Archaeology of the Pacific Islanders

This course is designed to provide students with a strong background in the archaeological history of Oceania, a region with 50,000 years of human chronology within the classical divisions of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. We will discuss the case of Australia only in relation with the Pleistocene settlement of Sahul continent. Likewise, insular Southeast Asia will be considered solely through the Austronesian migrations from which originated the prehistoric Pacific cultures. We will tackle a wide range of anthropological questions with a holistic approach, using concepts from archaeology, linguistics, comparative ethnography, physical anthropology and biology. A significant portion of the course will be dedicated to the examination of the timing and process of prehistoric colonization in Oceanic islands and archipelagoes, using examples from the Lapita culture in the West Pacific as well as Polynesian cultures in the East. Regional chronocultural sequences will also be analyzed in detail. Finally, we will round out the course by addressing a variety of themes including the evolution of socio-political complexity, religious architecture, funerary practices, settlement patterns, subsistence practices, human-ecosystem interactions within island environments, and material culture and technology. Special topics including traditional oceanic navigation will also be presented throughout the semester. Topics discussed through presentations in tutorials will complete the lecture program.