Presented by James L. Flexner
When considering the state of archaeology in the present, it’s easy to imagine that everything has been ‘dug to death’ considering how much fieldwork has been done over the past century or more. This is far from the case in the Pacific region, where many islands have yet to see even limited excavations. In this talk I reflect on four years of archaeological fieldwork among the small islands of southern Vanuatu. This collaborative project brought together archaeologists from research institutions in Australia, France, and Vanuatu. Starting from a position of relatively little information, particularly regarding the ‘Polynesian Outliers’ of Futuna and Aniwa, we were able to piece together relatively comprehensive histories of Islander resource use, settlement patterns, and regional interactions for this area over the last 3000 years. I will also consider briefly the potential for future research in the area, as the archaeology of southern Vanuatu still has plenty of secrets to reveal.
This project was a collaboration with Stuart Bedford (Australian National University), Frederique Valentin (Centre National de Récherche Scientifique France), and Richard Shing and Takaronga Kuautonga (Vanuatu Cultural Centre).
About the presenter: James L. Flexner is a lecturer in historical archaeology and heritage at the University of Sydney. His main research interests are in landscape archaeology and historical archaeology, with a geographic focus on Oceania. Recently, he is also exploring the use of early ethnographic collections in archaeological analysis. A significant component of his research is close collaboration with local communities, as well as broader public outreach efforts to make archaeology accessible to many audiences. His doctoral research at UC Berkeley was a study of the landscapes of the 19th century leprosarium at Kalawao, Moloka'i in the Hawaiian Islands. Since then, he has focused his research efforts on fieldwork projects in Vanuatu. His major research project from 2011-2015 was an analysis of mission sites and surrounding Melanesian landscapes during the era of early Christian contacts on the islands of Erromango and Tanna.
This seminar is a part of 'Archaeology in Society' a series of talks hosted on the Flinders University Archaeology Department Collaborate to celebrate National Archaeology Week. 'Archaeology in Society' aims to feature public outreach in archaeology, ways archaeology is communicated to the public, innovative new areas of archaeology, how archaeology is meeting the future challenges and applicable ways our field works with the community. If you are a Flinders student or staff member, you can gain access to this talk through the FLO page - no need to grab a ticket to get a joining link. If you are a member of the general public, register at the link below to get a joining link that will allow you to join us. We look forward to seeing you there!
When: 12:30pm (Adelaide time / ACST), Thursday 21 May 2020
Where: online
Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/naw-recent-advances-in-the-archaeology-of-southern-vanuatu-tickets-105047784752?aff=ebdssbeac