On the Cultural History of the Aru Islands: Some Conclusions

Abstract

My expedition to the Aru Islands had been eminently successful…I brought away with me more than nine thousand specimens of natural objects, of about sixteen hundred distinct species. I had made the acquaintance of a strange and little-known race of men; I had become familiar with the traders of the far East; I had revelled in the delights of exploring a new fauna and flora, one of the most remarkable and least-known in the world; and I had succeeded in the main object for which I had undertaken the journey-namely, to obtain fine specimens of the magnificent birds of paradise, and to be enabled to observe them in their native forests. By this success I was stimulated to continue my researches in the Moluccas and New Guinea for nearly five years longer, and it is still the portion of my travels to which I look back with the most complete satisfaction. Wallace 1869:486 In the introduction to this volume (Chapter 1) we discussed the specific objectives of the Aru Islands research project and how these were framed within the context of broader regional themes and issues that have directed, and continue to direct, archaeological enquiry within Island Southeast Asia, Australia, and elsewhere in Oceania. Here we review the results of our field work and analysis in the context of these broad research questions. Specifically we had hoped to find archaeological evidence in the Aru Islands that would throw light on the following issues: 1) the nature and rate of maritime colonization and island settlement by early H. sapiens sapiens in the Pleistocene, and the subsequent impact of such settlement on the 'pristine' landscapes of previously unoccupied islands; 2) the extent of inter-island connectivity or isolation, and contact and exchange in the Pleistocene and early Holocene, as demonstrated by the evidence relating to the translocation of animal species, plants and exotic stone;