{"id":6871,"date":"2025-04-24T04:58:49","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T04:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/?page_id=6871"},"modified":"2025-04-24T13:27:22","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T13:27:22","slug":"t07-s05-papers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/t07-s05-papers\/","title":{"rendered":"T07\/S05: The History of Archaeology in the Tropics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Format: Paper presentations with discussion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organisers: <\/strong>Michelle Richards, Indigenous Knowledge Institute, The University of Melbourne, Australia, michelle.richards@unimelb.edu.au<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hilary Howes, Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies, The Australian National University Australia, hilary.howes@anu.edu.au<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris Urwin, Indigenous Studies Centre, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, chris.urwin@monash.edu<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The discipline of archaeology as it is commonly understood today developed from a combination of Renaissance-era interest in classical antiquity, focusing on developments in ancient art and architecture by Egyptian, Greek and Roman \u2018civilisations\u2019, and early European antiquarians\u2019 enthusiasm for earthworks, megaliths, and other physical remains of the past in their own countries. As a result, archaeology in the 19th and early 20th centuries was largely shaped by European thinkers and practised in temperate, Mediterranean or arid climates. If early archaeologists and anthropologists looked towards tropical climates at all, it was usually in the hope of identifying ethnographic analogies to help understand Palaeolithic remains in Europe. Monumental structures and other material remnants found in tropical regions were generally interpreted in a way that legitimised Western imperialism and colonisation. For example, monuments were interpreted as the constructions of a \u2018superior race\u2019, since vanished, or of ancestors of the present-day inhabitants, since degenerated or collapsed. Although these interpretive tendencies were not confined to tropical climates, environmental determinist thought further encouraged belief in the inevitable stagnation of cultures unable to benefit from \u2018favourable\u2019 (temperate) environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, past archaeological theory and practice has tended to foster and cement negative perceptions of people living in tropical regions. It is necessary to acknowledge this in order to promote more positive perceptions and better ideas for our shared future, especially in the context of catastrophic climate change. However, it is equally necessary to identify exceptions in the history of archaeology, and to consider the historical development of theories, techniques and methodologies better suited to tropical contexts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We welcome papers on all aspects of the history of archaeology in the tropics, especially those considering the involvement of First Nations knowledge holders, \u2018amateur\u2019 archaeologists, women, and\/or representatives of other historically marginalised groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Papers:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Significance of the Collections Made by James Lyle Young in the History of Archaeology in the Pacific<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michelle J. Richards, Indigenous Knowledge Institute, The University of Melbourne, Australia<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

James Lyle Young was an Australian businessman who spent his life travelling through the Pacific. The economic history of Young\u2019s career has been studied to some extent and he is certainly recognised as a major contributor to the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum collections in Hawai`i. However, despite his extensive journal entries, the details of how he collected these ethnographic objects have yet to be thoroughly investigated and this provides an opportunity to examine these cross-cultural engagements and identify the Pasifika people involved. Unlike many scientific expeditions that collected specimens for museums over a few months or at most several years, during his career Young collected Polynesian objects over six-decades along trans-Pacific trade routes, crossing Polynesian cultural seascapes. Importantly, his association with several \u2018curio\u2019 stores which sold these exchanged objects to other colonial collectors visiting Polynesia requires further investigation. Young was important in social networks, acting as the local informant, required for economic trade. He spoke te reo M\u0101ori, so well he was considered \u2018a real Pakeha M\u0101ori\u2019 by Sir M\u0101ui P\u014dmare (doctor and politician). His extensive ethnographic collection was first offered to the Australian Museum before being accepted by the Bishop Museum, where it remains today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transitioning from Condominium to Independence: Archaeology in Vanuatu and the Role of the Vanuatu Kaljoral Senta (VKS)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard Shing, Vanuatu Cultural Centre, Vanuatu<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern archaeological research began in Vanuatu, the then colonial entity known as the New Hebrides\/Nouvelles-Hebrides, in the early 1960s. It was led by foreign researchers with permission and support being given by the colonial administration of the time. This is not to deny Indigenous agency in the pioneering research, but the research and results were not designed to include the wider Indigenous population. This situation was to radically change soon after Independence in 1980. Social science research, including archaeology, was banned in 1984 for a 10-year period. During this period and since then, the Vanuatu Kaljoral Senta (VKS) has played a crucial role as the principal institution responsible for the preservation, protection, and promotion of Vanuatu\u2019s diverse cultural heritage. The VKS plays a critical role in fostering cultural sustainability through public education, heritage tourism, and community-led cultural programs. Archaeology has been a key component of the VKS programs informing the wider population about their 3000-year-old heritage. This paper examines the transformation of archaeology in post-Independence Vanuatu and the crucial role played by the VKS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ancestral Remains and Cultural Objects from Hawai\u2018i in the Collections of Imperial Russia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elena Govor, School of Culture, History and Language, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia\u00a0<\/em>
Hilary Howes, Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The former Russian Empire, the third largest in history in terms of land area, was primarily a land-based empire with no obvious connections to the tropics. However, between 1799 and 1867 Russia\u2019s colonial possessions included present-day Alaska, an outpost at Fort Ross in northern California and three forts in Hawai\u2018i. Russian expeditions and scientific travellers from the early 1800s to the early 1900s frequently visited Hawai\u2018i, interacted with K\u0101naka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) and obtained ancestral remains and cultural objects. We discuss the material legacies of these historical connections in Russian and formerly Russian collecting institutions and consider their possible relevance to Native Hawaiians today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History and Current Approaches to Archaeology in French Polynesia: Are We Ready for Decolonisation?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moanatea Claret and Emilie Perez, University of Sydney, Australia<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this paper, we propose an overview of the current state of archaeology as a scientific field in French Polynesia. Archaeology appeared in the early 1930s with foreigners like Kenneth P. Emory during the colonial era in response to a lack of scientific knowledge about the country\u2019s indigenous peoples, the settlement of the islands, ancestral beliefs, and ways of life. Although colonialism was officially ended in 1946, its effects remain and can still be seen in current archaeological theory and practice. For instance, it is reflected in the way archaeology has been managed by the country, in the curriculum within university institutes such as l\u2019Universit\u00e9 de la Polyn\u00e9sie Fran\u00e7aise (The University of French Polynesia), and by extension, in the way archaeological research is done in international teams. The current arrangement of archaeology in French Polynesia poses several challenges as the global field of archaeology attempts to decolonise in the 21st century.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Format: Paper presentations with discussion Organisers: Michelle Richards, Indigenous Knowledge Institute, The University of Melbourne, Australia, michelle.richards@unimelb.edu.au Hilary Howes, Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies, The Australian National University Australia, hilary.howes@anu.edu.au Chris Urwin, Indigenous Studies Centre, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, chris.urwin@monash.edu The discipline of archaeology as it is commonly understood today developed from a combination of Renaissance-era interest in classical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1157,"featured_media":276,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-6871","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"pmpro-has-access","7":"czr-hentry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1157"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6871"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6871\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7296,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6871\/revisions\/7296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}