ABSTRACT
The Republic of Vanuatu, located in the south west Pacific, comprises a total land area of 12,195 sq km, made up of 83 islands, 70 of which are inhabited (Figure 59.1). Vanuatu was a former colony of Britain and France, jointly run under a Condominium government and known during that period as the New Hebrides or Nouvelles Hébrides, until it gained its independence in 1980. The indigenous population (known as ni-Vanuatu) of about 220,000 today remains remarkably culturally and linguistically diverse (Bonnemaison et al. 1996; Siméoni 2009). Most of the population practise a subsistence lifestyle and live in kin-based groups on their ancestral lands, practising a range of traditional or kastom beliefs. As a small, developing nation, Vanuatu has limited financial resources and consequently government priorities are focused on supporting and developing basic infrastructure. While the government is supportive of archaeological research it is not a priority area for
funding, and as such there are limited government initiatives or opportunities for employment. Currently a single ni-Vanuatu archaeologist is employed at the Vanuatu Cultural Centre and Museum, the national institution responsible for the management of cultural heritage. There is legislation that was recently passed (National Heritage Preservation Act, 2008) which relates to the protection of archaeological sites, but there is no specific legislation or any detail in the current Act relating to archaeological practice or the excavation and analysis of human skeletal remains. While this situation is very different to most developed countries, Vanuatu has managed to establish a whole range of its own alternative approaches to the management of cultural heritage that combine both formal legislation and customary practice or kastom. This chapter outlines the development of cultural heritage policy along with professional
practice in relation to prehistoric human remains in Vanuatu, from its beginnings during the colonial period and through the transformations following independence. Two particular case studies are outlined which emphasize these developments. They are the Roi Mata site, a 400year-old mass burial located on the small island of Retoka, Efate, and recently inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and the 3000-year-old Teouma Lapita cemetery, the oldest yet found in the Pacific. The Roi Mata site was excavated in 1967 (Garanger 1972), and excavation at the Teouma site began in 2004 and is on-going (Bedford et al. 2006). General public attitudes towards the excavation and analysis of human remains are also discussed.
