2. the Fortified Settlement of Macapainara, Lautem District, Timor‑Leste 15
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2 The fortified settlement of Macapainara, Lautem District, Timor‑Leste Sue O’Connor, David Bulbeck, Noel Amano Jr, Philip J. Piper, Sally Brockwell, Andrew McWilliam, Jack N. Fenner, Jack O’Connor- Veth, Rose Whitau, Tim Maloney, Michelle C. Langley, Mirani Litster, James Lankton, Bernard Gratuze, William R. Dickinson, Anthony Barham and Richard C. Willan Introduction The hilltop location known as Macapainara is an extensive fortified settlement complex near the modern coastal village of Com (Figure 2.1). Although the settlement is no longer occupied, families living in the modern harbour village of Com identify it as their ancestral homeland and visit the ancestral graves in the settlement to perform rituals. Macapainara is 175 m above sea level and approximately 2 km in from the northern coastline of Timor-Leste (Figure 2.1). In 2008, excavations were carried out within the walls in order to assess the nature and chronology of occupation. The phenomenon of fort building and its chronology in Timor-Leste have been examined elsewhere (Fenner and Bulbeck 2013; O’Connor et al. 2012). Here we focus on describing the excavated cultural assemblage. The Macapainara settlement occurs over two levels. The upper level, known as Ili Vali, references the large rocky bluff on which this part of the complex is located. Ili Vali has a narrow stone entrance way, several graves made of dressed stone and several large flat circular dressed disks made of a fine-grained sedimentary rock, identified locally by the term ‘batu Makassar’ (see McWilliam et al. 2012; Figure 2.2). The lower level, known as Macapainara, is surrounded by massive encircling stone walls to the north and south that are up to 3 m high and 2 m thick at the base. This area is a natural sediment trap and was selected for excavation as the part of the complex most likely to have a deep deposit. Macapainara has several graves, including one very large structure facing east–west identified as a double grave, containing the remains of the former ruler of Ili Vali/Macapainara and his close political ally (Figure 2.3) (McWilliam et al. 2012). This grave measures 3 m in length and c. 2.2 m in width. The base of the grave is constructed from shaped limestone blocks while the upper section is made from the flat slabs of dressed fine-grained sedimentary rock. At the time of our field visit a Chinese Blue and White tradeware bowl was placed on the surface (Figure 2.4). 14 Forts and Fortification in Wallacea Figure 2.1. Location of Macapainara. Source: CartoGIS ANU. Figure 2.2. ‘Batu Makassar’ flat circular stone at Ili Vali with upright stone next to it. Both are shaped from a fine-grained sedimentary rock. Source: Photo courtesy of Sue O’Connor. terra australis 53 2. The fortified settlement of Macapainara, Lautem District, Timor-Leste 15 Figure 2.3. Double grave at Macapainara. Source: Photo courtesy of Sue O’Connor. Figure 2.4. Chinese Blue and White tradeware. Source: Photo courtesy of Sue O’Connor. terra australis 53 16 Forts and Fortification in Wallacea Senior clansmen of the contemporary settlements of Mua Pusu and Loho Matu, in the village of Com, recall in their oral histories a time when they lived at Macapainara. During this period, they were actively engaged in inter-island exchange networks, including lucrative trade in sandalwood and human slaves. According to oral histories of the area there was a strong relationship between endemic warfare, the maintenance of fortified settlements and the enslavement of rival communities. Control over the strategic anchorages of the coast enabled them to benefit from the flow of high-value trade goods, especially muzzle-loader firearms, ammunition and gunpowder, while acting as intermediaries with hinterland groups trafficking in war captives and slaves. In the process, the coastal groups grew rich and contributed to their reputation as Orang Kai. This was a widely used term across the Malay trading world, including the neighbouring islands of the Moluccas, where the Orang Kaya represented an oligarchy of elders from small but wealthy communities who had established a ‘mercantile aristocracy’ (see Goodman 1998; McWilliam 2007; Villiers 1981:728–729). Excavation at Macapainara Macapainara was excavated over a four-week field season in July–August 2008. A wide variety of cultural materials were recovered, consistent with the oral traditions relating to the age and use of the site, including earthenware, imported tradeware and glass (comprising vessel fragments and beads). Also recovered—and less expected—were a quantity of modified flaked stone artefacts. Subsistence remains included a variety of wild and domesticated terrestrial animal species, fish, shellfish and sea urchin. Small quantities of worked shell and bone were also recovered, demonstrating that decorative items were made at the site using locally available materials. Charcoal was found throughout the excavation and was used for dating