Robin Torrence
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 78812 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Robin Torrence |
| PRENOMES | Robin |
| SOBRENOME | Torrence |
| ASSINATURA | TORRENCE R |
| AFILIAÇÕES | Australian Museum |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8519-2395 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 65 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 782 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 63 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 2 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 1975 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2025 |
| ÍNDICE H | 17 |
What?????????s New?
Altered logics of production and exchange during the colonial encounter
Cracking seeds and nuts
Crafting Social Networks
Cup marks on Ambra Crater
We report an unusual example of rock engravings in an open context in the Highlands region of Papua New Guinea. The highly weathered assemblage comprised a cluster of two “cup and ring” motifs with at least eight additional cup marks pecked on a small basalt boulder located on the summit of Ambra Crater (also Mt. Ambra), a potentially significant place because it has provided an elevated viewpoint across the denuded Upper Wahgi Valley landscape f…
Petroglyphs and place
The analysis of cultural practices at four sites near Cape Gloucester and on Uneapa and Garua Islands in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea shows how rock markings and boulder arrangements create special places within physical and social landscapes. Four kinds of rock markings are documented: cupules, abraded surfaces, geometric curvilinear and rectilinear (i.e., composed of straight lines) petroglyphs, and figurative forms including anthropomorp…
Regimes of value in museum practices
Between 1888 and 1898 Sir William MacGregor, first Administrator of British New Guinea, orchestrated the collection of over 15,000 cultural objects. Using Appadurai's notion of ‘things-in-motion’, we trace the networked biography of the MacGregor collection through ‘regimes of value’ as it moved from the territory to museums in Australia and Britain and then repatriated to Papua New Guinea. We show how collection management practices in these ins…
Social responses to volcanic eruptions
Detecting exchange networks in New Britain, Papua New Guinea
Compared to elsewhere in Oceania, the history and character of stone axe‐adze production and exchange in the Bismarck Archipelago is very poorly known. To explore the feasibility of using geochemical analysis to trace past social interaction, we conducted a non‐destructive portable XRF study of 97 ground stone artefacts from archaeological contexts in New Britain and the ethnographic collection at the Australian Museum. The study capitalised on t…
Tattooing tools and the Lapita cultural complex
A use‐wear and residue study of 56 retouched obsidian flakes from seven Lapita sites in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu confirms that they had been used for tattooing. These specialised tools all bear one or more very small points formed by alternating retouch. A detailed comparison of use traces and pigments on these and 19 additional skin piercing tools analysed previously challenges the notion of homogeneity in cultural practice…
The demise of a monopoly
Geochemical analysis using portable X‐ray fluorescence (pXRF) shows that a large stemmed tool in the Bishop Museum, thought at one time to be a mata‘a from Rapa Nui, is composed of obsidian from the Mopir outcrops on New Britain, Papua New Guinea. As the first large, ceremonial stemmed tool from this quarry, it challenges the hypothesis that production was limited to one region, therefore suggesting that a more complex set of social networks oper…
Social resilience and long-term adaptation to volcanic disasters
Detecting early tattooing in the Pacific region through experimental usewear and residue analyses of obsidian tools
Excavating ethnographic collections
As the product of negotiated exchanges between indigenous groups and outsiders, ethnographic collections offer a rich source of information about colonial cultures. Focusing on museum collections from Central Province, Papua New Guinea, we show how archaeological analyses of assemblages reveal strategies used by indigenous groups to benefit from their interactions with outsiders. In particular, examples of (1) attracting contact, (2) asserting id…
Forty years and still growing
Cooking up recipes for ancient starch
Lepong
A new obsidian source from northwest Manus, Papua New Guinea, is reported for the first time. The chemical signature for this new source was obtained using the electron microprobe, ICP‐MS, and PIXE‐PIGME, and the results were compared with known sources and artifacts from this region. The results show for the first time a more complex scenario of obsidian procurement and exchange than previously thought. Archaeological excavation and survey of Ma…
