The Teouma Lapita site and the early human settlement of the Pacific Islands.

Bedford, Stuart ; Spriggs, Matthew ; Regenvanu, Ralph 等

Introduction

The recent discovery of the Lapita site at Teouma, on the south coast of Elate, central Vanuatu (Figures 1 & 2), a site which can now be identified as one of the more significant Lapita sites yet found, ultimately came about through a series of fortuitous coincidences. In late December 2003 a large dentate-stamped Lapita sherd, representing approximately 25 per cent of a whole vessel, was presented to the Vanuatu Cultural Centre (VCC), by Salkon Yona, a VCC fieldworker from the island of Epi. He had received it from a fellow Epi islander, Charlie Nati, who had picked it up in October 2003 when he had been driving a bulldozer quarrying for soil for the construction of a prawn farm, on the east side of Teouma Bay. The site itself was formally identified in January 2004 (Bedford et al. 2004) and two field seasons of excavation, during July and August 2004 and June and July 2005, have now been carried out. Many aspects of the research will be reported on in greater detail elsewhere, in collaboration with various specialists as analyses proceed, but some general observations and summary conclusions are outlined in this paper.

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The Teouma site is located about 800m from the sea on the edge of an upraised former beach terrace and reef about 8m above current sea level and set amongst a decaying coconut plantation. It is on the north-eastern side of Teouma Bay, adjacent to a tributary of the Teouma River (Figure 2). At the time of Lapita settlement, the site would have been located on a low promontory bounded by the sea on its western side, the small stream on its northern side and uplifted limestone cliffs extending several hundred metres to the east and south-east. Subsequent to the Lapita occupation, uplift and massive infilling of the shallow end of the bay with alluvial deposits transported down the Teouma River over a 3000 year period has effectively shifted the site to its current, higher inland location (Figure 3). The archaeological deposits are sandwiched between a 500-800mm black tephra-rich soil lying above them and an earlier tephra deposit below, that sits on top of the former rolled-coral upper beach and uplifted reef terrace. During the October 2003 construction works, the site was being mined specifically for the black tephra-rich soil located there and extensive areas of the site were affected (Figure 4). But despite this disturbance, much of the earliest archaeological deposit remained untouched and even in those areas that had been scraped by the bulldozers there appeared to have been limited mixing of the deposits that remained. Discrete activity areas were apparent as was chronological variation across the site (Bedford et al. 2004). Excavations have revealed its spectacular nature, particularly in terms of preservation conditions, and have enabled the identification of discrete activity areas, associated cultural practices and changing site use and development. Findings include a cemetery with the earliest and most extensive collection of burials thus far associated with Lapita, complete pots linked with burial practice, later occupational debris overlying the cemetery and separate midden dumping areas and occupational deposits.

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Archaeological excavations

A joint Australian National University-Vanuatu National Museum project began in July 2004 with the commencement of initial excavations at the site designed to assess the extent of recent damage, the boundaries of the site, and further define its stratigraphy, chronology and composition. Areas initially targeted were those that had been modified by earth-moving, as the altered conditions were affecting preservation conditions. This included almost 1000m (2) of the site where the black tephra-rich soil had been removed by machine, as well as another smaller but deeper quarried area (Figure 4). The removal of the black tephra-rich soil, while facilitating access to the Lapita layers of the site, was also potentially altering conditions of preservation within the deposits. The vertical quarry face was unstable and further collapse was occurring into a deep pit.

A total of eight areas of excavation were completed in 2004 (Figure 4). Area 1 was a 1 x 1m test pit excavated at the most northern and lowest point of the site. It was quickly established that although there were archaeological deposits present, they post-dated the initial Lapita occupation. Area 2 was a 4 x 1 m long trench where rolled Lapita pottery and crushed human bone was recovered in a thin lens indicating that soil extraction here had effectively removed much of the archaeology and compacted the remaining deposits. The principal focus of excavation in 2004 was in the area of the quarry face (Area 3 West and East) which had eroded since quarrying ceased and in doing so had exposed the full depth of stratigraphy at the site including extensive Lapita deposits. Two long trenches were dug in this area, Trench 3 (7 x 1m) on a north-south alignment and Trench 3a (6 x lm) on an east-west alignment, specifically to define a profile across the site and sample the archaeological deposits. Both trenches contained concentrated midden deposits, with shellfish, faunal remains, coral and basaltic stone and pottery predominant. The midden was primarily located off the coral terrace flat on a step above the former beach i.e. the northern part of Trench 3 and all of Trench 3a. Burials were recorded beneath part of the midden. The eastern component of Area 3 comprised a larger areal excavation of exposed Lapita deposits. It was in this area, where midden deposits were sparse, that more frequent burials were uncovered, located amongst gaps in the uplifted reef edge on the step above the former beach. This was the first indication that a specific area of the site had been used solely as a burial area during earliest occupation.

