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Lapita Migrants in the Pacific's Oldest Cemetery: Isotopic Analysis at Teouma, Vanuatu

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

R. Alexander Bentley ,
Hallie R. Buckley ,
Matthew Spriggs ,
Stuart Bedford ,
Chris J. Ottley ,
Geoff M. Nowell ,
Colin G. Macpherson  and
D. Graham Pearson
R. Alexander Bentley
Affiliation:
Evolutionary Anthropology Research Group, Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Durham DH1 3HN, United Kingdom (r.a.bentley@durham.ac.uk)
Hallie R. Buckley
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, PO Box 913, Dunedin, New Zealand
Matthew Spriggs
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Anthropology, College of Arts and Social Sciences, AD Hope Building, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
Stuart Bedford
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology & Natural History, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200Australia
Chris J. Ottley
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
Geoff M. Nowell
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
Colin G. Macpherson
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
D. Graham Pearson
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
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Abstract

Teouma, an archaeological site on Efate Island, Vanuatu, features the earliest cemetery yet discovered of the colonizers of Remote Oceania, from the late second millennium B.C. In order to investigate potential migration of seventeen human individuals, we measured isotopes of strontium (87Sr/86Sr), oxygen (δ18O), and carbon (δ13C), as well as barium (Ba) and strontium (Sr) concentrations, in tooth enamel from skeletons excavated in the first two field seasons. The majority of individuals cluster with similar isotope and Ba/Sr ratios, consistent with a diet of marine resources supplemented with plants grown on the local basaltic soils. Four outliers, with distinctive 87Sr/86Sr and δ18O, are probably immigrants, three of which were buried in a distinctive position (supine, with the head to the south) with higher Ba/Sr and δ13C, consistent with a terrestrial, nonlocal diet. Among the probable immigrants was a male buried with the crania of three of the locally raised individuals on his chest.

Résumé

Résumé

Teouma, sur l'île d'Efate, Vanuatu, est le site du cimetière le plus tôt pourtant découvert des colonisers d'Océanie à distance, tard deuxième millennium avant J.-C. Nous avons mesuré des isotopes de strontium, de carbone, et d'oxygène aussi bien que des oligoéléments (Ba, Sr) dans l'émail des dents des squelettes excavés dans la première et deuxième saisons de champ, pour étudier la migration potentielle de ces individus. Le faisceau de majorité avec l"isotope semblable et les rapports d"oligoélément, conformés à un régime des ressources marines complétées avec des plantes cultivées sur les sols basaltiques locaux. Quatre adultes, avec 87Sr/86Sr et δ18O distinctifs, sont probablement les immigrés, dont trois ont été enterrés dans une position distinctive (en supination, avec la tête aux sud) avec un plus hauts Ba/Sr et δ13C, conformés à un régime plus terrestre que la majorité. Parmi ces derniers était un mâle enterré avec le crania de trois des individus local-soulevés sur son coffre.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 72 , Issue 4 , October 2007 , pp. 645 - 656
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2007

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