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Archaeology in a
clay pot
On-going
archaeological investigation in the northwest D'Entrecasteaux
Islands, Milne Bay province, traces past human settlement on the
island group and interaction between the mainland and the outer
islands through clay pots. VINCENT H. KEWIBU writes.
The D'Entrecasteaux Islands is made of Goodenough, Fergusson,
Normanby, Amphlett Group and small offshore islands. These islands
were sighted in 1793 by a French navigator, A.R.J. de Bruny
d'Entrecasteaux after which the archipelago is named. Capt. John
Moresby in 1874 navigated the islands and gave their English
names.
Clay pots are generally referred to as pottery by archaeologists
and played an important role in the coastal and island communities
within the last 2000 years.
The vessels had a multitude of functions such as cooking and
storage. They were also trade and exchange items.
The presence of these vessels in some burial sites and those
associated with rituals highlight the significance of the
ceremonial and religious role it played. However, the introduction
of aluminium pots by Europeans greatly reduced and transformed its
utilitarian, economic and ceremonial values.
Despite this, some communities in the Milne Bay Province still
manufacture clay pots today. These communities include Sivesive
and Yauyaula on Goodenough Island, Gumawana and Nabwageta Islands
in the Amphletts Group. The other two major production sites in
the province are on Tubetube and Ware Islands, while others became
defunct or operating in a much smaller scale over the years.
The vessels are manufactured from clay extracted from the ground
in suitably identified locations.
Clay is formed by weathering of the earth's surface into
microscopic particles. The mineral and chemical composition
resembles the surrounding geology of the locality. Plasticity is
an essential feature of clay that makes pottery production
possible, where it is easily fabricated into particular shapes.
The potting clays on Goodenough and Fergusson Islands are
naturally ready-made and do not require the addition of temper
(sand or organic materials). The Sivesive villagers quarry their
clay from a locality known as Kawaweta which is situated about a
kilometre northwest of the village. At Yauyaula, the Kinauleya
clay source is situated in at the foothills near Kayomala River
and is quarried by the people of Augana and Nimwawena hamlets. The
Amphlett Islanders obtain their clay from Yayavana at Wapolu on
Fergusson Island, which is a day's trip by canoe. The Ware and
Tubetube Islanders obtain theirs at sources on their respective
islands.
In these communities women make clay pots. After quarrying the
clay and transporting it to production sites in villages or
hamlets, impurities are removed from the clay before pot
construction. Some water is added if the clay is too dry. Pot
construction techniques used at Sivesive, Yauyaula and the
Amphletts are similar but differs slightly.
At Sivesive and Yauyaula, the technique is spiral coiling while on
the Amphletts slab building with squeezed rolls is applied. These
communities use the paddle and anvil using the hand as anvil and a
paddle to shape the vessel.
The Amphlett Islanders build their vessels upside down beginning
with the rim and closing it off at the base, which is unique in
Papua New Guinea.
For Ware and Tubetube Islanders, they use the spiral coiling and
ring building technique. After fabricating the clay into a desired
vessel form, it is decorated while still damp or partially dried.
The vessel is then completely dried in open for one to three days
before firing. Fuel for firing the pots includes coconut husks and
fronds, and split wood. The vessels are placed upside down and the
fire built around them. After firing the vessels are cooled off in
the open and ready for use or distribution.
Pottery is one of the durable archaeological indicators for
tracing many aspects of prehistoric societies. Archaeologists
study attributes of decoration, shapes, dimensions and the fabric
of these vessels to make inferences about prehistoric technology,
social change and interaction (trade, exchange, migration and
communication), belief systems and diet. Pottery is recovered from
the surface and excavation of archaeological sites. The vessels
are rarely recovered in complete forms in most archaeological
contexts. They are mostly recovered in broken fragments (sherds).
Basic descriptive, statistical and highly specialised scientific
techniques are used in the analysis of the diagnostic attributes.
The antiquity of pottery production in Milne Bay province can be
traced back to the time when Jesus Christ was born, some 2000
years ago. The earliest pottery production area, apart from the
coastal mainland, lies in the northwest D'Entrecasteaux Islands
around Mud Bay area of Goodenough and western part of Fergusson.
Between 1000 and 2000 years ago, evidence shows that interaction
occurred, in the form of pottery exchange, between the northwest
D'Entrecasteaux Islands and coastal mainland as far Collingwood
Bay. This notion is based on the similarity of pottery styles
recovered in 1970s in Collingwood Bay and 2004 on southeast
Goodenough, the Barrier Islands and west Fergusson.
By about 1000 years ago the geographical sphere expanded to
include the Amphlett and Trobriand Islands. After about 500 years
ago, the sphere of interaction contracted and Collingwood Bay was
cut off. This indicates that production of pottery in the Amphlett
Islands began about 1000 years ago and by 500 to 600 years ago
gained monopoly over the market in the area, probably, with the
emergence of the Kula exchange. On Tubetube and Ware Islands
pottery production took hold some 600 to 700 years ago and
thereafter found their path into the exchange networks. The
geographic expansion and contraction of these spheres of
interaction is related to changes in social configurations
particularly movement of people and probably economic decisions on
the cost of long distance sea voyages.
Recent archaeological excavations in the northwest part of the
D'Entrcasteaux Islands produced some pottery that is characterised
by red slip and red painted decoration. These decorations are
clearly associated with the initial settlement process of
sea-faring Austronesian peoples whose subsistence was based on
fishing, gardening and to some extent hunting. Radiocarbon dates
obtained from archaeological sites on the islands are consistent
with the regional pottery and cultural sequence regarding
settlement and movement of people and goods in the area
established by archaeologists along the south coast of Papua New
Guinea.
The red slip and red painted decoration styles are also recovered
from archaeological sites on Yule Island, the Port Moresby area
and Mailu in the Central Province; and Collingwood Bay in the Oro
Province. These vessel types are no longer produced by clay pot
manufacturing communities in the region. Clay pot industry in
Milne Bay province is still in trade today and occasionally sold
at the Alotau town market.
 
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