The Archaeology of Islands (Topics in Contemporary Archaeology)

Archaeologists have traditionally considered islands as distinct physical and social entities. In this book, Paul Rainbird discusses the historical construction of this characterization and questions the basis for such an understanding of island archaeology. Through a series of case studies of prehistoric archaeology in the Mediterranean, Pacific, Baltic, and Atlantic seas and oceans, he argues for a decentering of the land in favor of an emphasis on the archaeology of the sea and, ultimately, a new perspective on the making of maritime communities. The archaeology of islands is thus unshackled from approaches that highlight boundedness and isolation, and replaced with a new set of principles - that boundaries are fuzzy, islanders are distinctive in their expectation of contacts with people from over the seas, and that island life can tell us much about maritime communities. Debating islands, thus, brings to the fore issues of identity and community and a concern with Western construction of other peoples. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Title......Page 7 Copyright......Page 8 Dedication......Page 9 Contents......Page 11 Figures......Page 15 Acknowledgments......Page 17 1 A Consciousness of the Earth and Ocean: The Creation of Islands......Page 19 `FULL FATHOM FIVE' : ISLANDS IN WESTERN HISTORY......Page 22 SUFFERING A SEACHANGE: ISLANDS IN POPULAR LITERATURE......Page 24 IMAGINARY ISLANDS......Page 29 ISLANDS OF THE DEAD......Page 30 PRISON AND PLANTATION ISLANDS......Page 33 INSIDERS AND OUTSIDERS......Page 36 SHORES AND LINES ON A MAP – BOUNDARIES AND SCALE......Page 37 ISLANDS IN A WORLD OF PERCEPTIONS......Page 41 ISLANDS AND ANTHROPOLOGY......Page 44 ISLANDS AND BIOGEOGRAPHY......Page 48 ARCHAEOLOGY AND ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY......Page 50 ISLANDS AND THE POSTCOLONIAL CRITIQUE......Page 57 SMALL WORLDS AND BIG ISSUES – MICROCOSMS......Page 60 CONCLUSION......Page 63 3 An Archaeology of the Sea......Page 64 MARITIME CULTURAL LANDSCAPES......Page 65 MARINERS AND MARITIME COMMUNITIES......Page 67 BEING ON THE SEAS......Page 71 THE SEA(S) AND PHENOMENOLOGY......Page 75 MATERIAL CULTURE, GENDER AND PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE......Page 77 INTIMATE RELATIONS......Page 80 ARCHAEOLOGIES OF THE SEA(S)......Page 81 FACING THE SEA......Page 83 MALTA......Page 86 SEAS WITHIN SEAS......Page 97 BACK TO MALTA......Page 105 5 Oceania: Pohnpei and the Eastern Carolines......Page 108 ISLAND HISTORIES IN OCEANIA......Page 109 MICRONESIA......Page 113 POLYNESIA......Page 127 FUSION......Page 131 GOTLAND......Page 132 MESOLITHIC GOTLAND......Page 135 PIGS ON GOTLAND......Page 139 PITTED WARE PERIOD......Page 141 BRONZE AGE GOTLAND......Page 144 SHIP-SETTINGS......Page 146 IRON AGE GOTLAND......Page 149 THE BALTIC SEA......Page 152 CONCLUSION......Page 155 7 Atlantic Archipelago: The Western Seaways of Europe......Page 157 WESTERN SEAWAYS......Page 160 MESOLITHIC PRELUDE?......Page 162 ARRIVALS (AND DEPARTURES?)......Page 163 ‘ATTENTION ALL SHIPPING’ – BRONZE AGE BOATS......Page 173 IRON AGE SEASIDERS......Page 176 IRISH SEA/MEDITERRANEAN SEA......Page 179 8 Conclusion - Islands and Histories of the Sea......Page 181 COMMUNITIES IN THE FIELD......Page 182 THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF ISLANDS......Page 185 THE ARCHAEOLOGIES OF THE SEAS......Page 190 References......Page 193 Index......Page 211 Cover 1 Half-title 3 Title 7 Copyright 8 Dedication 9 Contents 11 Figures 15 Acknowledgments 17 1 A Consciousness of the Earth and Ocean: The Creation of Islands 19 `FULL FATHOM FIVE' : ISLANDS IN WESTERN HISTORY 22 SUFFERING A SEACHANGE: ISLANDS IN POPULAR LITERATURE 24 IMAGINARY ISLANDS 29 ISLANDS OF THE DEAD 30 PRISON AND PLANTATION ISLANDS 33 INSIDERS AND OUTSIDERS 36 SHORES AND LINES ON A MAP – BOUNDARIES AND SCALE 37 ISLANDS IN A WORLD OF PERCEPTIONS 41 2 Seas of Islands: Anthropology, Biogeography, Archaeology and Postcolonialism 44 ISLANDS AND ANTHROPOLOGY 44 ISLANDS AND BIOGEOGRAPHY 48 ARCHAEOLOGY AND ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY 50 ISLANDS AND THE POSTCOLONIAL CRITIQUE 57 SMALL WORLDS AND BIG ISSUES – MICROCOSMS 60 CONCLUSION 63 3 An Archaeology of the Sea 64 MARITIME CULTURAL LANDSCAPES 65 MARINERS AND MARITIME COMMUNITIES 67 BEING ON THE SEAS 71 THE SEA(S) AND PHENOMENOLOGY 75 MATERIAL CULTURE, GENDER AND PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE 77 INTIMATE RELATIONS 80 ARCHAEOLOGIES OF THE SEA(S) 81 FACING THE SEA 83 4 The Mediterranean 86 MALTA 86 SEAS WITHIN SEAS 97 BACK TO MALTA 105 5 Oceania: Pohnpei and the Eastern Carolines 108 ISLAND HISTORIES IN OCEANIA 109 MICRONESIA 113 POLYNESIA 127 FUSION 131 6 The Baltic 132 GOTLAND 132 MESOLITHIC GOTLAND 135 PIGS ON GOTLAND 139 PITTED WARE PERIOD 141 BRONZE AGE GOTLAND 144 SHIP-SETTINGS 146 IRON AGE GOTLAND 149 THE BALTIC SEA 152 CONCLUSION 155 7 Atlantic Archipelago: The Western Seaways of Europe 157 WESTERN SEAWAYS 160 MESOLITHIC PRELUDE? 162 ARRIVALS (AND DEPARTURES?) 163 ‘ATTENTION ALL SHIPPING’ – BRONZE AGE BOATS 173 IRON AGE SEASIDERS 176 IRISH SEA/MEDITERRANEAN SEA 179 8 Conclusion - Islands and Histories of the Sea 181 COMMUNITIES IN THE FIELD 182 THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF ISLANDS 185 THE ARCHAEOLOGIES OF THE SEAS 190 References 193 Index 211 Archaeologists have traditionally considered islands as distinct physical and social entities. In this book, Paul Rainbird discusses the historical construction of this characterisation and questions the basis for such an understanding of island archaeology