Historic Maps and Archaeology as a Means of Understanding Late Precolonial Settlement in the Banda Islands, Indonesia

Abstract

Archaeological settlement data from the late precolonial Banda Islands of Indonesia is combined with information gathered from historic maps to investigate the process of cross-cultural interaction. In this case, the two data sets are biased and incomplete, but when combined can illuminate aspects of the late precolonial period in Banda that are otherwise hidden. The study uses European drawn maps dating from the late sixteenth to the early eighteenth centuries, and archaeological data from four sites on the islands of Banda Naira, Banda Besar, and Pulau Ay dating from A.D. 500-1700. Combined, the two sets of data suggest that European observers left certain settlements off of maps because of either lack of access or knowledge, or as deliberate means of deemphasizing Bandanese resistance to European colonial efforts. They also suggest that Europeans interacted primarily with Muslim-oriented settlements in Banda. KEYWORDS: Banda Islands, Maluku, colonialism, historical archaeology, maps, settlement.