Unexpected uses for obsidian
Remains of a Puzzle
Previous geochemical studies of volcanic glass artifacts dating to the Late Palaeolithic in northeast Asia have revealed a wide distribution of artifacts from sources in China, Korea, and Far East Russia. Through an analysis of lithic technology, this study sheds new light on the variety and complexity of the social, technological, and landscape factors that shaped the long distance movement of stone artifacts
Long‐distance connections in Vanuatu
A geochemical study using pXRF and LA–ICP–MS to characterise artefacts from sites dating to the initial phase of colonisation on Aore and Malo islands, Vanuatu, has confirmed the dominance of obsidian from the distant Kutau/Bao source in West New Britain, with a smaller group from local outcrops in the Banks Islands, Vanuatu. Three flakes from the Umleang/Umrei source in the Admiralty Islands have also been identified in later levels. Distance fa…
Stemmed Tools, Social Interaction, and Voyaging in Early–Mid Holocene Papua New Guinea
To assess the proposal that the widespread distribution of early–mid Holocene obsidian stemmed tools in Papua New Guinea signifies wide ranging social networks, studies of their morphology, technology, and geochemical composition were conducted. It is argued that strong similarities in technology and form of artifacts made from both Manus and New Britain obsidians and their characterization to only one sub-source in each region indicate significa…
Meaningful stones
The technology, typology, context and probable mid-Holocene date of a newly discovered group of exceptional obsidian stemmed tools at Barema, New Britain, Papua New Guinea, opens a rare window on social life and ideology during a poorly known period in Melanesia. We argue that, because of their size, fragility and the skill required for their manufacture, these artefacts were valuables, conferring status on their owners. Their deliberately constr…
Volcanic disasters and agricultural intensification
New pieces
Unpacking the Collection
Time, energy, and stone tools
Integrating Phytoliths within Use-Wear/Residue Studies of Stone Tools
Behavioral Analysis and the Structure of a Prehistoric Industry [and Comments and Reply]
Assuming that aboriginal behavior was recorded on chipped-stone implements and debitage, and assuming that the analyst can train himself to recognize and interpret that record, then a classification of lithic artifacts based on manufacturing behavior may be considered an inherent classification. Lithic behavioral classification is examined from the perspective of other archaeological classifications as well as from general taxonomic theory. Advan…
Clues to Stone Tool Function Re-examined
Social networks and the spread of Lapita
Lapita pottery seems to arrive in the Pacific out of the blue, and signal a new social, economic or ideological network. The authors show that widespread interaction, articulated by obsidian tools and stone mortars and pestles decorated with various motifs, was already in existence in New Guinea and New Britain. These earlier networks provide a preview of the social interaction that was to light up with the advent of Lapita
Pleistocene colonisation of the Bismarck Archipelago
The geological and archaeological signatures at the site of Kupona na Dari on the Willaumez Peninsula, West New Britain provide important new data about human colonisation of the Bismarck Archipelago. Analyses of the stratigraphy and weathering of paleosols and manuports, when combined with fission track, radiocarbon, and luminescence dating, indicate that the site was first occupied at about 35–45,000 years ago. During the whole period of occupa…
Mid-Holocene Social Interaction in Melanesia
The widespread distribution in Papua New Guinea of obsidian stemmed tools dated to the mid-Holocene has led scholars to postulate the existence of large interaction spheres. A newly reported artifact from Biak Island, West Papua provides the stimulus for reconsidering the role of this tool type in regional social interaction. The tool was hammer-dressed, a technique unknown for obsidian flaked tools elsewhere in the world and only rarely applied …
Cooking up recipes for ancient starch
Ethnoarchaeology, museum collections and prehistoric exchange
Although ethnography has played an important role in the development of archaeological theory and method, it is limited by the short time‐scales employed and the lack of attention to material culture. Historical studies of museum collections can help overcome these difficulties. By monitoring changes in the efficiency of production of Admiralty Island spears and daggers over the past 120 years, one can observe the effects of economic transformati…
