A Structural Approach to Lapita Ceramic Design Analysis: Investigation of the Eastern Lapita Province
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A Structural Approach to Lapita Ceramic Design Analysis: Investigation of the Eastern Lapita Province by Kathleen G. LeBlanc M.A., Simon Fraser University, 2011 B.A. (Hons.), Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2009 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Archaeology Faculty of the Environment ! Kathleen G. LeBlanc 2016 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2016 Approval Name: Kathleen LeBlanc Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title: A Structural Approach to Lapita Ceramic Design Analysis: Investigation of the Eastern Lapita Province Examining Committee: Chair: Dongya Yang Professor David Burley Senior Supervisor Professor Mark Collard Supervisor Professor Ross Jamieson Internal Examiner Associate Professor Department of Archaeology Scarlett Chiu External Examiner Associate Research Fellow Institute of History and Philology Academia Sinica Date Defended/Approved: March 24, 2016 ii Abstract Methodological approaches to archaeological ceramic design analysis often rely upon the subjective identification and comparison of decorative design elements and motifs. In an effort to develop more objective methods, I propose and evaluate the utility of a new structural approach that quantifies the complexity and organization of design, predominantly through the use of microscopy techniques. The approach is compared to element/motif analysis and applied to data sets of Lapita ceramics, the ceramic series that demarcates exploration and first settlement by Austronesian speaking peoples across Oceania. I am first concerned with the Eastern Lapita Province (Fiji, Lau, Tonga and Samoa), a region that is known to share motifs, but differs in motif application and layout. Applying both motif and structural analysis, I not only identify variation in results between the two methods but distinguish and isolate regional ceramic variation. This, then, leads me to question the cohesiveness of the Eastern Lapita Province as it is previously defined. Second, I extend my analysis to incorporate ceramic samples from the Western (Vanuatu) and Southern (New Caledonia) Lapita provinces. Ostensibly, I define ancestral relationships between these regions as Oceania was explored and settled by Lapita peoples. Finally, I apply this approach to Lapita ceramic assemblages across the Tongan archipelago. High precision dating of ceramic assemblages in Tonga, combined with motif and structural analysis, gives insight into the cohesiveness of a Lapita potting community and the rapid disappearance of decorative applications within a century and a half after colonization. Difference in results provided by structural versus element/motif analysis could be due to several factors, including cultural transmission mechanisms through which potters choose designs and then place them onto a pot. These mechanisms have yet to be identified through hypotheses tested with both structural and element/motif ceramic design data employing a single data set. This study presents an important step in this direction for Lapita archaeology. Elements and motifs are no doubt important for the analysis of design, but structural application can and should be used as a complementary approach in order to understand the degree to which both aspects of design signal potter interaction. iii Keywords: Ceramic design analysis; structural design analysis; Lapita archaeology; Eastern Lapita Province; confocal microscopy iv Dedication For my family v Acknowledgements I would like to take this opportunity to thank several individuals and institutions. First I would like to thank my senior supervisor, Professor David Burley for providing intellectual contributions towards the design of this research project and for guidance related to the PhD process in general. As my MA and PhD supervisor he has introduced and guided me through the field of Lapita archaeology, for which I am grateful. Professor Mark Collard as my supervisory committee member provided insightful edits for previous drafts of this dissertation. I am indebted towards Dr. Geoff Irwin, Dr. Simon Best, Dr. Stuart Bedford, Dr. Christophe Sand and the Fiji Museum for loaning ceramic samples that were analyzed during this research study. Ian Bercovitz, Director of the Statistical Consulting Service at Simon Fraser University, provided essential guidance towards to the statistical analyses used throughout this dissertation for which I am very grateful. Dr. Heejae Lang at The Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Lab at the University of British Columbia kindly provided training for the Olympus LEXT 4000 and enabled me to use the machine for my sample analysis. I would also like to thank Dr. Scarlett Chiu for acting as external examiner and Dr. Ross Jamieson for acting as internal examiner for the defence of this dissertation and for their insightful edits to the final draft. Vienna Chichi Lam kindly assisted in figure preparations. Travis Freeland, Kody Huard, Megan Wong and multiple others in the graduate student program at Simon Fraser University provided assistance and guidance throughout the dissertation process. Special thanks goes to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for providing funding to undertake this project. I would also like to thank the Department of Archaeology at Simon Fraser University for both financial and academic support in this research endeavour. Finally, I would like to sincerely thank Norm, Brenda, Nicki, and Adam for providing emotional support every step of the way. I could not have completed this without your help; thank you! vi Table of Contents Approval.............................................................................................................................ii! Abstract............................................................................................................................. iii! Dedication..........................................................................................................................v! Acknowledgements...........................................................................................................vi! Table of Contents............................................................................................................. vii! List of Tables......................................................................................................................x! List of Figures ..................................................................................................................xv! Chapter 1.! Introduction to Lapita Ceramic Design Analysis................................... 1! 1.1.! Ceramic Design Analysis in the Context of Lapita Archaeology .............................. 6! 1.2.! Lapita Ceramic Design Methods: The Problem ....................................................... 8! 1.3.! A New Structural Approach to Lapita Ceramic Design Analysis............................ 11! 1.4.! Case Studies.......................................................................................................... 11! 1.4.1.! Case Study 1: The Eastern Lapita Province............................................. 12! 1.4.2.! Case Study 2: A View from Outside ......................................................... 14! 1.4.3.! Case Study 3: A View from Within............................................................ 15! 1.5.! Organization of Dissertation................................................................................... 16! Chapter 2.! Context for the Development of a Structural Approach to Lapita Ceramic Design Analysis ........................................................... 18! 2.1.! Lapita Archaeology as Viewed through a Ceramic Lens ....................................... 22! Purpose and Meaning of Lapita Design................................................................ 25! 2.1.1.! Ceramic Production and Exchange .......................................................... 26! 2.2.! Debate Concerning the Eastern Lapita Province................................................... 27! 2.2.1.! Conflicting Results from Element/Motif Ceramic Design Analysis............ 29! 2.3.! Ceramic Design Analysis in Cross-Cultural Perspective........................................ 35! 2.3.1.! Element/Motif Approach ........................................................................... 36! 2.3.2.! Structural Approaches .............................................................................. 38! 2.3.3.! Current Approaches to Ceramic Design Analysis..................................... 43! 2.3.4.! Conclusions Drawn from Ceramic Design Analysis.................................. 45! 2.3.5.! Lessons for Lapita Ceramic Design Analysis ........................................... 47! 2.4.! Chapter Summary.................................................................................................. 48! Chapter 3.! Theoretical Framework for Developing a Structural Approach: Cultural Transmission Theory............................................................... 50! 3.1.! Cultural Transmission in the Context of Dual Inheritance Theory.......................... 53! 3.2.! Archaeological Applications of CT Theory ............................................................. 57! 3.2.1.! Individual-level CT .................................................................................... 58! 3.2.2.! Group-level CT ......................................................................................... 59! 3.3.! Research