Kuwae, Epi and Tongoa Islands

Transformations of a volcanic landscape in central Vanuatu

Bibliographic Data

ID6039007
AuthorsRobert Henderson (0009-0007-9492-8975, School of Culture, History & Language, College of Asia and the Pacific The Australian National University Canberra Australia, corresponding author), Bedford (0000-0001-6476-5617, School of Culture, History & Language, College of Asia and the Pacific The Australian National University; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution), M Spriggs (0000-0002-7293-6778, School of Archaeology and Anthropology, College of Arts and Social Sciences The Australian National University; Vanuatu Cultural Centre), Salkon Yona (Vanuatu Cultural Centre), Iarawai Phillips, Iarawai Phillip (Vanuatu Cultural Centre), Richard Shing (Vanuatu Cultural Centre), F Valentin (0000-0002-0575-7681, UMR TEMPS 8068, CNRS), Caitlin Harvey (0000-0001-7283-9030, College of Arts, Law and Education University of Tasmania), Chinonye Harvey (0000-0003-4227-8732, University of Tasmania)
Year2025
Volume60
Issue1
Pages42-62
Publication date2025-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArchaeology in Oceania/Archæology & physical anthropology in Oceania (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0728-4896 • E-ISSN: 1834-4453
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/arco.5346
OpenAlexW4407230527
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited71

This paper presents a detailed overview of archaeological research undertaken on Epi and Tongoa, in central Vanuatu. These islands were previously connected to one another and respectively formed the western and eastern portions of Kuwae, one of the largest islands in the Vanuatu archipelago, until the catastrophic Tombuk volcanic eruption separated them in the mid‐fifteenth century AD. Oral traditions and insights drawn from previous ethnographic, linguistic and genetic research provide context for the archaeological data. We begin to address questions about the extent to which impacts of the major Tombuk eruption were experienced across the entirety of the former Kuwae landmass, and the role of this and other volcanic events in the complex transformations of the physical and cultural landscapes of central Vanuatu

Ancient history · Archaeology · Archipelago · Context (archaeology · Ethnography · Fifteenth · Geography · Sociology · Volcano · Anthropology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · History · Isotope Analysis in Ecology · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Geology · Paleontology

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