Communities of practice in a maritime world: shared shell technology and obsidian exchange in the Lesser Sunda Islands, Wallacea
O'Connor, Susan, Reepmeyer, Christian, Langley, Michelle, Piotto, Elena, and Mahirta, Mahirta (2021) Communities of practice in a maritime world: shared shell technology and obsidian exchange in the Lesser Sunda Islands, Wallacea. In: Bellina, Bérénice, Blench, Roger, and Galipaud, Jean-Christophe, (eds.) Sea Nomads of South-East Asia: from the past to the present. National University of Singapore Press, Singapore, pp. 28-50.
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Abstract
Timor Leste has the world’s earliest fishhooks. Standardised single piece fish hooks manufactured from marine shell appear in the archaeological record during the terminal Pleistocene, while a range of decorative shell items also have great antiquity in this location. Recent research in Timor’s neighbouring island to the north, Alor, has shown that this island shares Timor’s early fishing technology and along with a remarkably similar repertoire of shell personal decorations. Obsidian stone artefacts occur in sites on both islands and analysis of these tools demonstrates that a proportion of the obsidian in each assemblages derives from a single source. While the location of the source is currently unknown, the presence of artefacts from the same source in widely spaced archaeological sites separated by sea passages demonstrates that maritime networks spanned this region of the Lesser Sunda Islands from at least the terminal Pleistocene. We look at the evidence for shared cultural practices in these islands and discuss the likelihood that such practices were maintained by maritime interaction and exchange of materials, objects or ideas.
| Item ID: | 69741 |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Book Chapter (Research - B1) |
| ISBN: | 978-981-3251-25-0 |
| Copyright Information: | © NUS Press |
| Funders: | Australian Research Council (ARC) |
| Projects and Grants: | ARC FL120100156, ARC CE170100015 |
| Date Deposited: | 14 Mar 2022 22:57 |
| FoR Codes: | 43 HISTORY, HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGY > 4301 Archaeology > 430102 Archaeology of Asia, Africa and the Americas @ 100% |
| SEO Codes: | 13 CULTURE AND SOCIETY > 1307 Understanding past societies > 130702 Understanding Asia’s past @ 100% |
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