Tanamu 1: Conclusions and future directions

Tanamu 1 presents a cross-section of some of the major time periods represented in the Caution Bay archaeological landscape, and as such provides a useful starting point for the detailed publication of the results of excavations by which to eventually bridge the space between site-specific and landscape-scale patterns and trends. Across three broad phases of occupation, the site provides a window onto the extent and shape of pre-ceramic occupation in the c. 1700 years leading up to the emergence of the Lapita cultural complex in the Bismarck Archipelago c. 3300 cal BP (e.g., Denham et al. 2012), the nature of the terminal Lapita period which ends at 2600–2550 cal BP at Caution Bay (David et al. 2019), and the past 2750 years leading into the ethnographic present. In this volume we have presented detailed data and analyses of the ceramics, stone and shell artefacts, and vertebrate and invertebrate animal remains, and all have yielded their own particular insights. While conclusions about the long-range cultural history of both Tanamu 1 and Caution Bay can be drawn from the data presented here, we also see this as an opportunity to isolate and frame research issues to be pursued in subsequent volumes of the Caution Bay archaeological project

The molluscan remains of Tanamu 1: Subsistence and resource habitats

[Extract] The molluscan assemblage reported here is from Tanamu 1 at Caution Bay, an archaeological site dating from c.5,000 cal BP to c. 100 cal BP. Two 1m × 1m squares (A and B) were excavated in 2.1 ± 0.5cm excavation units (XUs) to 2.82m depth, with all excavated materials retained in 2.1mm mesh sieves undergoing systematic analysis in dedicated archaeological laboratories (see Chapter 2 for excavation details). The 134 XUs at Tanamu 1 are partitioned into seven major stratigraphic horizons or units (SUs), each continuous across the two contiguous main excavated squares (A and B). SU1 (700–c. 100 cal BP), SU3 (2800–c. 2750 cal BP) and SU5 (4350–4050 cal BP) consist of rich cultural deposits (the Upper, Middle and Lower Horizons respectively); which are separated by the culturally sparser SU2, SU4 and basal SU6–SU7. SU1, SU3 and SU5 contain pronounced and distinct shell concentrations: XU3–XU6 (Upper Horizon); XU24–XU35 (Middle Horizon) and XU48–XU69 (Lower Horizon). In each of these, the total shell weight is on average >2000g for each XU from Square A and Square B combined. These dense shell horizons correspond with the three dense occupation horizons identified for the site as a whole, associated with pre-ceramic, Lapita and post-Lapita occupation periods. Excavation at Tanamu 1 produced a total shell sample of 127,355.6g, with Square A containing 62,270.3g and Square B 65,085.3g. While the majority of these shells represent discarded food remains, a number of shell artefacts were also recovered. The shell artefacts are presented separately. However, they are included in the weights and MNI counts reported here. The clearly stratified Tanamu 1 cultural sequence provides an ideal opportunity to investigate change over time in the use of molluscan resources

The Archaeology of Tanamu 1: A Pre-Lapita to Post-Lapita Site from Caution Bay, South Coast of Mainland Papua New Guinea

[Extract] The discovery in 2010 of stratified Lapita assemblages at Caution Bay near Port Moresby, south coast of mainland Papua New Guinea (PNG) (David et al. 2011; McNiven et al. 2011), brought to the fore a series of important questions (Richards et al. 2016), many of which also apply to other parts of Island Melanesia where Lapita sites have been known for many decades. Unlike other parts of Melanesia, however, at Caution Bay some of the Lapita sites also have pre-Lapita horizons. A number are culturally very rich. At Caution Bay, where the oldest confirmed Lapita finds date to no earlier than c. 2900 cal BP (McNiven et al. 2012a), the major questions do not concern the earliest expressions of Lapita around 3300–3400 cal BP. Rather, here we are concerned more with identifying how assemblages associated with the Lapita cultural complex arrived and transformed along the south coast, after a presence in coastal and island regions to the northeast over the previous 400 years. These concerns contain both spatial and temporal elements: how and when, as a prelude to why, particular cultural traits continued and changed across Caution Bay. Tanamu 1 is the first of 122 archaeological sites excavated in Caution Bay upon which we will report. As a site, it represents the ideal entry point, as being a coastal site which contains pre-Lapita, Lapita and post-Lapita horizons it encapsulates many of the signatures, trends and transformations seen across the >5000 year Caution Bay sequence at large. Of special note in the wider context of Lapita archaeology, the presence of rich pre-Lapita horizons is what makes Caution Bay so important both in and of itself and for the Lapita story

