Olfala Histri Wea i Stap Andanit long Graon. Archaeological Training Workshops in Vanuatu: A Profile, the Benefits, Spin-offs and Extraordinary Discoveries

Abstract

Archaeological research was included in the Vanuatu governmental moratorium on humanities-based research in Vanuatu from 1984 to 1994(Bolton 1999: 1) and consequently it languished very much in a pioneering phase, reliant on interpretations from the results of a handful of influential projects that had been carried out through the 1960s and 70s.Right up to the mid-1990s fundamental questions relating to the initial colonisation and settlement of the archipelago and the succeeding cultural transformations which took place were still largely unanswered.Much of the country remained an archaeological terra incognita (Bedford et al. 1998; Bedford 2006a).However, the establishment of the Vanuatu Cultural and Historic Sites Survey (VCHSS) in 1990, a separate but associated entity to the Vanuatu Cultural Centre (VCC) and funded primarily by the European Union, was a major positive boost to archaeology.It started with a team of professional archaeologists, David Roe and Jean-Christophe Galipaud, and a less experienced but energetic group of ni-Vanuatu, some of whom would later go on to play influential roles in the long-term future of the VCC.The VCHSS initially comprised the manager Martha Yamsiu (later Kaltal) and field officers, Peter Kolmas, Ralph Regenvanu, Nicolas Vanusoksok, François Wadra and Fidel Yoringmal.Its aims were to build and maintain a database of sites of cultural, archaeological and historic significance; to conduct surveys to identify and document these sites; train ni-Vanuatu staff in techniques of survey, research planning and execution; consider and establish procedures for determining, assessing and responding to threats to sites; encourage and develop the study of archaeology and history of Vanuatu and promote an awareness of its importance as part of the country's cultural heritage (Regenvanu et al. 1992;Roe and Galipaud 1994).The VCHSS organised and undertook site surveys in conjunction with the locallybased VCC filwokas and local communities.Focus was generally on the recording of historical and cultural/kastom sites, particularly in areas where development

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