Identification of starch granules using image analysis and multivariate techniques
Sociality and the short distance trader
An analysis of changes in the assemblage composition of obsidian from different sources was undertaken on 12 assemblages from sites dating over the past 6,000 years in the Willaumez region (including the peninsula and nearby islands) in West New Britain, in order to investigate Ambrose's (1978) prediction that Lapita obsidian trade differed from recent ethnographic systems. The history of obsidian use on Garua Island, where sites contain various …
Starch Grains and Environmental Reconstruction
Assessing the effects of volcanic disasters on human settlement in the Willaumez Peninsula, Papua New Guinea
Bayesian statistical approaches to calibrating radiocarbon determinations can make a significant contribution to disaster studies by adding precision to the dating of both the environmental forcing agent and the consequent human responses. An archaeological case study in the Willaumez Peninsula region of New Britain, Papua New Guinea uses radiocarbon dating to examine the chronology of five major volcanic events and the timing and nature of recol…
Long‐distance connections in Vanuatu
A geochemical study using pXRF and LA–ICP–MS to characterise artefacts from sites dating to the initial phase of colonisation on Aore and Malo islands, Vanuatu, has confirmed the dominance of obsidian from the distant Kutau/Bao source in West New Britain, with a smaller group from local outcrops in the Banks Islands, Vanuatu. Three flakes from the Umleang/Umrei source in the Admiralty Islands have also been identified in later levels. Distance fa…
Moving sources
New Britain obsidian sources
The natural occurrence of obsidian in volcanic flows in West New Britain has been thoroughly investigated and new measurements of the composition of field samples have been made with a proton dose of 150 μC, increased by a factor of three compared to analyses reported in early studies. New data on precision and accuracy of PIXE‐PIGME show that measurement error is not a significant factor in interpretations of chemical variability among source an…
Prehistoric Obsidian Exchange in Melanesia
The Talasea region in West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea figures prominently in the prehistory of the western Pacific. During the last 12,000 years at least, it was a major source of the obsidian which was transported widely throughout the western Pacific Islands, particularly during the time of Lapita pottery (e.g. Ambrose and Green 1972; Ambrose 1976; Best 1987; Specht et al. 1981; cf. Allen and White in press). In addition, Lapita pot…
Stemmed Tools, Social Interaction, and Voyaging in Early–Mid Holocene Papua New Guinea
To assess the proposal that the widespread distribution of early–mid Holocene obsidian stemmed tools in Papua New Guinea signifies wide ranging social networks, studies of their morphology, technology, and geochemical composition were conducted. It is argued that strong similarities in technology and form of artifacts made from both Manus and New Britain obsidians and their characterization to only one sub-source in each region indicate significa…
Archaeobotany in Australia and New Guinea
Archaeobotany is the study of plant remains from archaeological contexts. Despite Australasian research being at the forefront of several methodological innovations over the last three decades, archaebotany is now a relatively peripheral concern to most archaeological projects in Australia and New Guinea. In this paper, many practicing archaeobotanists working in these regions argue for a more central role for archaeobotany in standard archaeolog…
The relativity of density
In an attempt to overcome biases resulting from small sample size, we examine the potential of relative density, which Ambrose (n.d.; 1994) and Green (1987) have proposed is a non‐destructive, inexpensive, and easy technique for characterising the chemical composition of obsidian from the different sources in Melanesia. Our results demonstrate considerable overlap in relative density for the chemical subgroups in West New Britain, but also show t…
Finding the right question
As the most abundant, and frequently the only, archaeological evidence preserved within the volcanic soils of the Willaumez Peninsula, Papua New Guinea, stone artefacts carry a heavy burden for scholars seeking to write the prehistory of subsistence and land use. Efforts to squeeze information from these recalcitrant informal assemblages of obsidian tools have produced contradictory and unsatisfactory results. Although alternative approaches shou…
