Crowther, Alison (Archaeological Sciences Laboratories, University of Queensland)

Investigating Lapita Pottery Use Through the Analysis of Organic Residues

The question of Lapita pottery function remains open to archaeological debate (see Karch 1997; Summerhayes 2001), prompting calls that "more research on residues, surface wear patterns, and so forth would be useful in interpreting function and use" (Kirch 1997:120). To this end, a study involving the microscopic analysis of residues on potsherds from a variety of Lapita sites was initiated to investigate how Lapita pottery was actually used and how these uses may have varied within and between sites. The goals of this research are to determine whether any use-related residues have survived on the surfaces of the archaeological sherds; to identify the taphonomic and taxonomic origin of these traces; and to assess the effectiveness of microscopy in answering questions relating to pottery function.

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