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2.
General surveySurvey was conducted in selected spots along the coast east of the Sigatoka river mouth. The team surveyed areas at Muasara, Olosara and Korotogo. During the survey the group identified stone adzes, pottery sherds and shells. A huge mound was also located and this was identified by villagers of Nayawa who said that this was the site of their forefathers when they first arrived from Beqa Island. While at Korotogo the team stumbled upon some burials, which was not confirmed by the Korotogo village headman as belonging to the village. An interesting area that warrants further survey is the Korotogo housing area (east of Korotogo village).
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3.
Test ExcavationsTwo 50cm x 50cm test units were excavated with ceramics unearthed according to Professor Burley to be of the late period. At unit 1 the team excavated to 1.10 m depth reaching beach layer and dug to 1.20m to confirm that it has reached sandy layer. The second unit was drawn 10m north east of unit 1 with same type of ceramics excavated. Beach layer was encountered at a depth of 70cm while the team cored for a further 10cm to confirm the sandy beach layer. At the conclusion of these test excavations a stratigraphy was of the beachfront was identified.
During the course of this field project the team managed to achieve one of its objectives in attempting to salvage and identify the pottery sequence of the Sigatoka sand dunes. All materials excavated from the sand dunes have been reburied at a selected spot. All manner of traditional protocol was followed during this field project.
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Mamanuca Island Field Project
This project was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Ethan Cochrane of London College, UK with collaboration from the Fiji Museum. The objective of this research is to identify the interaction of these areas in sharing their notion about pottery decorations.
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Fiji Islands showing Mamanuca Group of islands
to the west.
Dr. Cochrane was
accompanied by his students, Neil Stockdale and Gail Hammond while Elia
Nakoro and Sepeti Mata represented the Museum. The group visited and
surveyed the islands in the Mamanuca Group namely, Malolo, Yanuya, Tavua,
Monu and Tokoriki
Islands.
The Mamanuca group is
synonymous for many a visitor to our shores, because of its many beautiful
beaches, sun and scenic views. But alas the group was not there for
leisure but to conduct archaeological research from June 20th
to July 28th 2007. The work involved surface collecting, datum
line setting, coring and excavation of test units. Artefacts that were
gathered from these test pits included, plain and dentate sherds, shells,
shark tooth ornament and clay for making pottery. Malolo Island The team spent exactly
three weeks on the island and the first few days a field reconnaissance
surface collection around the island was carried out, looking for best
possible sites for excavation. Beside the village of Yaro lies an old
village site with a ring ditch fortification called Navasua. On the site,
lying scattered are pieces of plain and decorated late ceramics. The site
was mapped and a core was done just beside the site in a cassava patch. In the village of
Solevu, work was carried out mainly on the southern end of the village in
a cassava patch. A datum line was erected to look at the original land
surface and also to locate the paleo beach around a hundred years ago when
the sea level was about a meter higher than what it is today. Coring
and a test unit were placed along this datum line.
On the other side of
the island, coring was done in an Ivi forest (Inocarpus fagifer) and the
results were that of a high-energy deposition of clay that could have
eroded from the hills.
The results from
the excavation of the test unit were a collection of mainly plain ceramics
and shells (both bivalves and gastropods). The pit went down to 2.6meters
where we came to the water table. Tavua Island Commuting from Yanuya
Island every morning by boat, the first day we trek up the hill to get an
aerial view of the island. We also went to a feature on the hill, which
looked like it was physically modified and on it Ethan found a piece of a
plain ceramic ware. The feature had a flat surface and it was possible
that it could have been used for human settlement.
In the village we stumbled across a huge pit that
the villagers excavated to extract sand from for their new church. The pit
displays the different soil horizon in which pottery sherds were sticking
out from them. Just behind this pit, a 1x1-test unit was placed about
2meters away from it. The unit went down to about 1.4m which was the
sterile sandy beach layer and the team was able to uncover two pieces of
dentate stamped sherds from levels 8 and 11 and also a shark tooth
ornament from an earlier level. There were also collections of plain
sherds and shells.
The village of
Tavua is also known for pottery making where the ladies would showcase the
art of making pottery to tourists from nearby hotels. Samples of clay that
the women utilize were collected from its source, which is just about
50meters behind the village.
