Esther M Schechter
Biographic Data
| ID | 3469108 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Esther M Schechter |
| GIVEN NAMES | Esther M |
| FAMILY NAME | Schechter |
| SIGNATURE | SCHECHTER E M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Field Museum of Natural History |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 8 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 11 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 8 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Social networks, language, and material culture on New Guinea
It is common in both the popular imagination and in scientific research to treat humans as members of distinctive ethnolinguistic groups, populations, or races with different histories. How to best model human diversity has reemerged as a significant issue owing to the prominence of ancient genetic evidence now being used to study the human past. The island of New Guinea, where people speak more than 800 languages or dialects, has served as a tes…
Archaeological and Palaeoenviromental Investigations Near Aitape, Northern Papua New Guinea, 2014
The mid-Holocene period (ca. 7000–3000 BP) in the southwestern Pacific witnessed the activation of wide-ranging networks connecting the north coast of New Guinea and off-shore islands, possibly driven by rising population density as favourable coastal environments developed after the mid-Holocene marine highstand. Yet finding actual evidence for human occupation dating to this period in New Guinea has proven extremely challenging. We report on th…
Chapter 11
Invertebrate remains recovered during excavations on the Sepik coast of Papua New Guinea in 1996 were analyzed. The main excavations took place in the Aitape hills, ∼2 km inland from the current coastline, and on Tumleo Island, ∼3 km off the coast. Remains of 72 mollusk, one arthropod, and two echinoderm species were identified. Forty-six of these are marine, 19 are from freshwater or brackish water and mangrove habitats, and 11 are terrestrial. …
Chapter 15
The investigations described in this monograph have shown us that the Sepik coast is an appealing place where people have devised strikingly effective ways of handling the challenges of living in such a hazardous and changing environment. Contrary to the expectations of some before our fieldwork began on this coast in 1990, we have recovered no evidence linking Lapita pottery in the Bismarck Archipelago directly with early ceramics in mainland So…
Chapter 7
Using a notational code having three levels of inclusiveness (attributes, attribute themes, and motifs), four stylistically distinct ceramic wares of evident chronological significance can be delineated in the Aitape area: Nyapin, Sumalo, Aiser, and Wain. The robustness of this stylistic sequence can be confirmed using two alternative computer-based algorithms: the software package Network 4.5.0.2 developed by Fluxus Technology, Ltd, for estimati…
Chapter 8
The shapes of prehistoric pottery vessels excavated in 1996 on Tumleo Island and at Aitape are described and compared with historic and modern pots from this area of New Guinea held in the ethnological collections of the Field Museum of Natural History. Four basic shapes are described. Two of these, platters and bowls with carinations, are not seen in the historic and contemporary ceramic collections. Additionally, a new shape is seen among histo…
The meaning and importance of the Lapita face motif
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…
Deciphering the Lapita Code
Archaeological and ethnographic evidence from the Sepik coast of Papua New Guinea documents the survival in the western Pacific of a stylized symbol or motif - the so-called 'Lapita face' - on pottery and possibly other kinds of material items (such as wooden bowls and serving platters) for at least 3300 years. A plausible reason for the persistence of this iconography is that it has referred to ideas about the living and the dead, the human and …
Deciphering the Lapita Code
Archaeological and ethnographic evidence from the Sepik coast of Papua New Guinea documents the survival in the western Pacific of a stylized symbol or motif - the so-called 'Lapita face' - on pottery and possibly other kinds of material items (such as wooden bowls and serving platters) for at least 3300 years. A plausible reason for the persistence of this iconography is that it has referred to ideas about the living and the dead, the human and …
The meaning and importance of the Lapita face motif
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…
Deciphering the Lapita Code
Archaeological and ethnographic evidence from the Sepik coast of Papua New Guinea documents the survival in the western Pacific of a stylized symbol or motif - the so-called 'Lapita face' - on pottery and possibly other kinds of material items (such as wooden bowls and serving platters) for at least 3300 years. A plausible reason for the persistence of this iconography is that it has referred to ideas about the living and the dead, the human and …
The meaning and importance of the Lapita face motif
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…
Chapter 11
Invertebrate remains recovered during excavations on the Sepik coast of Papua New Guinea in 1996 were analyzed. The main excavations took place in the Aitape hills, ∼2 km inland from the current coastline, and on Tumleo Island, ∼3 km off the coast. Remains of 72 mollusk, one arthropod, and two echinoderm species were identified. Forty-six of these are marine, 19 are from freshwater or brackish water and mangrove habitats, and 11 are terrestrial. …
Chapter 15
The investigations described in this monograph have shown us that the Sepik coast is an appealing place where people have devised strikingly effective ways of handling the challenges of living in such a hazardous and changing environment. Contrary to the expectations of some before our fieldwork began on this coast in 1990, we have recovered no evidence linking Lapita pottery in the Bismarck Archipelago directly with early ceramics in mainland So…
Chapter 7
Using a notational code having three levels of inclusiveness (attributes, attribute themes, and motifs), four stylistically distinct ceramic wares of evident chronological significance can be delineated in the Aitape area: Nyapin, Sumalo, Aiser, and Wain. The robustness of this stylistic sequence can be confirmed using two alternative computer-based algorithms: the software package Network 4.5.0.2 developed by Fluxus Technology, Ltd, for estimati…
Chapter 8
The shapes of prehistoric pottery vessels excavated in 1996 on Tumleo Island and at Aitape are described and compared with historic and modern pots from this area of New Guinea held in the ethnological collections of the Field Museum of Natural History. Four basic shapes are described. Two of these, platters and bowls with carinations, are not seen in the historic and contemporary ceramic collections. Additionally, a new shape is seen among histo…
Archaeological and Palaeoenviromental Investigations Near Aitape, Northern Papua New Guinea, 2014
The mid-Holocene period (ca. 7000–3000 BP) in the southwestern Pacific witnessed the activation of wide-ranging networks connecting the north coast of New Guinea and off-shore islands, possibly driven by rising population density as favourable coastal environments developed after the mid-Holocene marine highstand. Yet finding actual evidence for human occupation dating to this period in New Guinea has proven extremely challenging. We report on th…
Social networks, language, and material culture on New Guinea
It is common in both the popular imagination and in scientific research to treat humans as members of distinctive ethnolinguistic groups, populations, or races with different histories. How to best model human diversity has reemerged as a significant issue owing to the prominence of ancient genetic evidence now being used to study the human past. The island of New Guinea, where people speak more than 800 languages or dialects, has served as a tes…
Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies (7 works) · Archaeology (5 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (5 works) · Geography (5 works) · History (4 works) · New guinea (4 works) · Pottery (4 works) · Art (3 works) · Prehistory (3 works) · Biology (2 works)