Excavating ethnographic collections: negotiations and cross-cultural exchange in Papua New Guinea

As the product of negotiated exchanges between indigenous groups and outsiders, ethnographic collections offer a rich source of information about colonial cultures. Focusing on museum collections from Central Province, Papua New Guinea, we show how archaeological analyses of assemblages reveal strategies used by indigenous groups to benefit from their interactions with outsiders. In particular, examples of (1) attracting contact, (2) asserting identity, (3) withholding access to social spheres and (4) expelling dangerous objects are discussed. Ethnographic objects also reveal that small-scale, local communities were highly concerned to preserve their unique identity, which was threatened by simple dichotomies created through the colonial process. Assertion of variability is witnessed through the invention of new object forms and decorations together with the maintenance of traditional practices of artefact manufacture and use.