The Prehistory of Santo

in BOUCHET P., LE GUYADER H. & PASCAL O. (Eds), The Natural History of Santo. MNHN, Paris; IRD, Marseille; PNI, Paris. 572 p. (Patrimoines naturels; 70). THE PREHISTORY OF SANTO Jean-Christophe Galipaud … The first Oceanians between islands and thank to seafaring techniques At present, Archaeology considers that discovery of which allowed crossing at sight. There is a strong the Pacific region by Man was performed through correlation between the distribution of the Papuan two main distinct processes. The first one took languages and this very ancient colonisation. place during the Pleistocene and had concerned the Australian continent, New Guinea and the close The marine gap between the Santa Cruz Islands archipelagos joined up by the past in a single conti- and the smaller archipelagos of Vanuatu and further nental landmass called Sahul. The second one began east to the Fiji Islands was only crossed about 3 200 around the fourth millennium BP and ended with the years ago, when nautical knowledge enabled deep- discovery of the Pacific Islands followed by human sea navigation. This natural border in the Santa settlement. The first sea crossing from South East Cruz Islands divides Near Oceania, inhabited for at Asia to Sahul took place 80 000 years ago, maybe least 30 000 years from Remote Oceania (Fig. 538). earlier. Human presence is attested 40 000 years ago in New Guinea, and 10 000 years later in the The discovery of Remote Oceania archipelagos, Bismarck Archipelago islands, east of New Guinea. as far as Samoa and Tonga,was performed by very This first settlement, which developed slowly, has small mobile groups ultimately from Southeast allowed man to reach the Solomon Islands up to Asia who appeared in the Bismarck Archipelago Guadalcanal, thank to past existing natural bridges islands about 3 500 years ago and quickly spread 469 ... Man and Nature ....... 150 E 160 E170 E Bougainville 3400 BP PAPUA NEW-GUINEA Choiseul SOLOMON ISL. Santa Isabel New-Georgia Malaita 10 S Guadalcanal San Cristobal SANTA CRUZ 10 S 3200 BP Torres C I F I C O P A C E A N Banks VANUATU Ambae Santo Maewo Pentecôte Malakula Ambrym Epi Paama 2900 BP Emae Tongoa FIDJI 20 S Efate Vanua Levu Erromango Viti Levu LOYALTY ISL.Tanna Aniwa AUSTRALIA Futuna NEW-CALEDONIA Ouvéa Lifou Aneityum Tropique of C Maré apricorne 20 S 0 250 km 150 E 160 E3000 BP 170 E Figure 538: The second step of human diaspora into the Pacific: the discovery of Remote Oceania. Dates shown are mean accepted values for the settlement of each archipelago. (Carte J.-C. Galipaud - IRD). towards the South and the East reaching Samoa some variety of taro or yam. The animals imported and Tonga 3 000 years ago. were the Pacific rat (Rattus exulans), the chicken (the Gallus galus domestic form) and maybe the Their presence is noticed in the Santa Cruz Islands dog (the domestic form of Canis lupus); the pig and in the North of Vanuatu 3 200 years ago and we (the domestic form of Sus scrofa) is absent from the believe that this area has been an advanced base for very early settlements associated with decorated their later movements. The distinctive pottery they Lapita pottery, but becomes, after some centuries, left, called Lapita, marks out their peregrination. an essential part of the fauna in archaeological sites. The Austronesian languages are the only spoken The large spiny rat (Rattus praetor) is very rare in languages in Remote Oceania and are logically asso- Lapita settlements beyond the Santa Cruz. ciated with the Lapita diaspora (Fig. 539). Nevertheless, these first seafarers did not neglect … The discovery of Santo the resources of large islands like Santo where The settlement of the Vanuatu islands follows they settled after few centuries. They preferred the settlement process of other Remote Oceania coastal environments such as the Shokraon site in islands. In Vanuatu, Lapita sailors favoured the Luganville, one of the few well-preserved sites of small offshore coral islands of South Santo and this period in Santo. At the beginning of our era North Malakula as well as Efate and Erromango they left the coast to move inside the island. (Fig. 540). They locally produced a very character- istic and richly decorated pottery, the Lapita pottery. From Man arrival, 3 200 years ago, until the 350 BP The North Vanuatu islands offered many resources first contacts with the European world, these popu- to these discoverers and were the melting pot where lations had modeled Santo, adapting their society they became acclimatised to their new world. to the specificities of a diversified and changing environment. These sailors, being used to marine environment, first preferred coral island’s beaches, which offered … Sailors of the New World marine resources and havens for canoes. They Many Lapita sites revealing the beginning of human exploited local resources, but quickly introduced colonization of the islands are found in Vanuatu and plants and animals for a more lasting installation. they are especially numerous in Malo, Aore, and in Among transported plants were probably many trees the South of Santo. Dozens of sites have been located with edible nuts, fruit trees including banana, and along the north and east coast of Malo and around ...470 ....... The Natural History of Santo hoto J.