no longer provides RSS feeds
Authors:Robyn T. Kramer, Karen Greig, Matthew Campbell, Patricia Pillay, Melinda Allen, Charlotte King, Hallie Buckley, Clément Bataille, Beatrice Hudson, Stuart Hawkins, David Barr, Malcolm Reid, Claudine Stirling, Lisa Matisoo-Smith, Rebecca Kinaston Abstract: This multidisciplinary study analyzes kurī skeletal remains from the Northern Runway Development (NRD) archaeological site (AD 1400-1800) to develop an “osteo-history” and help us better understand 1) human-dog interactions; 2) the role kurī played in early Māori societies; and 3) to potentially use kurī as a proxy for human behavior at the site. We combine dental analysis with stable isotope analyses of bone and tooth dentine to investigate the kurī diet. Additionally, we use strontium isotope and mitogenomic analyses to explore the migration histories of the kurī and, by proxy, the humans they lived among at the NRD site during the late pre-contact period in Aotearoa. Through our exploratory investigation of the kurī skeletal remains, we found evidence of extensive interaction spheres with nearby and potentially distant communities. Furthermore, the kurī were healthy, demonstrated minimal tooth wear, and they subsisted heavily on a protein-rich, marine diet. This study demonstrates that variability is present in the origins, diet, health, and treatment of kurī at a single locality. Because of this, we believe it is important to include kurī in future archaeological investigations in Aotearoa to help build our foundational understanding of variability across sites and regions. PubDate: 2022-08-02
Authors:Rebecca Phillipps, Simon J Holdaway, Matthew Barrett, Stacey Middleton, Joshua Emmitt Abstract: Many of the popular models of pre-European MÄori settlement rely on the quantification of stone artefact abundance when made from different raw materials. Relative proportions of these materials provide the basis for inferences about mobility, trade and exchange, and social interactions. However, a number of methods for calculating artefact abundance exist with these reflecting different aspects of artefact completeness, fragmentation, and artefact assemblage formation. Using examples of artefact assemblages made from basalt, chert, and obsidian, from two sites in Te Ika-a-MÄui, Aotearoa (North Island, New Zealand), different methods of calculating raw material proportions are explored including those based on frequency, size, and the technology of flake production. Measures of stone artefact assemblage completeness are then considered using artefact size distributions and comparisons with the Weibull and fractal power law distributions. We emphasise the differing goals of abundance measure calculations and the assumptions their uses entail. PubDate: 2022-05-12
Authors:Hilary Howes Abstract: The discipline of ethnology, now more commonly known as social and cultural anthropology, developed from a variety of research fields. Although the establishment of ‘four-field anthropology’ is generally attributed to Franz Boas in 1904, it was already common in the second half of the nineteenth century for traveller-naturalists, missionaries and colonial authorities who were actively involved in ethnology to engage in other disciplines at the same time, notably physical anthropology, archaeology and linguistics. Often their findings in one discipline coloured their conclusions in another; for example, the belief that a particular population or ‘race’ was ‘primitive’ on account of physical or cultural characteristics could influence which theories about the prehistory of that population or ‘race’ were considered plausible and which were dismissed as impossible. This paper examines three German-speaking researchers – Jan Kubary, Otto Finsch, and Paul Hambruch – who, at different points in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, engaged with the prehistory of Nan Madol, a monumental stone complex and ceremonial centre of eastern Micronesia, and reached quite different conclusions. These three case studies demonstrate how closely the history of ethnology in the Pacific is intertwined with the histories of archaeology and physical anthropology. PubDate: 2022-03-16
Authors:Stuart Bedford, Matthew Spriggs, James Flexner, Anna Naupa Abstract: Here we salute the exceptional contributions of five ni-Vanuatu, who passed away over the last year, to the archaeological understanding of Vanuatu and the wider Pacific over a 50-year period. They were all at one time members of the Vanuatu Cultural Centre’s unique network of Filwokas (fieldworkers) who are involved in protecting, promoting and preserving the country’s cultural heritage. Their careers spanned the pre and post-Independence (1980) period when archaeological research itself was transformed from a largely colonially controlled exercise to being fully locally coordinated and regulated with an emphasis on grassroots awareness. PubDate: 2022-03-06
Authors:Peter Petchey, Hallie Buckley, Neville Ritchie, Charlotte King First page: 79 Abstract: In 1983 the grave of an unknown man was excavated in the Cromwell Gorge, Otago, New Zealand, as part of the archaeological programme of the Clutha Valley Development Project. This project culminated in the construction of the Clyde Dam, a large hydro-electric dam across the Clutha River. At the time of the excavation it was noted that the grave had been disturbed, and the skeleton was sent to the Anatomy Department at the University of Otago for study. A short report was produced, identifying the individual as a tall European male. Because no next of kin could be determined, the skeletal remains stayed in the Anatomy Department. Advances in bioarchaeological and archaeological methodology mean that a more detailed and nuanced study of this individual is now possible, and this research is presented in this paper and its companion (Buckley et al. this issue). In this paper, the life, death and burial, along with the circumstances and details of the grave disturbance are discussed. The material culture and manner of burial are typical of the nineteenth century goldfields frontier context, while the disturbance of the grave leads to the conclusion that this was a deliberate act of grave robbing, possibly to search the dead man’s pockets for gold. There are no known records of such crime on the goldfields, but the archaeological evidence is unequivocal, shedding light on a previously unsuspected darker side of goldfields life. PubDate: 2022-01-18
Authors:Hallie Buckley, Peter Petchey, Neville Ritchie, Rebecca Kinnaston, Charlotte King, Jonny Geber, Elizabeth Matisoo-Smith, Annie Marie Snoddy, Chris Stantis, Ellen Kendall, Geoff Nowell, Darren Grocke Pages: 92 - 109 Abstract: The New Zealand goldrushes of the mid nineteenth century saw an influx of, mostly, men surging into the Otago region in search of riches. Times were tough and the men had to cope with harsh weather and dangerous work practices to survive. Many lost their lives and most of these men remain anonymous. This paper presents a detailed life-course case study of a middle-aged man who lived, and died, in this biosocial landscape. The integration of osteological, chemical and molecular data reveals a life of hardship in his early years, improved nutrition from adolescence, and poor oral health as an adult. He also experienced injury as an adult and likely periodic nutritional deficiency in the last few years of his life. Morphological and molecular analyses attest to this man being of European ancestry, despite local stories of him being a ‘black man’ who drowned. His grave was liminal, located far from any formal cemetery, and the grave and been disturbed, possibly due to looting. While his identity remains unknown, his earthly remains encapsulate a typical early gold diggers life with experiences of poor beginnings and an ignoble, often anonymous end. PubDate: 2022-01-26
Free journal