Other test pits excavated to define further the limits of the site included Area 4.1 (1 x 1m), 4.2 (1 x 1m) and 4.3 (2 x 2m) located in the western area of the site which had not been modified by machine. Areas 4.1 and 4.2 demonstrated deeply stratified deposits of up to 2m down to the former beach but all post-dated the Lapita settlement. Area 4.3 uncovered the edge of the reef terrace and Lapita deposits were found at deeper levels above the old beach. Areas 5 (3 x 1m) and 6 (3 x 2m) which were excavated further south on the flat part of the terrace, were largely sterile. The familiar stratigraphy was present, black tephra-rich soil overlying yellow brown tephra which overlies and infills solution features in the uplifted reef but archaeological materials were very sparse, largely consisting of several dentate-stamped sherds and scattered weathered shellfish.

Excavations in 2005 were focused specifically on increasing understanding of the burial area of the site. A 10 x 10m grid (Area 2) was laid out adjacent to the eastern boundary of Area 3 (Figure 4) where the greatest concentration of burials had been located in 2004. The north-western half of the 100[m.sup.2] had been scraped by machine almost down to the underlying reef, facilitating access to the Lapita layers, but the south-eastern part of the area had not been modified. Excavation revealed a Lapita-Erueti transition phase midden had been emplaced across the burial area.

Site extent, stratigraphy and chronology

The Lapita deposits are concentrated along a north-east to south-west trending zone, 10-15m wide. This narrow strip of occupation, adjacent and parallel to the former beach, is a locational pattern that is repeated across much of the Lapita distribution (Lepofsky 1988; Burley et al. 2001). It has been established that the cemetery is located at the northern end of the site and midden dumping is adjacent to the west, concentrated on the edges of the flat reef terrace. We anticipate that the main habitation evidence will be to the south-west, an area that would once have looked out across Teouma Bay.

Interpretation of the stratigraphy and chronology of the site has been given content by research carried out on the north-west coast of Elate where a similar tephra sequence is present (Bedford 2006; Bedford & Spriggs 2000; Spriggs & Bedford 2001). The unweathered tephra that sits on top of the uplifted beach and flat reef terrace and underlies the Lapita deposits at Teouma was laid down across much of Efate, just before people arrived, some time around 3300-3200 BP. Above the Lapita deposits is what has been defined elsewhere as an early Erueti Phase deposit dating somewhere in the period 2800-2500 BP. This deposit was subsequently capped by a weathered tephra probably originating from Nguna Island to the north, which again blanketed much of Elate around 2300 BP. Further tephra-rich soil completes the stratigraphy of the site and this presumably relates to the massive 1452 AD Kuwae eruption again to the north (Robin et al. 1994). The site shows no signs of use or occupation after 2500 BP until the development of the coconut plantation on the site about 100 years ago. Unlike many other archaeological sites on Elate and the Shepherds there is no sign of any Late Erueti or Mangaasi-style pottery (c. 2500-1200 BP) (Bedford 2006).

The Erueti deposit provides insight into changing settlement pattern and site use over time. The deposits consist of concentrated occupation debris, including large quantities of shellfish, charcoal, cooking stones, pottery and other habitation refuse and cover a significantly larger area of the site than the earlier Lapita phase deposits. They overlay the Lapita deposits and extend at least a further 20m in a northerly and north-easterly direction as evidenced in the Area 1, Area 4.1 and 4.2 test pits. The southern extent of the Erueti deposits appears to parallel that of the Lapita deposits. This pattern of deposition, representing realigned and expanding settlement was also recorded at the Arapus/Mangaasi site on the north-west coast of Elate (Bedford 2006; Bedford & Spriggs 2000; Spriggs & Bedford 2001). During occupation of the site there would have been significant tectonic activity which created a progressively prograding shoreline. The preferred location for habitation remained adjacent and parallel to the contemporary beach requiring continual realignment of the settlement. The continued uplift led to the ultimate abandonment of the settlement as easy access to the sea became increasingly problematic. Changing site use and evidence of some length of occupation is dramatically demonstrated in Area 2, which during initial Lapita occupation was the principal burial area. A few hundred years later during the Lapita to Erueti transition phase, knowledge of this part of the site as a burial area had been forgotten or devalued as up to 50cm of midden deposit was dumped across the area.