Emerging out of Lapita at Caution Bay

[Extract] The discovery in 2010 of stratified Lapita assemblages at Caution Bay near Port Moresby, south coast of mainland Papua New Guinea (PNG) (David et al. 2011; McNiven et al. 2011), brought to the fore a series of important questions (Richards et al. 2016), many of which also apply to other parts of Island Melanesia where Lapita sites have been known for many decades. Unlike other parts of Melanesia, however, at Caution Bay some of the Lapita sites also have pre-Lapita horizons. A number are culturally very rich. At Caution Bay, where the oldest confirmed Lapita finds date to no earlier than c. 2900 cal BP (McNiven et al. 2012a), the major questions do not concern the earliest expressions of Lapita around 3300–3400 cal BP. Rather, here we are concerned more with identifying how assemblages associated with the Lapita cultural complex arrived and transformed along the south coast, after a presence in coastal and island regions to the northeast over the previous 400 years. These concerns contain both spatial and temporal elements: how and when, as a prelude to why, particular cultural traits continued and changed across Caution Bay. Tanamu 1 is the first of 122 archaeological sites excavated in Caution Bay upon which we will report. As a site, it represents the ideal entry point, as being a coastal site which contains pre-Lapita, Lapita and post-Lapita horizons it encapsulates many of the signatures, trends and transformations seen across the >5000 year Caution Bay sequence at large. Of special note in the wider context of Lapita archaeology, the presence of rich pre-Lapita horizons is what makes Caution Bay so important both in and of itself and for the Lapita story

Tanamu 1: A 5000 year sequence from Caution Bay

[Extract] Archaeological sites across Caution Bay often contain distinctive artefactual horizons of varying ages, making it possible to investigate cultural trends at a range of spatial and temporal scales over extended periods of time. Tanamu 1 is a site of particular interest because of its three distinct major occupation horizons that start with the pre-ceramic, followed by Lapita, and end with post-Lapita. The aim of this chapter is to report details of the site, focusing on its chronostratigraphy, so that its various cultural materials (reported in detail in Chapters 3–7) can be examined in context

Extragalactic Star Cluster Science with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's High Latitude Wide Area Survey and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory

The Nancy Grace Roman Telescope's High Latitude Wide Area Survey will have a number of synergies with the Vera Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), particularly for extragalactic star clusters. Understanding the nature of star clusters and star cluster systems are key topics in many areas of astronomy, chief among them stellar evolution, high energy astrophysics, galaxy assembly/dark matter, the extragalactic distance scale, and cosmology. One of the challenges will be disentangling the age/metallicity degeneracy because young ($\sim$Myr) metal-rich clusters have similar SEDs to old ($\sim$Gyr) metal-poor clusters. Rubin will provide homogeneous, $ugrizy$ photometric coverage, and measurements in the red Roman filters will help break the age-metallicity and age-extinction degeneracies, providing the first globular cluster samples that cover wide areas while essentially free of contamination from Milky Way stars. Roman's excellent spatial resolution will also allow measurements of cluster sizes. We advocate for observations of a large sample of galaxies with a range of properties and morphologies in the Rubin/LSST footprint matching the depth of the LSST Wide-Fast-Deep field $i$ band limit (26.3 mag), and recommend adding the F213 filter to the survey.Comment: white paper submitted for Roman CCS inpu

Moiapu 3: Settlement on Moiapu Hill at the very end of Lapita, Caution Bay hinterland

The Caution Bay archaeological project on the south coast of mainland Papua New Guinea has excavated 122 sites over a 9 km² area. Lapita ceramics appear at a number of sites at c. 2900 cal. BP. Here we present the results of excavations at Moiapu 3, a site that helps define the end of the dentate-stamped Lapita phase of this region. It is suggested that the decline and ultimate cessation of dentate stamping related to a loss of symbolism during a period of major socioeconomic readjustment and innovation

The First Post-Kepler Brightness Dips of KIC 8462852

We present a photometric detection of the first brightness dips of the unique variable star KIC 8462852 since the end of the Kepler space mission in 2013 May. Our regular photometric surveillance started in October 2015, and a sequence of dipping began in 2017 May continuing on through the end of 2017, when the star was no longer visible from Earth. We distinguish four main 1-2.5% dips, named "Elsie," "Celeste," "Skara Brae," and "Angkor", which persist on timescales from several days to weeks. Our main results so far are: (i) there are no apparent changes of the stellar spectrum or polarization during the dips; (ii) the multiband photometry of the dips shows differential reddening favoring non-grey extinction. Therefore, our data are inconsistent with dip models that invoke optically thick material, but rather they are in-line with predictions for an occulter consisting primarily of ordinary dust, where much of the material must be optically thin with a size scale <<1um, and may also be consistent with models invoking variations intrinsic to the stellar photosphere. Notably, our data do not place constraints on the color of the longer-term "secular" dimming, which may be caused by independent processes, or probe different regimes of a single process

Spurring or Blurring Professional Standards? The Role of Digital Technology in Implementing Journalistic Role Ideals in Contemporary Newsrooms

This study examines the perceived relevance and implementation of competing normative ideals in journalism in times of increasing use of digital technology in newsrooms. Based on survey and content analysis data from 37 countries, we found a small positive relationship between the use of digital research tools and “watchdog” performance. However, a stronger and negative relationship emerged between the use of digital audience analytics and the performance of “watchdog” and “civic” roles, leading to an overall increase in conception–performance gaps on both roles. Moreover, journalists’ use of digital community tools was more strongly and positively associated with “infotainment” and “interventionism.”

Abstracts from the 8th International Conference on cGMP Generators, Effectors and Therapeutic Implications

This work was supported by a restricted research grant of Bayer AG