Landscape Archaeology in West New Britain

Dr. Robin Torrence

The aim of this long term archaeological research is to understand the history of settlement, subsistence, and trade in the Willaumez Peninsula beginning from earliest colonisation, ca 35,000 years ago up to the recent past.

Faces of the ancestors? This unique tatooed face depicted in 3 dimensions on a Lapita pottery sherd was recently found on Boduna Island, PNG

Layers into the remote past. Recent quarrying has revealed a series of interbedded soils bearing obsidian artefacts and layers of volcanic ash dating back into the Pleistocene period.

Excavations in progress at a deeply stratified site in West New Britain.

A layer cake of history. Obsidian tools and occasionally pottery are found in the dark layers (soils) which have been buried by volcanic ashes (light layers). This section dates back to about 6,000 years ago.

Rescue archaeology in action in West New Britain. Trenching reveals buried soils and artefacts

The inter-disciplinary project is directed by Dr. Robin Torrence from the Australian Museum. A large international team of specialists in geomorphology, palaeobotany, geology, and physics from universities in Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea as well as local and overseas volunteers are important collaborators. Funding has been obtained from the Australian Research Council, Earthwatch Institute, Papua New Guinea Biological Foundation, Australia and Pacific Foundation, AINSE, Australian Museum and New Britain Palm Oil Ltd. Initial work between 1992 - 1997 focused on Garua Island, but since 1999 the fieldwork has been centred on the southern end of the peninsula in a region dominated by recent development for oil palm plantations. An additional aim of the most recent work has been to identify sites impacted by development and where possible to rescue archaeological information.

The West New Britain project has introduced a new methodology into Pacific archaeology. Archaeologists usually concentrate on ‘sites’, that is, specific locations, generally assumed to be villages, where concentrations of artefacts are found. In contrast, our work looks at entire landscapes in an attempt to study a wider sample of human behaviour. The work has involved the excavation of many small test pits distributed over large areas. This is an important strategy because the region has been blanketed repeatedly in the past by thick deposits of volcanic ash which have buried and preserved material in situ. Sites dating to only 6,000 years ago are usually buried by at least 1.5 m of deposit so surface survey is not an effective strategy for identifying areas which people used in different ways and at different times.

The research has provided much new information about the early periods of settlement in the region, which were very poorly studied previously. The finding of obsidian stone artefacts buried under Pleistocene volcanic tephras (ashes) at the FABM site may signal the initial colonisation of New Britain. Between about 10,000 and 3,600 years ago the local inhabitants appear to have moved frequently, probably collecting much of their food and/or planting small gardens which they visited from time to time. At the same time the occurrence of large and complex obsidian artefacts that were probably manufactured by highly skilled stone workers suggest that some people held high positions of influence and possibly power. This society was totally destroyed by a major volcanic eruption and the area was abandoned for about 200 years.

After about 3,400 years ago highly decorated Lapita pottery was introduced to the region. Through time the pottery users gradually moved away from beach locations and further inland. After several hundred years they eventually gave up pottery. They also had to cope with major volcanic eruptions at 1,700, 1,400 and 1,000 years ago by moving temporarily to areas less affected by the thick falls of ash. These disastrous events also disrupted long established trading patterns.

Overall the history that we are slowly unravelling appears to be characterised by persistence in the face of periodic volcanic disasters combined with a gradual increase in the intensity of subsistence and a trend toward a more sedentary way of life. Detailed studies of artefacts and ecofacts now in progress should provide a more detailed picture of how people perceived and used the landscape in the Willaumez Peninsula.

More information about the West New Britain archaeological research can be found in the ARC final report for 1996 - 1998, the 1999, 2000, and 2001 illustrated field reports, and the list of reports and publications.

Landscape Archaeology in West New Britain

Dr. Robin Torrence

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