By combining the tephrostratigraphy and associated chronology from Efate with regional ceramic sequences it is possible, even without radiocarbon dates, to estimate reliably a broad chronology for Teouma. People certainly arrived after 3300 BP, the earliest possible date for the underlying tephra. Occupation would have begun between 3200 BE the date of initial occupation of the Reefs-Santa Cruz Group to the north and 3000 BP, by which time there are dated sites to the south of Efate on Erromango and in New Caledonia. The site was abandoned no later than 2500 BP, after which time the Late Erueti-style pottery, not present at Teouma, came into use (Bedford 2006). Further analysis and dating are required to pinpoint more accurately both the chronology of occupation and changing site use. However, even with a whole series of radiocarbon dates, we may find that those chosen to date the earliest and latest phases of occupation will overlap within two standard deviations because of the flatness of the calibration curve in this time period (Pearson 1993: Figure 1b). Other factors are variability in Delta R values for marine shells of the region and the potential problem of in-built age in unidentified charcoal samples. The four AMS dates (1) obtained so far highlight these difficulties. Dates have been obtained from two Conus sp. shell rings associated with two different burials [3139 [+ or -] 36 BP (Wk-16831) 2980-2755 BP: Burial 4 and 3162 [+ or -] 34 BP (Wk-15729) 3016-2774 BP: Burial 11] and two charcoal samples. One charcoal sample came from just above the lowest levels of the Lapita occupation deposit in Trench 3A [2848 [+ or -] 35 BP (Wk-15728) 3070-2867 BP] and the other sample was retrieved from the more recent Erueti deposits of Trench 3A [2961 [+ or -] 36 BP (Wk-16830) 3254-3001 BP]. The last date is not consistent with the associated ceramics that would be expected to date in the range of 2800-2500 BP.

Pottery remains

Vessel form and decoration

The large sherd that led to the discovery of Teouma hinted at the well-preserved nature of the pottery that might be found at the site. The site provides the first real detail for Vanuatu of the various vessel forms and elaborate designs associated with initial Lapita settlement of the archipelago. More significantly the remains also provide insight into wider issues such as the association of vessel form and use and the chronology and pattern of Lapita settlement across the south-western Pacific. A range of flat-bottomed dishes with assorted dentate designs including a number with varied face motifs have been found in both the cemetery and occupation areas. Other decorative techniques utilised on the rims of these dishes are excision and occasional pierced holes. A first for Lapita archaeology on a number of levels was the recovery of a complete flat-bottomed dish that had been up-turned and used as a lid. It lay on top of a dentate-stamped carinated vessel into which a human skull had been placed (Figure 5). The dish was decorated with a double face motif and had a circular groove in the centre of its basal exterior indicating that it was originally made to sit on top of a cylinder stand. Also recovered from the site was an example of a flat-bottomed dish with attached pedestal foot. Cylinder stands have only rarely been reported from Lapita sites and were restricted to sites in the Reefs-Santa Cruz Group and further west (Best 2002: 82; Kirch 1997: 137). The geographic range of these vessel forms can now be extended to Vanuatu. Three separate cylinder stands have been identified at the site, decorated with a range of face motifs including different stylistic forms on the same stand. These vessel types, which are approximately 30cm tall, have thus far only been recovered from the burial area at Teouma. Carinated vessels with a wide array of dentate-stamped designs are well represented across the site. The double rim form (Sand 2000) is also present. Two complete carinated vessels were recovered, both associated with burial activities. One, as noted, had a skull deposited inside it, and another, placed nearby, had been upturned (Figure 6). It was situated above a burial, with another skeleton lying adjacent (Figure 6). A unique variant is a carinated vessel deposited about lm away at a lower level and decorated with a face motif and dentate-stamped, modelled birds sitting on the inner rim (Bedford & Spriggs in prep.).

