Search

Excavation of the 3,000-year-old Lapita cemetery of Teouma (Efate, Central Vanuatu) has allowed the first detailed investigation of mortuary practices of these initial colonizers of the Vanuatu archipelago. Focusing on one component of funerary practice: the adult corpse and bone treatment of 25 mortuary contexts recovered at the site during excavations in 2004 and 2005, the present study reveals that beyond a complex procedure common for all the deceased, there is marked diversity of funerary behavior. Utilizing current knowledge and practice regarding the method of field anthropology or archaeothanatology, including the chronology of joint disarticulation sequences, we were able to establish the following practices: treatment of corpses by inhumation in a container—pit or wrappers—not immediately filled with sediment, followed by exhumation of the skull and other bones of the upper part of the skeleton, and secondary deposition of bones, including the cranium. The identified variations reflect particular attitudes toward human remains which might be connected to the social position of the deceased and/or individual choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human colonization of Near Oceania has an antiquity of over 40,000 years but colonization of Remote Oceania, including Vanuatu, did not begin until around 3200-3100 BP. Just before this time a distinctive form of dentate-stamped pottery known as the Lapita style appeared in the Bismarck Archipelago northeast of the island of New Guinea. The only direct evidence of health in these Remote Oceanic settlers is their skeletal remains, but until recently only small samples of late Lapita skeletons have been found. Here we report the preliminary findings on some aspects of health of the first large sample (36 individuals) of early Lapita-associated skeletons from Teouma, Vanuatu, dated to ca. 3100-3000 BP. Dental health, trauma and degeneration of joints show they were well adapted to the rigors of island life and lived a physically active life while coping with a significant disease burden. The discovery of skeletal remains of pioneer settlers on islands is extremely rare. The Teouma sample provides insights into the possible biological cost of such a colonization and is applicable to other contexts where human migration into virgin landscapes may have demanded biological adaptation to ensure success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]