the deposit. Excavations of three 1 x 1 m squares (A, C and D) reached a depth of c. 1.6 m, when culturally sterile sediment was encountered, showing that sediment accumulated rapidly during the period the site was occupied (Figure 2.5). Excavation occurred in arbitrary spits between 5 cm and 10 cm in thickness. All excavated sediment was dry sieved through 3 mm sieves and finds were sorted at the site. Cultural material was returned to The Australian National University (ANU) for further analysis and remains in the quarantine facility at the Department of Archaeology and Natural History. Stratigraphy The Macapainara deposits consist of pale grey to light grey-brown, poorly sorted, fine to medium sandy silty gravels and medium to coarse gravelly silts. There is near horizontal bedding, with grading from coarser to finer thin beds, and infrequent thin lenses. Gravel size clasts are typically 50–150 mm sub-angular to sub-rounded limestone. Angular shale clasts up to 180–260 mm occur occasionally. Throughout the sequence, gravels are matrix supported, with most elongate and planar clasts laid sub-horizontal, and showing only slight preferred orientation and no consistent dip. terra australis 53 2. The fortified settlement of Macapainara, Lautem District, Timor-Leste 17 Figure 2.5. South section of Squares C and D, Macapainara, showing stratigraphic units. Source: Photo courtesy of Sue O’Connor. There is limited pedogenic development. A modern humic topsoil (5–7 cm Ao horizon with leaf litter) has developed, capping a 15–20 cm zone with abundant modern rootlets. The stratigraphy is consistent with the sequence ages, indicating ongoing accumulation of over 1.5 m of deposit over 300 years, with numerous artefacts and dumped settlement refuse within the coarser fabric of all layers. The fine to coarse banding probably reflects episodic in-wash, bringing poorly sorted, collapsed and reworked settlement debris and refuse deposits (and possibly some reworked colluvium) short distances into the depocentre. Walls and layout of other built structures have probably confined the locus of deposition, leading to relatively fast net accumulation. The 1.5 m deep cultural sequence sits, probably unconformably, over an undulating contact onto denser, lighter yellow-brown, clayey sandy silts. This basal unit comprises a bioturbated earlier soil land surface and is largely devoid of coarser gravel clasts. Chronology of occupation Nine accelerated mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates on charcoal were obtained from throughout the deposit at Macapainara (Table 2.1; Fenner and Bulbeck 2013). Only charcoal radiocarbon dates are included because the carbon reservoir offset for marine shell (ΔR) is unknown for this area. Bayesian analysis of the nine results indicates Macapainara was probably first occupied between AD 1695–1780, and likely postdates AD 1600 (97 per cent probability). It was not abandoned until the mid-twentieth century or later. terra australis 53 18 Forts and Fortification in Wallacea Table 2.1. Radiocarbon dates from Macapainara from Squares A, C and D. Sample Lab ID Radiocarbon date (RCYBP) Calibrated range (year AD) A2c WK24947 54 ± 30 1809 to 1837, 1845 to 1858, 1880 to 1922 A8c WK24948 8 ± 30 1806 to 1840, 1842 to 1867, 1876 to 1923 A13c WK24949 221 ± 30 1666 to 1683, 1725 to 1814 1836 to 1849, 1855 to 1879 C2c WK24950 107 ± 30 1804 to 1923 C7c WK24951 72 ± 30 1808 to 1839, 1844 to 1866, 1878 to 1923 C13c WK24952 282 ± 30 1644 to 1665, 1739 to 1801 D2c WK24953 49 ± 30 1809 to 1838, 1880 to 1922 D8c WK24954 193 ± 37 1721 to 1897, 1920 to 1932 D15c WK24955 93 ± 30 1806 to 1870, 1876 to 1924 Calibrations and Bayesian analysis were performed using the BCal calibration program (Buck et al. 1999) with the SHCal04 calibration curve (McCormac et al. 2004). Calibrated date ranges shown are the 95 per cent highest probability density regions. Source: Adapted from Fenner and Bulbeck (2013: Table 1). Methods Glass beads and sherds The majority (N = 11) of the total excavated glass beads and sherds were analysed from Macapainara, using laser-ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) (see Lankton and Gratuze 2011 for more detailed methods). Earthenware The entire Macapainara earthenware assemblage was inspected twice by David Bulbeck, and a further petrographic analysis was undertaken by William R. Dickinson. During the first inspection, a Microsoft Access database was created to record the pottery in detail. The Access ‘parent’ table, ‘vessel’, was created to record information that went beyond the individual sherd, such as cases of multiple sherds that had evidently fragmented from the same originally deposited pot, or cases where the sherd(s) assigned to a pot were diagnostic as to the pot’s original vessel form. A second Access parent table, ‘sherd’, allowed for observations at the level of the sherd or group of similar sherds, with links to supplementary observations in Access ‘child’ tables on rim, neck, shoulder, footring and basal sherds, as well as slipped sherds and decorated sherds.