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Plain globular vessels with outcurving rim, a ubiquitous form found across the Lapita spectrum (Kirch 1997: 146), are also present at the site in the earliest phase of occupation but restricted to the midden dumping area. Decoration is overwhelmingly dentate-stamping in the earliest levels of the site, along with a very minor component of incision, applied relief and shell impression. The complete vessels found in association indicate that complex finely executed dentate designs were contemporary with vessels decorated with much coarser designs (Figure 7). Also found in association are both rectilinear and curvilinear dentate-stamped designs (cf. Kirch 1997: 123). The upturned flat-bottomed dish, used as a lid for a carinated burial jar, indicates multiple use of single vessels and vessel forms. On-site observation and preliminary analysis of the ceramics indicate that there are only a limited number of vessels and vessel forms represented in the burial area, almost all of which were certainly associated with Lapita burial ritual.

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The pottery at the site changes over several hundred years leading to a dramatic restriction of vessel form and decorative technique. Later vessel forms of the Erueti Phase are dominated by globular out-curving rim vessels with little evidence for decoration apart from notching on the lip. The only other late vessel form identified, in much fewer numbers, was a carinated vessel that invariably displayed incised decoration above the carination. These vessel forms and decoration are a restricted sample of the typical Early Erueti Phase ceramics identified on the north-west coast of Elate (Bedford 2006). Detailed fabric analysis of the pottery has yet to be undertaken but distinctive black glassy inclusions can be seen across the surface and in the section of many of the sherds, a characteristic of Efate temper (Bedford 2006; Garanger 1972: 110-2).

Wider connections and implications

Comparative analysis of the original large sherd alone provided an indication that the Teouma site was one of the earliest in Vanuatu. The sherd's form and motif composition (Figure 8) are very similar to a number of Lapita vessels from New Caledonia and the Reefs-Santa Cruz Group (Donovan 1973:95 [M13(2).5]), although there is the usual variation in motif combination. Utilising software developed over several years specifically to analyse Lapita motif associations (LapitaDraw) Arnaud Noury compared the motifs from the large sherd with motifs from Lapita sites in New Caledonia and Vanuatu. Comparing 5314 sherds from twenty sites Noury reported (cited in Bedford et al. 2004) that the closest association in New Caledonia was with the earliest layers of Nessadiou and Vatcha, two sites associated with initial settlement of that archipelago (Sand 1997). In Vanuatu, Noury found close association with the sites of Makue on Aore Island and Atanoasao on Malo Island. These sites are again associated with initial Lapita occupation (Galipaud 1998; Noury 2005). Galipaud has reported that substantial quantities of obsidian from Bismarck Archipelago sources have been recovered from Makue (Galipaud & Swete-Kelly 2005). Given these affiliations, Noury suggested that the Teouma site might well date to c. 3100 BP or even earlier (cf. Bedford et al. 2004). The recent excavations at Teouma have also recovered a collection of more than 20 pieces of Bismarcks obsidian.

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The very distinctive excised decoration found on the lip of a number of flat-bottomed dishes has affinities with a number of sites further west. These include Mussau (Kirch 1987: Figure 4b), the Arawes (Summerhayes 2000: 87) and the Reefs-Santa Cruz Group (SZ-8) (Donovan 1973). In New Caledonia decoration of this type is extremely rare with only one or two examples having been recovered from the almost 40 sites recorded (Sand 2000). Excised decoration is also found at the base of one of the flat-bottomed dishes from Teouma and again this form and placement of decoration has similar geographical and chronological parallels. Further east in Fiji, where flat-bottomed dishes are also found, this form of rim decoration has not yet been identified. Similarly with cylinder stands all parallels are to the west, ranging from the large finely decorated stand from Mussau (Kirch 1997: 137) and a similar version recovered by Ambrose from Malekolon in the Anir Group (Wal Ambrose pers. comm.), to the smaller sherds of a less-finely decorated version in the Reefs-Santa Cruz Group (Best 2002: 82). Intriguingly, this vessel form has not been reported either from the extensive collections from the Arawes or more recent excavations on Anir (Summerhayes 2000; 2001). We suggest that this may be related to the difficulty of identifying vessel form from small sherds (a problem also noted by Best 2002: 81). To date none have been reported from further out in Remote Oceania but a similar scenario of small sherds unable initially to be assigned a vessel form seems likely to be the case in New Caledonia (Christophe Sand pers. comm.). A sherd illustrated by Lenormand from the lie des Pins (Lenormand 1948: Plate 3) is almost certainly part of a cylinder stand. However, its presence further east in Fiji seems less likely, where a thorough survey by Best appears to confirm a real absence of this form (Best 2002: 83).

