Shell beads as markers of Oceanic dispersal: A rare Cypraeidae ornament type from the Mariana Islands

Geoffrey Clark; Michelle Langley; Mirani Litster; Olaf Winter; Judith Amesbury

doi:10.4324/9781315299112-10

Shell beads as markers of Oceanic dispersal: A rare Cypraeidae ornament type from the Mariana Islands

Geoffrey Clark, Michelle Langley, Mirani Litster, Olaf Winter, Judith Amesbury

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

Abstract

We present experimental and micro-trace evidence for an unusual Cypraeidae bead type associated with the earliest cultural deposits of the Bapot-1 site in the Marianas Islands in Western Micronesia. Results show that these ground-section cowry beads were strung together while worked dorsum found at this same site were used as pendants/lids. The probable occurrence of ground-section beads on Tikopia island ~4000 km from the Marianas suggests that these distinctive shell artefacts can assist archaeological understanding of early Oceanic dispersals and interaction among different colonising Neolithic groups in the Indo-Pacific.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	The Archaeology of Portable Art: Southeast Asian, Pacific, and Australian Perspectives
Editors	M Langley, M Litster, D Wright & S May
Place of Publication	Oxford and New York
Publisher	Routledge
Pages	142-161
Edition	1st
ISBN (Print)	9781315299112
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315299112-10
Publication status	Published - 2018

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Clark, G., Langley, M., Litster, M., Winter, O., & Amesbury, J. (2018). Shell beads as markers of Oceanic dispersal: A rare Cypraeidae ornament type from the Mariana Islands. In M Langley, M Litster, D Wright & S May (Ed.), The Archaeology of Portable Art: Southeast Asian, Pacific, and Australian Perspectives (1st ed., pp. 142-161). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315299112-10

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title = "Shell beads as markers of Oceanic dispersal: A rare Cypraeidae ornament type from the Mariana Islands",

abstract = "We present experimental and micro-trace evidence for an unusual Cypraeidae bead type associated with the earliest cultural deposits of the Bapot-1 site in the Marianas Islands in Western Micronesia. Results show that these ground-section cowry beads were strung together while worked dorsum found at this same site were used as pendants/lids. The probable occurrence of ground-section beads on Tikopia island ~4000 km from the Marianas suggests that these distinctive shell artefacts can assist archaeological understanding of early Oceanic dispersals and interaction among different colonising Neolithic groups in the Indo-Pacific.",

author = "Geoffrey Clark and Michelle Langley and Mirani Litster and Olaf Winter and Judith Amesbury",

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language = "English",

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pages = "142--161",

editor = "{M Langley, M Litster, D Wright & S May}",

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publisher = "Routledge",

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Clark, G, Langley, M, Litster, M, Winter, O & Amesbury, J 2018, Shell beads as markers of Oceanic dispersal: A rare Cypraeidae ornament type from the Mariana Islands. in M Langley, M Litster, D Wright & S May (ed.), The Archaeology of Portable Art: Southeast Asian, Pacific, and Australian Perspectives. 1st edn, Routledge, Oxford and New York, pp. 142-161. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315299112-10

Shell beads as markers of Oceanic dispersal: A rare Cypraeidae ornament type from the Mariana Islands. / Clark, Geoffrey; Langley, Michelle; Litster, Mirani et al.
The Archaeology of Portable Art: Southeast Asian, Pacific, and Australian Perspectives. ed. / M Langley, M Litster, D Wright & S May. 1st. ed. Oxford and New York: Routledge, 2018. p. 142-161.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

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T1 - Shell beads as markers of Oceanic dispersal: A rare Cypraeidae ornament type from the Mariana Islands

AU - Clark, Geoffrey

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AU - Litster, Mirani

AU - Winter, Olaf

AU - Amesbury, Judith

PY - 2018

Y1 - 2018

N2 - We present experimental and micro-trace evidence for an unusual Cypraeidae bead type associated with the earliest cultural deposits of the Bapot-1 site in the Marianas Islands in Western Micronesia. Results show that these ground-section cowry beads were strung together while worked dorsum found at this same site were used as pendants/lids. The probable occurrence of ground-section beads on Tikopia island ~4000 km from the Marianas suggests that these distinctive shell artefacts can assist archaeological understanding of early Oceanic dispersals and interaction among different colonising Neolithic groups in the Indo-Pacific.

AB - We present experimental and micro-trace evidence for an unusual Cypraeidae bead type associated with the earliest cultural deposits of the Bapot-1 site in the Marianas Islands in Western Micronesia. Results show that these ground-section cowry beads were strung together while worked dorsum found at this same site were used as pendants/lids. The probable occurrence of ground-section beads on Tikopia island ~4000 km from the Marianas suggests that these distinctive shell artefacts can assist archaeological understanding of early Oceanic dispersals and interaction among different colonising Neolithic groups in the Indo-Pacific.

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DO - 10.4324/9781315299112-10

M3 - Chapter

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SP - 142

EP - 161

BT - The Archaeology of Portable Art: Southeast Asian, Pacific, and Australian Perspectives

A2 - M Langley, M Litster, D Wright & S May, null

PB - Routledge

CY - Oxford and New York

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Clark G, Langley M, Litster M, Winter O, Amesbury J. Shell beads as markers of Oceanic dispersal: A rare Cypraeidae ornament type from the Mariana Islands. In M Langley, M Litster, D Wright & S May, editor, The Archaeology of Portable Art: Southeast Asian, Pacific, and Australian Perspectives. 1st ed. Oxford and New York: Routledge. 2018. p. 142-161 doi: 10.4324/9781315299112-10

Shell beads as markers of Oceanic dispersal: A rare Cypraeidae ornament type from the Mariana Islands

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