-C. Galipaud P Figure 539: Lapita pottery fragment from the Makué archaeological site in Aore Island (North Vanuatu). Aore. All these sites are now buried under approxi- After few centuries, the Lapita pottery disappears mately one meter of sediment on uplifted terraces while these sailors remain and settle down in most that are several meters above today’s seashore. Such of the islands. During this founding period, they situation is due to uprising episodes that affected remain close to the sea, a doubtless indication of these islands during the last three millennia. a widely marine economy and of a high mobility. At the beginning of the Christian Era, most of the The site of Makué, North of Aore, in front of shore sites are deserted. Luganville is a well-kept testimony of the initial populating period. Discovered then excavated between 2002 N Mavea Mavea and 2006, it entailed several Santo successive settlements, which Shokraon Makue Tutuba took place at the very begin- Rattard Tutuba2 Aore Tutuba1 SDA Naone ning of the human installa- Avunatari Malopass Atanoasao Malo tion in the island. The oldest Avunambulu layers give evidence of a sea- Alowaru sonal camp from sailors from Va o the Bismarck Archipelago, Atchin 2 000 km further north. Many Santo Malua Wala obsidian flakes, which have Malakula Uripiv been traced successfully to the region of Talasea in New- Britain attest of the origin of Malakula these first discoverers of the Nguna Vanuatu shores. The large Moso amount of marine turtle and Emau shells remains, of large size, Lelepa give evidence of the marine Efate Retoka Efate economy of these first Vanuatu inhabitants. The successive levels of occupation (Fig. 541) Teouma Erueti suggest more a landing place Ponamla that was used during a period Erromango not exceeding a few hundreds years, rather than a coastal vil- lage occupied for many centuries. The varying decorative Erromango patterns of the Lapita pottery in the layers also suggest multi- Ifo ple origins for these first inhabitants (Fig. 541). Figure 540: Location of the main Lapita sites in Vanuatu. (Carte L. Billaut - IRD). 471 ... Man and Nature ....... hoto J.-C. Galipaud P Figure 541: The three Lapita layers of the Makué site from Aore Island (zones one to three). Few evidences of this founding settlement were hoto J.-C. Galipaud discovered on the big island of Santo whereas all P the smaller offshore islands close to the south and Figure 542: The Shokraon late Lapita site from Santo Island. east Santo coast were peopled 3 000 years ago. This large island must have been nevertheless visited play in the island build up. Off this east coast and and its resources used. For example, we find in the off the south one, many coral islands stretch. Lapita site of Makué, in the North of Aore, rocks originating from Santo. The centre of the island and the foothills of the vol- canic massifs block clouds brought by trade winds and The site of Shokraon (Fig. 542), in the suburbs of are well watered supporting a tropical rain forest while Luganville, is the only site known to have some the much drier, west coast, shelters a vegetation scat- traces of the Lapita period in Santo. The Lapita tered by savannahs excepted in the alluvial valleys. pottery in the site is however very rare and the main archaeological finding at Shokraon is a sim- The two largest rivers, Apuna and Ora (or the ple shape undecorated pottery, which is associated Jordan) spring up in the wet centre of the island and with numerous pig remains. These remains charac- run into Big Bay. During flood season, their rate of terise the period, following the island discovery by flow and stream speed are so high that a dense sys- Lapita, a period during which the colonists begin tem of alluviums and plant waste reaches a depth of to settle down on the island. more than 800 m in the bay. All along the centuries these rivers built up a wide alluvial plain, which is The sailors and potters of the Lapita period had some very fertile and convenient for agriculture but may impact on the marine and land resources of these be flooded both by fresh and sea-water during tropi- islands in spite of their occasional presence. The intro- cal gales.

Load more