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Analysis of a 3000-year old burial site in Vanuatu has revealed strange funerary customs and other important evidence of the way of life of prehistoric Pacific islanders according to a report released 30 October 2007.
The sixty skeletons were found buried next to ornate ceramic pots, some in carefully laid out south-facing graves, and in one case three heads had been laid on the dead person’s chest.
The research team, including several Australians, has been working on the site since its discovery in 2003. Their findings will be published 30 October 2007 in the journal American Antiquity.
The scientists, from Durham, UK, Otago, NZ and the Australian National University, have analysed the strontium, carbon and oxygen isotope signatures of the teeth of many of the skeletons to get vital information about their geological origin, their diet and likely source of their drinking water.
Dr Stuart Bedford, from the Department of Archaeology and Natural History, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, at ANU was involved in the research.
"This is the first time we’ve been able to profile this pioneering population, what they looked like, the state of their health, their diet and also we are able to get some idea of their mortuary practices which appears to be quite complicated and continuing on over a period of a year or more," said Dr Bedford.
The results from the team’s analysis strongly suggest that some of the skeletons had migrated from distant coastal locations, potentially as far away as Southeast Asia.
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