Not surprisingly, considering Vanuatu's geographical location, preliminary analysis of the Teouma Lapita ceramics places them in the category of Western or Middle Lapita style (Anson 1983; Summerhayes 2000). There are clearly vessel forms and aspects of decorative technique and design distinctive of the Early or Far Western Lapita style that are not present at Teouma. These include cutouts on pedestal bases (Kirch 1997: 121; Summerhayes 2000), open bowls with a curvilinear base (Summerhayes 2000: 34) and spherical vessels and flasks (Summerhayes 2001: 58). While there are some missing aspects of the Early or Far Western style in Vanuatu, to have the range of very similar vessel forms and designs distributed over such great distances implies rapid movement of people out of the Bismarck 'homeland' region into western Remote Oceania.

The Teouma Lapita burials

Over a period of more than 50 years research into Lapita and the identification of more than 200 sites, human remains have proved remarkably elusive, particularly those associated with initial Lapita settlement (Green 1989; Pietrusewsky 1996; Kirch 1997). The remains comprise only a handful of individuals or in most cases parts of individuals. They include two from Mussau (Kirch et al. 1989), two from New Caledonia (Pietrusewsky et al. 1998; Valentin 2003), four from Fiji (Houghton 1989; Nunn et al. 2003; Pietrusewsky et al. 1997) and two from Tonga (Poulsen 1987). Research associated with profiling Lapita populations has been obliged to add 'possible descendant representatives' (Kirch 1997:109) such as the eight burials from Watom originally thought to date to c. 2500-2000 BP (Green 2003:115; Green et al. 1989), although recently re-dated to c. 2700 BP (Petchey & Green 2005) and 63 from Sigatoka dating to c. 1750-1550 BP (Burley 2003: 312; Green 2003: 115).

It is for this reason that the discovery of a Lapita cemetery undisputedly associated with an initial colonising population is so significant. The cemetery at Teouma is the earliest confirmed cemetery yet found in the Pacific Islands (2). Archaeologists have long debated the question of the origins of Lapita people, the immediate ancestors of all Polynesians and of many populations in Island Melanesia, but a crucial component of the debate, a significant number of skeletons, has largely been missing.

Although burials have been found across much of the site excavated to date, there is a general locational pattern that has emerged. The focus of the burial area is in the northern part of the site, at the edge of the uplifted reef and amongst gaps in the reef and coral boulders on the upper part of the beach. The burials were placed in shallow grave pits dug into the underlying tephra deposits. A total of 25 burials have been excavated, the majority of which are primary interments, although there is also evidence of secondary burial. There is a wide array of burial positions but most are laid out in a supine position, often with legs and arms in a flexed or crossed position. This may be due both to particular burial practices and in some cases the restricted space available between coral boulders, remnant reef and other burials. None of the burials has skulls in articulation. In all cases the skulls and sometimes other bones appear to have been removed some time after internment, indicated regularly by the presence of several teeth in the area where the skull should have been. The skulls had been replaced in some cases by Conus sp. shell rings and less often by flat coral slabs. Other associated grave goods are few but include the placement of valves of large mangrove shellfish (Geloina coaxans) on the pelvic region or limbs (Figure 6) and in one case sections of turtle carapace placed over parts of the body: Highly decorated pottery has been found in association with the burials, both whole pots adjacent to interments and assorted sherds both near to and within the grave fills. Some originally whole pots associated with earlier burials were disturbed and spread amongst the fill of later ones during subsequent burial activities.

Only four adult crania have been found at the site and they are all associated with rituals post-dating initial interment. One example indicates curation of the skulls for some period after initial retrieval. In 2004 three skulls were found across the chest of a headless adult skeleton laid in a supine position (Figure 9). The skulls were placed inside a small coral boulder enclosure. Several factors point to the curation of skulls as being a standard feature of Lapita burial ritual at Teouma. These include the general lack of in situ skulls with any of the burials, the evidence for removal of skulls after decomposition of the soft tissue, the group placement of skulls and the identification of a sequence of ritual events occurring over some period of time. The only other skull recovered to date was that which was found inside the carinated vessel (Figure 6) topped with the upturned flat-bottomed dish. The skull sat on top of a very wide, broken Conus sp. shell ring. This example further confirms that ritual associated with burial was an on-going, multi-layered process rather than a one-off event, further confirmed by other forms of secondary burial at the site. These included in one case an assorted collection of bones found in the base of an in situ pot. Detailed bioanthropological analyses are currently underway, coordinated by Hallie Buckley (University of Otago) and Frederique Valentin (University of Paris).