Unexpected uses for obsidian
Producing value
Previous studies have proposed that large, stemmed obsidian artefacts from the Willaumez Peninsula region, Papua New Guinea, might have circulated as ‘valuables.’ To evaluate how the value of these artefacts was created, an integrated characterisation and technological study was conducted on Type 1 retouched blades from Garua Island. A staged production system using obsidian from both local and imported sources was identified. Although the final …
Valuable and Useful
Distinctive obsidian artefacts from West New Britain appear sometime before 3950 cal BC and terminate abruptly at 1650 cal BC. We propose that they had a wide range of meanings for their users and functioned in both utilitarian and ceremonial contexts, similar to more recent ground stone axes from Highland New Guinea. They therefore represent the earliest evidence for valuables in Papua New Guinea. Here we draw together studies of the technology,…
Tattooing tools and the Lapita cultural complex
A use‐wear and residue study of 56 retouched obsidian flakes from seven Lapita sites in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu confirms that they had been used for tattooing. These specialised tools all bear one or more very small points formed by alternating retouch. A detailed comparison of use traces and pigments on these and 19 additional skin piercing tools analysed previously challenges the notion of homogeneity in cultural practice…
Behavioral Analysis and the Structure of a Prehistoric Industry [and Comments and Reply]
Assuming that aboriginal behavior was recorded on chipped-stone implements and debitage, and assuming that the analyst can train himself to recognize and interpret that record, then a classification of lithic artifacts based on manufacturing behavior may be considered an inherent classification. Lithic behavioral classification is examined from the perspective of other archaeological classifications as well as from general taxonomic theory. Advan…
Macrocore Production at the Melos Obsidian Quarries
(1979). Macrocore Production at the Melos Obsidian Quarries. Lithic Technology: Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 51-60
Keos and the Eastern Aegean the Cretan Connection
Jack L. Davis, Elizabeth Schofield, Robin Torrence, David F. Williams, Keos and the Eastern Aegean the Cretan Connection, Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Vol. 52, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1983), pp. 361-366
Archeology
Prehistoric Obsidian Exchange in Melanesia
The Talasea region in West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea figures prominently in the prehistory of the western Pacific. During the last 12,000 years at least, it was a major source of the obsidian which was transported widely throughout the western Pacific Islands, particularly during the time of Lapita pottery (e.g. Ambrose and Green 1972; Ambrose 1976; Best 1987; Specht et al. 1981; cf. Allen and White in press). In addition, Lapita pot…
Time, energy, and stone tools
[Diversity, Continuity and Change in the History of the Bismarck Archipelago] What Was the Significance of Lapita Pottery at Talasea
Ethnoarchaeology, museum collections and prehistoric exchange
Although ethnography has played an important role in the development of archaeological theory and method, it is limited by the short time‐scales employed and the lack of attention to material culture. Historical studies of museum collections can help overcome these difficulties. By monitoring changes in the efficiency of production of Admiralty Island spears and daggers over the past 120 years, one can observe the effects of economic transformati…
The relativity of density
In an attempt to overcome biases resulting from small sample size, we examine the potential of relative density, which Ambrose (n.d.; 1994) and Green (1987) have proposed is a non‐destructive, inexpensive, and easy technique for characterising the chemical composition of obsidian from the different sources in Melanesia. Our results demonstrate considerable overlap in relative density for the chemical subgroups in West New Britain, but also show t…
Australian Museum starch reference collection
One of the major limitations on research into plant management systems in Oceania has been the lack of appropriate methods for recovering macroscopic remains in these settings with high rainfall and acid soils. Starch grains have been recognised in archaeological sediments and as residue on the surface of stone tools (Loy 1994; Therin 1994; Therin et al. in press). Accurate identification of these grains would enable a much greater understanding …
New Britain obsidian sources
