Ethnology collections as supplements and records: what museums contribute to historical archaeology of the New Hebrides (Vanuatu)

ABSTRACT

Nineteenth-century ethnological collections can supplement what is found in archaeological assemblages because they include objects unlikely to appear on archaeological sites, which either don’t normally preserve, are extremely rare or were intentionally destroyed in the past. However, collections are not neutral samples of what existed in past societies. They are biased by what collectors chose to take, and what was offered by the makers of ethnological objects. Collections, then, also represent an important record of agency in colonial exchanges. An archaeological survey of nineteenth-century Presbyterian missions and the surrounding landscapes in the southern New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) included analysis of museum collections from the same era. These objects provide evidence of the active, mutually constitutive role of things and interpersonal relationships in shaping cross-cultural exchanges.

KEYWORDS:

• Ethnology collections
• colonialism
• missions
• exchange
• Vanuatu

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellowship (DE130101703) hosted at the Australian National University. This research takes place in close collaboration with fieldworkers from the Vanuatu Cultural Centre. I would like to offer my sincere thanks and appreciation to the staff of the museums mentioned in the text. Two anonymous reviewers offered thoughtful comments which strengthened the final version of the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the Australian Research Council (DECRA DE 130101703).

Notes on contributors

James L. Flexner

James L. Flexner is currently Lecturer in Historical Archaeology and Heritage at the University of Sydney. This research is derived from an ARC-funded postdoctoral fellowship hosted in the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University that focused on the historical archaeology of mission sites in southern Vanuatu. Before moving to Australia, James worked at Washington and Lee University in the United States, where he spent two years as a visiting lecturer. James received his BA with honours in Archaeology and Anthropology from the University of Virginia and his MA and PhD in Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. His PhD was awarded for research on the historical archaeology of the leprosarium at Kalaupapa, Molokai. His current research focuses on the South Pacific and Australia, including ongoing fieldwork and research projects in Vanuatu, Tasmania and Hawaii.