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Discussion

The Teouma site is providing new layers of understanding of Lapita settlement and society in Vanuatu and the wider region. It will give a major impetus to the age-old debate about the origins of the Pacific Islanders, which began when European explorers first appeared on the horizon. It is a debate which archaeologists have also been vigorously involved in for more than 50 years and more acutely so since the identification of the cultural horizon or 'community of culture' primarily evidenced in Lapita ceramic remains that was found to span both Melanesia and Polynesia (Golson 1961: 176). Archaeologists have taken sides on Lapita origins--whether it was largely an indigenous development in the Bismarck region with limited contact with Island Southeast Asia (Allen 1984; White & Allen 1980) or whether it was primarily a Southeast Asian intrusion (Kirch & Hunt 1988; Kirch et al. 1987) or something in between (Green 1991 a; Spriggs 1997).

Analyses of Lapita skeletal remains to date have, not surprisingly considering the sample size, been less than conclusive in relation to the question of origins (Pietrusewsky 1996). The skeletal remains at Teouma will change this. If current attempts to extract ancient DNA are successful (Matisoo-Smith 2005), combined with morphological and other analyses they will provide the first clear picture of the initial settlers of Remote Oceania. The sample size is large enough to provide important information on aspects of the health and diet of this founding population as well.

The cemetery at Teouma also furnishes insights into the burial practices of the earliest Lapita settlers of Remote Oceania. The evidence thus far demonstrates that the burial ceremony and associated ritual were a multi-faceted and on-going process and not dissimilar in many respects to immediately pre-contact burial ritual in Vanuatu (Speiser 1996: 272-81). Certain aspects of the burial practices at Teouma, such as the placement of skulls and other bones in pots and the use of pots in burial ceremony have close parallels with burial practices in Island Southeast Asia, including Taiwan, during earlier and contemporary periods (Bellwood 1997). Clearly, as long hypothesised, decorated pots had a significant role in Lapita ceremonial activity (Kirch 1997), but as demonstrated in the case of the Teouma burials, there are both clear patterns and peculiarities. All vessels associated with the burials are decorated, although with a range of both fine and coarse dentate decoration, some with face motifs and others with simpler geometric designs. The only vessel form to be restricted to the burial area is the cylinder stand, which is clearly designed to support flat-bottomed dishes. Face motifs appear predominantly on flat-bottomed dishes, cylinder stands and on the carinated vessel with modelled birds on the rim. These designs are thus far restricted to the burial area. The more utilitarian plain vessels are restricted to the midden dumping area.

Research at the Teouma site has demonstrated that initial human colonisation and settlement in Vanuatu dates to around 3200 to 3000 BE If the dates for the settlement of Vanuatu turn out to be at the earlier end of this range, then this would provide further support for dates as early as 3200 BP for Lapita settlement of the Reefs-Santa Cruz Islands (Green 1991b) and also lend weight to arguments of comparatively early Lapita settlement of Fiji (Clark & Anderson 2000 as opposed to Anderson & Clark 1999) which appear to be supported by recent research (Nunn et al. 2004; 2005). If this is the case then the posited 3300 BP date for Lapita settlement in the Bismarcks (Specht & Gosden 1997: 187; Summerhayes 2001: 34) leaves only a very short time interval before people set out to explore, discover and colonise the western parts of Remote Oceania.