Yanuya Island Similar to the
previous islands, we again climbed up high points on Yanuya to look at the
surrounding landscape on the first day and in the afternoon coring was
done in a few places in the village and also beside it. Looking at the
result of the core, the 1x1-test unit was placed on one of the vacant lots
beside the Namamanuca Primary School. The excavation yielded plain sherds
and shells and we stopped at a layer of sterile sandy beach at a depth of
1.6meters. Like Tavua, Yanuya
also produces clay pots and samples of the pottery making clay were
collected for analysis. Monu and Tokoriki islands On these two islands time was a factor that only
allowed for surface collection and site seeing. Monu has a few old village
sites and a rock shelter. Located here is the site where the ancestors of
Yanuya accepted Christianity, while Tokoriki according to the people of
Yanuya was where their fore-fathers killed the Tongan force and today
these burial grounds were either relocated or untouched by the
construction of the Tokoriki Island Resort.
Conclusion At the end of this archaeological research
project, the team was able to establish Tavua as a Lapita site in the
Mamanuca group and hopefully in future studies there would be a link or
the extent of the Lapita site among these islands can be redrawn.
On the whole, the people of all the islands
visited were appreciative, welcoming and were supportive to the idea of
such a research. Our stay with them was pleasant and we all looked forward
should there be another trip in the future.
Solevu excavation
Dr. Ethan Cochrane with students
Photo showing Tavua Village
Excavation unit at Tavua
Coring at Solevu
2800 year old pottery discovered
on Moturiki Island
While running a postgraduate student field trip on scenic Moturiki Island, just off the southwest coast of Ovalau Island in central Fiji, Patrick Nunn from the University of the South Pacific stumbled across some pottery sherds decorated in a dentate style characteristic of the earliest settlers of the Fiji Islands, the Lapita people. This is the first Lapita site on the islands of Ovalau and Moturiki although one on Naigani Island, northwest of Ovalau, has been known for twenty years.
It is hoped that the discovery of a trace of Lapita settlement on Moturiki will stimulate investigations of the islands in this area so that a fuller picture of the numbers and sizes of the earliest settlements in our islands can emerge.
In 2002, Patrick Nunn of the University of the South Pacific directed work on Moturiki with Roselyn Kumar and Sepeti Matararaba of the Fiji Museum. The team with USP students conducted a detailed research on coastal flats of Moturiki. This archaeological research managed to identify a Lapita site on Naitabale. The findings consisted of Lapita designed pottery (dentate stamp) and also a well preserved human skull and other skeletal material. The skeletal materials were removed to the University of Kyoto for dating and reconstruction
New Discoveries of Lapita Settlement in Fiji
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Lapita sherds |
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Recent work by scientists has uncovered several Lapita settlement sites in western, eastern and northern Fiji. Led by Patrick Nunn, Professor of Geography at USP, Tomo Ishimura of Kyoto University and including Sepeti Matararaba (Field Researcher Officer) from the Fiji Museum, the research team conducted archaeological research in the Bourewa coastal flats in Natadola.
The team has conducted three consecutive years of research on the area mentioned and have continually identified many interesting artefacts such as pottery with dentate stamp motifs (Lapita), shell armbands/ornaments, stone adzes and skeletal remains.
In the year 2003 the team spent 14 days in Sanasana village and the group visited Rove coastal flat and Bourewa, scouring their coastlines for concentrations of the distinctively decorated Lapita pottery. While the following year 2004 and 2005 the team returned to Bourewa for further research and stayed at Vusama village. The intentions of the team to concentrate on Bourewa arose from the conclusions of the findings of 2003, thus many interesting artefacts were identified during the field work.
The research team of Patrick Nunn, Roselyn Kumar and students of USP with Tomo Ishimura of Kyoto University and Sepeti Matararaba of the Museum conducted research on the island of Yadua off the west coast of Vanua Levu in the province of Bua in December 2003. The team discovered dentate pottery commonly known as Lapita on the Vagairiki coastal flat. Vagairiki is the only site where dentate stamped pottery (Lapita) was found on the island. Yadua island is significant for the crested iguana.
Lapita settlement was the earliest-known in Fiji. The Lapita people reached our islands from the west about 2900 years ago and lived a largely coastal existence for hundreds of years with probably little impact on island environments. What these recent findings show is that Lapita settlement in Fiji was more intense than previously thought suggesting, although this is far from certain, that large numbers of colonists arrived within a short period of time.
This conclusion gives us a vision of a “Great Fleet” of ocean-going vessels coming from the west (probably from Solomon Islands or Vanuatu) with the express intention of colonising new lands. Although the idea of a Great Fleet colonising New Zealand has fallen out of favour with archaeologists, the new information from Fiji may force reassessment of these ideas and, with it, a reassessment of the motivation and pre-planning of the extraordinary group of people who first colonised our islands.
