Birds on the rim: a unique Lapita carinated vessel in its wider context

This paper describes a decorated carinated vessel excavated at the Teouma Lapita site, on the south coast of Efate, central Vanuatu. The vessel contained human bones and, following reconstruction, was found to have had four modelled birds on its rim. The incidence and dating of other burial pot assemblages is examined to place the find in a wider context within the Island Pacific.