The identification of Lapita sites in Vanuatu has proved to be somewhat more of a challenge than in many other archipelagos in the western Pacific (Anderson et al. 2001), primarily due to the complex geomorphology of the archipelago (Bedford 2003; Spriggs 1984). But these same geomorphological agents have often led to exceptional preservation conditions in the sites that have been found. As the remains from the Teouma site have revealed, if these well preserved sites can be located they are likely to transform our conceptions of Lapita. At the same time they would provide insights into the interpretation of many perplexing aspects of Lapita research. One of these, highlighted by Teouma, is just why have there been so few human remains recovered from early Lapita sites over five decades of research? The locational placement of the Teouma burials provides a potential clue. Certainly if people were being buried in shallow graves in the upper part of the beach at such sites as Site 13 in New Caledonia or Natunuku in Fiji (Davidson et al. 1990; Sand et al. 1998) those remains would have long ago been washed away through coastal erosion. Lack of preservation in shallow mixed deposits must also be another factor. Further to these aspects are the excavation strategies employed on many Lapita sites, the vast majority of which have involved 'phone-booth-like' testpitting programmes (sadly including ones involving the authors) where discrete activity areas can be entirely missed.

Conclusion

On initial inspection of the Teouma site prior to archaeological excavation it was predicted that the site was likely to provide a detailed picture of the earliest phase of human settlement in Vanuatu. It was also suggested that the site would contain obsidian from the Bismarck Archipelago far to the west, extinct faunal remains, a range of vessel forms and decoration, along with a prospect of fine chronological definition (Bedford et al. 2004). The discovery of a Lapita cemetery at the site was, however, completely unexpected, given the scarcity of Lapita burials of such an early period elsewhere.

The discoveries at Teouma are changing our understanding of aspects of Lapita chronology and settlement pattern, social practice and pottery form and use. The possibility of an earlier date for the settlement of Vanuatu suggests that movement of Lapita colonists out of the Bismarcks 'homeland' may have happened after only 200 years at most. The complete pots and large sherds from the site are set to provide one of the most detailed profiles of any Lapita collection to date. Most significantly, the skeletal remains provide a rare opportunity to investigate both the origins of the Lapita people and details of Lapita burial ritual.

Acknowledgements

We would particularly like to thank Salkon Yona, the Vanuatu Cultural Centre Fieldworker from Epi, who recognised the significance of a large Lapita sherd and rescued it and the site from obscurity. Monsieur and Madame Monvoisin the leaseholders of the land on which the site is situated, have been fully supportive throughout the investigations. The chiefs and community of Eratap are thanked for their enthusiasm and support. Primary in facilitating this involvement has been VCC fieldworker Silas Alben. All of the staff of the Vanuatu National Museum were involved in the practical logistics, organisation and smooth running of the project. They included Willie Damelip, Andrew Hoffman, Richard Shing and Martha Yamsiu. Fidel Yoringmal and Iarawoi Philip provided specialist input in cartography and shellfish analysis. Helen Crawford drew Figure 7. Funding was provided by the Australian Research Council (DP 0556874), the Pacific Biological Foundation, the Royal Society of New Zealand (Marsden Faststart), Snowy Mountains Electricity Commission Foundation, the Department of Archaeology and Natural History and School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University and Mr Brian Powell. Radiocarbon dating was funded by the Centre for Archaeological Research, Australian National University. Specialist collaborators include Dr Hallie Buckley of Otago University, Dr Frederique Valentin of the University of Paris, Dr Lisa Matisoo-Smith of the University of Auckland and Professor Koji Lum of Binghamton University, New York. Comments from two anonymous referees and Hallie Buckley and Frederique Valentin improved the final version of this paper.

Received. 18 November 2005; Accepted: 27 February 2006; Revised: 14 March 2006

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(1) The radiocarbon dates have been presented in the following format., date, sample number and calibrated age at two standard deviations using the Calib. Program REV 5.0.1 (Reimer et al. 2004; Stuiver et al. 2005). A Delta R value of 45 [+ or -] 19 was applied to shell samples (Petchey et al. 2004).

(2) Fitzpatrick (2003) reported on early-dated burials from Orrak Island in Palau in Western Micronesia with dates on human bone back to 4530-3570 BP, but internal inconsistencies in the dates led him to suggest that burial at the site in fact began around 3000 BP. The dating of initial human occupation of Palau is currently rather confused and many of the earliest claimed dates cannot be sustained (Anderson et al. 2005).

Stuart Bedford (1), Matthew Spriggs (2) & Ralph Regenvanu (3)

(1) Department of Archaeology and Natural History, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, Australia (Email: stuart.bedford@anu.edu.au)

(2) School of Archaeology and Anthropology, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University, Australia (Email: matthew.spriggs@anu.edu.au)

(3) Vanuatu National Museum, Port Vila, Vanuatu (Email: ralph.regenvanu@vanuatuculture.org)