The Archaeology of Micronesia

Description

This is the first book-length archaeological study of Micronesia, a collection of island groups in the Western Pacific Ocean. Drawing on a wide range of archaeological, anthropological and historical sources, the author explores the various ways that the societies of these islands have been interpreted since European navigators first arrived there in the sixteenth century. Considering the process of initial colonisation on the island groups of Marianas, Carolines, Marshalls and Kiribati, he examines the histories of these islands and explores how the neighbouring areas are drawn together through notions of fusion, fluidity and flux. The author places this region within the broader arena of pacific island studies and addresses contemporary debates such as origins, processes of colonisation, social organisation, environmental change and the interpretation of material culture. This book will be essential reading for any scholar with an interest in the archaeology of the Pacific.

Paul Rainbird is a Lecturer in Archaeology, Department of Archaeology, University of Wales, Lampeter. He has conducted archaeological fieldwork in the Pacific Islands, Australia and Europe. He co-edited Interrogating Pedagogies: Archaeology in Higher Education (2001).

"A thought-provoking work...Essential." L.A. Kimball, Western Washington University, CHOICE