The meaning and importance of the Lapita face motif

John Edward Terrell · Esther M. Schechter

14 citations0/0 files storedArchaeology in Oceania/Archæology & physical anthropology in Oceania

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Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies Archaeology and Rock Art Studies Australian Indigenous Culture and History

Abstract

ABSTRACT The principal design motifs characteristic of Lapita ceramic iconography are conventionally described as anthropomorphic both in appearance and in symbolic intent. Based on recent systematic research by a number of archaeologists, it is now possible to offer a more nuanced interpretation of the meaning and importance of this iconography to Pacific Islanders during and after the widespread popularity of Lapita as a pottery style. We argue that the most likely interpretation is that most but not all of the faces on Lapita vessels may be variant representations of sea turtles, not human beings. Furthermore, while this distinctive ware has been used to support broad inferences about the social organization, motivations, and religious ideas of its makers and users, Lapita designs may not be ‘saying’ symbolically what many now evidently believe them to be saying, and their historical importance may be other than what many currently say it is.

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References

2000On the road of the winds: an archaeological history of the Pacific Islands before European contact 1997The Lapita peoples: ancestors of the oceanic world 2005Papuan Pasts: Cultural, linguistic and biological histories of Papuan-speaking peoples 2017On the Road of the Winds 1996Oceanic culture history : essays in honour of Roger Green 2007Oceanic Explorations: Lapita and Western Pacific Settlement 1989Island Societies: Archaeological Approaches to Evolution and Transformation 2006The Teouma Lapita site and the early human settlement of the Pacific Islands

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