Pasifika Perspectives on the History of Archaeology

From Wednesday 26th October to Friday 28th October 2022, was held The Pasifika Perspectives on the History of Archaeology workshop with the objective to bring together leading Pacific Islands professionals who have experience in cultural heritage and archaeological research, to discuss local and Indigenous perspectives on the historical development of archaeology in their region.

Innovative and insightful studies have allowed for critical self-reflective analyses of the discipline.This workshop has provided a unique opportunity to consider Indigenous perspectives on the research undertaken and the questions it asked and still raises. Indigenous and post-colonial approaches have been gaining recognition in anthropological research, but until now, their theoretical positions or the actual engagement of Indigenous scholars in past archaeological studies have very rarely been integrated. This workshop has enabled to produce new ways of understanding the past of archaeology and better defining its future.

Top row left to right: Nic Thieberger (University of Melbourne), Eve Haddow (UQ), Stuart Bedford (ANU), Michelle Richards (La Trobe), Timoci Balenaivalu (Fiji National Archives), Matthew Spriggs (ANU), Jean-Marie Wadrawane (Institut d‘Archéologie de Nouvelle-Calédonie et du Pacifique), Vahine Ahuura Rurua (Centre International de Recherches Archéologiques sur la Polynésie), Emilie Dotte-Sarout (UWA);

Bottom row left to right: Stephen Manebosa (Solomon Islands Museum), Charles Radclyffe (University of Otago), Raissa Poarairiwa (Culture, Province Nord de Nouvelle Calédonie), Jimena Ramírez González (Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales Rapa Nui), Elia Nakoro (Fiji Museum), Andrea Ballesteros-Danel (Griffith), & Loretta Hasu (PNG Museum).