Entangled biographies: Western Pacific ceramics and the tombs of Pohnpei

Abstract

The abandonment of ceramic manufacture at early periods in the history of many Pacific Island societies has long been recognized by archaeologists. Explanation of this abandonment has usually been by recourse to environmental restrictions or functional determinants, such as subsistence change. In this paper I consider the social role of pots in pre‐contact western Pacific societies and offer a context‐specific interpretation from the eastern Caroline Islands. I propose a socially derived biography of western Pacific pottery and how it may be lost, maintained or transformed in different contexts and thus provide an indication of the complexities inherent in understanding the abandonment of ceramics more broadly in the Pacific.

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