David, Bruno, Richards, Thomas, Goddard, Michael, Dutton, Tom, Leavesley, Matthew, McNiven, Ian J., and Mandui, Herman (2016) Historicizing Motu ceramics and the hiri trade. In: Richards, Thomas, David, Bruno, Aplin, Ken, and McNiven, Ian J., (eds.) Archaeological Research at Caution Bay, Papua New Guinea: cultural, linguistic and environmental setting. Caution Bay Studies in Archaeology, 1 . Archaeopress, Oxford, UK, pp. 65-74.

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Abstract

The Port Moresby region of the south coast of mainland Papua New Guinea (PNG) is well known ethnographically as the source-area for the Motu hiri trade, a long-distance maritime enterprise involving shell valuables and the annual local manufacture of tens of thousands of clay pots sent westward in fleets of lagatoi (large Indigenous sailing ships) in exchange for large logs to make hulls and hundreds of tons of sago starch from trading partners in the Gulf of Papua swamplands up to 400km away. Local oral histories relating to the hiri come from the Motu and Koita of the Port Moresby area, two peoples who speak unrelated languages and who have lived in close proximity for an extended period. The Motu are the principal hiri traders and makers of pottery, and while Koita lived near and among them, they made relatively little pottery and did not participate in the hiri to the same extent as the Motu. Here we review ethnographic, oral historical, and linguistic information on hiri trade and associated pottery manufacturing as a prelude to historicizing the hiri from this new archaeological evidence in forthcoming volumes.

Item ID:	46847
Item Type:	Book Chapter (Research - B1)
ISBN:	978-1-78491-504-9
Keywords:	Lapita; Caution Bay; Papua New Guinea; archaeology
Funders:	Australian Research Council (ARC)
Projects and Grants:	ARC Discovery Project DP0877782, ARC Discovery Project DP130102514
Date Deposited:	19 Jan 2017 04:44
FoR Codes:	44 HUMAN SOCIETY > 4401 Anthropology > 440107 Social and cultural anthropology @ 50% 45 INDIGENOUS STUDIES > 4513 Pacific Peoples culture, language and history > 451301 Archaeology of New Guinea and Pacific Islands (excl. New Zealand) @ 50%
SEO Codes:	95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9505 Understanding Past Societies > 950599 Understanding Past Societies not elsewhere classified @ 100%
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