Oral History in Fiji
The Fiji Museum's Perspective on Oral History
Background to oral history collection in Fiji
Oral traditions were passed on from our the older generation to the younger generation in years past, this occurred throughout the Pacific region, and it is an important aspect in Fijian family links to the clan, tribal land and myths and folklore.
In Fiji, we recognise the importance of collecting such information, apart from the Fiji Museum there are other institutions that collect oral history, these are the Native Lands Commission (NLC) in the Ministry of Fijian Affairs, the Pacific Institute of the University of the South Pacific, the Institute for Fijian Culture, the Fiji Military Forces and the Methodist Church (Buadromo 1999). The Fiji Museum collects oral history. through its Archaeology Departments and through the Collection Department in terms of information relating to the artefacts. There is no (specific) legislation that addresses the issue of oral traditions and heritage and their protection in Fiji, except for the Copyright ACT that briefly addresses the issue of intellectual property rights. Oral History collection activities of these institutions are therefore unregulated and there is, at this point in time, no forum through which these institutions can come together and share the oral knowledge they have accumulated over the years.
The Fiji Museum Collection
The Fiji Museum has a significant collection of oral history recordings. In 2000, the museum identified key areas to focus on over the next few years. The areas in which museum collects oral history is as follows:
Indigenous: General history, migration (Namosi, parts of Ra and Ba province, Vanualevu and outer islands outstanding), myths, dances, music (chants and instrumental) and religion (old and new).
Other Ethnic Communities: Indo Fijian (girmit, history & social conditions, arts, crafts and medicinal knowledge), European, Chinese, Solomon & other Pacific Islanders living in Fiji. The museum has very little in its collection on other ethnic communities.
Oral History Collection - relating to events: This is a new area of collection and so far oral history has been collected on the impact of WWII in Fiji and the memories of the WWII veterans.
Oral History Collection relating to artifacts. Oral history is being collected on the artifacts in the museum's collection.
Oral History of Archaeology: Oral history of archaeological and historic sites in Fiji.
The museum is in the process of transcribing and translating some of its collection of oral history collection. The Archaeology Department as well as the Collections Department are involved in the copying of Master tapes and attempting to provide for its long-term conservation.
Current Oral history projects
There are two key projects that the Fiji Museum is currently working on:
The oral history of archaeological sites and collection of oral history of the various communities of Fiji.
Girmitya descendants (Indo-Fijian community)
Descendants of Forced Migrants ("Blackbirding" period) of Melanesians, PNG, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Gilbert & Ellice Islands (now known as Kiribati), and other Polynesian islands.
In 2003 the Museum received funding from the Embassy of the United States of America to undertake Oral History collection in Fiji. With this timely funding the Museum managed to purchase much needed equipment that covers both the audio and visual aspects. In the past the Museum relied on equipment from other Government departments but now this reliance is history thanks to the Embassy of the United States of America.
Staff collecting Oral Traditions from a descendant of the original Solomon Islanders brought to Fiji via labour trade, ca 1840s, using equipment funded by the US Embassy cultural fund.
Conservation programme:-
The original analogue recordings are being dubbed and digital copies made.
The museum treats these recordings as intangible treasures and are preserved for future references.
Oral history of archaeological sites
The museum is in the process of setting up a register of historic sites on which known archaeological and historical sites are placed together with a synopsis of all archaeological research done on that site. This is now being supplemented by the oral history of the site. This area of work has been particularly significant for indigenous sites in Fiji, a lot of which are no longer inhabited. The Archaeology field teams collect oral histories of all archaeological sites visited. Providing an insight into the recent past of the site and it also helps trace the cultural resource owners of such sites. For fairly recent sites, collecting oral history assists in archaeological work on the site. This is a major aspect of cultural awareness being carried out by the Archaeology Department. We present the archaeological and oral history of the site to the people. The collection of oral history of archaeological sites is gradually being introduced for other sites in Fiji.
Oral histories of Fiji's other ethnic communities
It has been noted that very little has been collected on the oral histories of other ethnic communities in Fiji. The museum has been attempting to redress this. Collection of oral histories of some communities has begun, but funding, staffing and equipment constraints greatly limit collection.
Bibliography
Buadromo.S., Ramos-Singh.J. 2001, "The Role of the Fiji (National) Museum in Collecting Oral Traditions" Domodomo Scholarly Journal, Fiji Museum.
Bellwood P (1978) Man's Conquest of the Pacific. Dai Nippon Printing Co (H.K) Ltd.: Hong Kong.
Van Dijk (1999) Who are these people ? Human Skeletal Remains from the Pacific Region in Galipaud J.C and Lilley I. (Ed) The Pacific from 5000 to 2000 BP Colonisations and Transformations. Institute of Research and Development: Paris.
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