The natural occurrence of obsidian in volcanic flows in West New Britain has been thoroughly investigated and new measurements of the composition of field samples have been made with a proton dose of 150 μC, increased by a factor of three compared to analyses reported in early studies. New data on precision and accuracy of PIXE‐PIGME show that measurement error is not a significant factor in interpretations of chemical variability among source an…
Sociality and the short distance trader
An analysis of changes in the assemblage composition of obsidian from different sources was undertaken on 12 assemblages from sites dating over the past 6,000 years in the Willaumez region (including the peninsula and nearby islands) in West New Britain, in order to investigate Ambrose's (1978) prediction that Lapita obsidian trade differed from recent ethnographic systems. The history of obsidian use on Garua Island, where sites contain various …
Dear Wal
Clues to Stone Tool Function Re-examined
Integrating Phytoliths within Use-Wear/Residue Studies of Stone Tools
A Pleistocene Landscape in West New Britain, Png
Holocene volcanic activity has created a well-preserved stratigraphic series of prehistoric landscapes in West New Britain, PNG which have enabled the interpretation of changing patterns of land use (e.g. Specht et al. 1991 ; Pavlides 1993; Torrence et al. in press). Recent fieldwork on Numundo Plantation has extended this remarkable record to include five superimposed Pleistocene surfaces each sealed beneath a volcanic tephra. This older landsca…
Starch Grains and Environmental Reconstruction
Valuable and Useful
Distinctive obsidian artefacts from West New Britain appear sometime before 3950 cal BC and terminate abruptly at 1650 cal BC. We propose that they had a wide range of meanings for their users and functioned in both utilitarian and ceremonial contexts, similar to more recent ground stone axes from Highland New Guinea. They therefore represent the earliest evidence for valuables in Papua New Guinea. Here we draw together studies of the technology,…
Thinking Big about Small Tools
The wide range of case studies presented in this book demonstrates that microliths have been selected in many different contexts to solve a number of different problems. Focusing on variability rather than homogeneity provides a useful way to learn how general processes operate in unique, historically contingent cases. Cost/benefit modeling demonstrates that artifacts with side-hafted microliths are relatively expensive in time, energy, and raw m…
Cultural landscapes on Garua Island, Papua New Guinea
Important new insights about long-term changes in human behaviour are gained when cultural landscapes rather than focal points or 'sites' are studied. The abundance of obsidian artefacts preserved on easily recognized, well-defined and short-lived ground surfaces makes Garua Island an excellent setting for monitoring the changing patterns of human behaviour through time and within cultural landscapes. The results raise questions about traditional…
Natural Disasters and Cultural Change
Natural Disasters and Cultural Change
List of figures. List of tables. List of contributors. Preface. 1. Archaeology of Disasters: Past and Future Trends Robin Torrence and John Grattan 2. Basic Characteristics of Disasters Shimoyama Satoru 3. Tsunamis and the Coastal Communities of Papua New Guinea Hugh Davies 4. Bacalor Town and Pinatubo Volcano, Philippines: Coping with Recurrent Lahar Disaster K.S. Crittenden and K.S. Rodolfo 5. Maritime Archaeology and Behaviour During Crisis: t…
The Archaeology of Difference
The Archaeology of Difference presents a new and radically different perspective on the archaeology of cross-cultural contact and engagement. The authors move away from acculturation or domination and resistance and concentrate on interaction and negotiation by using a wide variety of case studies which take a crucially indigenous rather than colonial standpoint
Producing value
Previous studies have proposed that large, stemmed obsidian artefacts from the Willaumez Peninsula region, Papua New Guinea, might have circulated as ‘valuables.’ To evaluate how the value of these artefacts was created, an integrated characterisation and technological study was conducted on Type 1 retouched blades from Garua Island. A staged production system using obsidian from both local and imported sources was identified. Although the final …
Identification of starch granules using image analysis and multivariate techniques
Archaeology (52 obras) · Geography (48 obras) · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies (46 obras) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (44 obras) · History (39 obras) · History (32 obras) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (31 obras) · New guinea (29 obras) · Geology (28 obras) · Ethnology (25 obras)