Mapping Local Perspectives in the Historical Archaeology of Vanuatu Mission Landscapes

dc.contributor.authorFlexner, James L.
dc.date.accessioned2016-12-15T23:55:22Z
dc.date.available2016-12-15T23:55:22Z
dc.date.issued2014
dc.description.abstractThe concept of place is a powerful theoretical tool in the social sciences and humanities, which can be especially useful in archaeological work that involves community-based collaboration. Using place as a starting point, archaeologists can beneficially use their skills to answer questions that are of relevance to the local communities with which we work while also advancing knowledge about the past. For historical archaeology, this often involves engaging in dialogue across multiple lines of evidence, including material remains from the past, written documents, and local oral traditions. Recent fieldwork on the islands of Erromango and Tanna, Vanuatu, exploring early landscapes relating to Christian conversion uses this kind of approach. A major part of preliminary survey work involves mapping features in the mission sites and surrounding areas. Archaeological cartographic techniques help build a sense of place that provides engaging research for a collaborative environment with local Melanesian communities, while also producing new perspectives on colonialism in the South Pacific. This approach is not limited to the recent past, being applicable to any collaborative, community-based archaeological research that incorporates the use of oral traditions.
dc.identifier.issn0066-8435 (Print)
dc.identifier.issn1535-8283 (E-ISSN)
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10125/42768
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherUniversity of Hawai'i Press (Honolulu)
dc.relation.ispartofseriesVolume 53
dc.relation.ispartofseriesNumber 1
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/
dc.subjectMelanesia
dc.subjecthistorical archaeology
dc.subjectVanuatu
dc.subjectmissions
dc.subjectlandscape archaeology
dc.subjectmapping
dc.subjectoral traditions
dc.subjectcommunity archaeology
dc.titleMapping Local Perspectives in the Historical Archaeology of Vanuatu Mission Landscapes
dc.typeArticle
dc.type.dcmiText

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
03-AP 53.1_flexner_2-28.pdf
Size:
5.29 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format