Geomorphic and archaeological landscapes of the Sigatoka dune site, Viti Levu, Fiji: interdisciplinary investigations

W R Dickinson; D V Burley; Patrick Nunn; A Anderson; G Hope; A De Biran; C Burke; S Matararaba

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Geomorphic and archaeological landscapes of the Sigatoka dune site, Viti Levu, Fiji: interdisciplinary investigations

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Geomorphic and archaeological landscapes of the Sigatoka dune site, Viti Levu, Fiji: interdisciplinary investigations

W R Dickinson, D V Burley, Patrick Nunn, A Anderson, G Hope, A De Biran, C Burke and S Matararaba

Asian Perspectives, Vol.37(1), pp.1-31

1998

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Abstract

archaeological evidence

cultural adaptation

landscape history

prehistoric settlement

settlement history

Fiji

Viti Levu

Recent archaeological studies in Oceania have highlighted the importance of Holocene changes in island landscapes for understanding prehistoric settlement and the bultural adaptations of ancestral Pacific peoples. Some geomorphic changes can be regarded as natural background, unaffected by human culture, others are solely anthropogenic in origin, while still others represent a subtle interplay of both natural and human agency. The complexity of relevant archaeological and geological data dictates an interdisciplinary approach to research. In many Oceanian settings, a full interpretation of landscape and human history is otherwise impossible. A case in point is the Sigatoka Dune archaeological site on the south coast of the island Viti Levu in Fiji. The site lies at the eastern end of a parabolic dune field built on deltaic deposits of the Sigatoka River. The dynamic local sedimentary environment, both fluvial and eolian, has resulted in a series of well-stratified, ceramic-rich archaeological deposits that represent the key phases of Fijian prehistory, from first settlement some three millenia ago up to recent times.

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Title: Geomorphic and archaeological landscapes of the Sigatoka dune site, Viti Levu, Fiji: interdisciplinary investigations
Authors: W R Dickinson (Author) - University of Arizona, United States
D V Burley (Author) - Simon Fraser University, Canada
Patrick Nunn (Author) - University of the South Pacific, Fiji
A Anderson (Author) - Australian National University
G Hope (Author) - Australian National University
A De Biran (Author) - National Trust for Fiji, Fiji
C Burke (Author) - Fiji Museum, Fiji
S Matararaba (Author) - Fiji Museum, Fiji
Publication details: Asian Perspectives, Vol.37(1), pp.1-31
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Date published: 1998
ISSN: 0066-8435
Organisation Unit: Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre; Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research; School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Law and Society; Sustainability Research Cluster
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450338802621
Output Type: Journal article

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