Cermic Production And Inter-island Interaction. Geochemical Analysis Of Cermic Assemblages From The Western Solomon Islands

Abstract

This work constitutes a study of ceramic production and inter-island interaction during the Late/Post Lapita and Historic periods in the New Georgia Group, Western Solomon Islands. Lapita is a cultural unit which has been associated with much of the colonisation of the southwest Pacific region since 3,500 BP. Interaction and exchange between different geographic areas and islands have potentially been critical variables in the speed of colonisation throughout this region. For many years, compositional analysis of pottery has demonstrated its utility for addressing issues of interaction through the study of archaeological materials. The study of ceramic composition has allowed archaeologists to identify transfer and movement of pottery between various locations throughout the Pacific region. However, there are still many questions regarding regional patterns of ceramic production and transfer. Unlike sites in the Bismarck Archipelago and the Santa Cruz group, the Central, Eastern and Western Solomon Islands were only occupied by ceramic producing people during the Late Lapita period, suggesting that Early Lapita populations bypassed most of this region for reasons that remain unknown. The Western Solomon Islands have a unique archaeological record with intertidal Late/Post Lapita sites containing ceramics as the only material evidence. This ceramic sequence lasted up to recent times in some places, providing an ideal context in which to study ceramic production and transfer throughout a broad period of time. Previous studies have identified that Late/Post Lapita ceramic production was mainly local. However, exotic ceramics have been found in a number of sites in New Georgia, indicating ceramic transfer possibly from outside the Solomon Islands region. It has also been suggested that during the subsequent period, ceramics were all imported from the nearby island of Choiseul, where ceramics were manufactured until recent times. Although the Roviana lagoon presents significant ceramic evidence it lacks locally available clay materials, which indicates that these were imported from other territories. By identifying chemical and mineralogical attributes it is possible to distinguish between ceramics made from different combinations of clay and temper materials, and by comparing compositional groups with the local geology it is possible to differentiate between local and exotic ceramics. This allows the successful determination of potential sources of origin and production centres as well as evidence of ceramic transfer at various scales. Results from this research confirm that during the early ceramic period in the New Georgia Islands, ceramic production was present at multiple locations and that ceramics were transferred at different geographic scales involving occasional long distance interactions. During the Late period, ceramic production had a more restricted occurrence and transfer networks changed and receded to become exclusively regional.