Books, Reviews, Writers
pp. 51-52 · Read in the full issue
More Clues In The Search For
Islanders' First Parents
Oceanic Prehistory by Richard Shutler Jr, Professor of Anthro pology at the University of lowa and Mary Elizabeth Shutler, Professor of Anthropology at San Diego State University is a concise statement, yet it includes a fund of carefully- Jocumented material on some of the most recent thinking by experts in Pacific studies.
Its wide panorama begins with mainland and South-east Asian pre listory findings. It ends with an ex cellent six page resume of Oceanic prehistory in perspective. Its state ment, “We have attempted to throw iome light on the story of human cultural development in Oceania” is ypical of its modest approach yet erudite achievement for it certainly loes achieve the shedding of much ight on the subject. Its collation of icattered data in one small edition )f 125 pages will be a useful source )f reference to the interested lay >erson, avid student and to the luthors’ own co-workers, the experts n the various fields of Oceanic Judies.
The Shutlers have included, in a lumber of instances, the two sides )f conflicting views on particularly 'exing questions.
For example: Referring to a heory by Birdsell (1967) “that the nodern aborigine is the hybrid re ult of migration by Negritos, Mur ayians and Carpentarians to Austra ia”, the book also points out: Macintosh (1963) and Abbie 1966) feel that the aborigine repre ents a single stock, which has dif erentiated because of long isolation, mall population, consequent genetic Irift and environmental adaptation”.
The famous Talgai skull (from a ite near Warwick in Queensland) is at least 14,000 years old and may >e as much as 20,000 years old Hendy, Rafter and Macintosh, 972). The morphologically more nodern Keilor cranium from Vic oria seems to be accurately dated it 12,900 plus or minus 120 BP Macintosh 1972). Then concerning
the oldest skull, the Lake Mungo, NSW woman, “though displaying a number of primitive features . , . (the remains) . . . are the most modern in appearance with many points of resemblance to present day aborigines, (Bowler, Jones, Allen and Thorne 1970)”.
The Shutlers seem to think that the question of Polynesian origins is far from solved. “However all evi dence at the present time is against earlier theories that held that Poly nesians moved as a group through Melanesia or Micronesia.
“In Polynesia, the Lapita pottery makers were the first inhabitants, arriving in Tonga from Fiji by 1140 BC. In Samoa the discovery of de corated Lapita pottery dating per haps as early as 800 BC seems to give Samoa an equal claim to that
of Tonga as being the cradle of Polynesian culture”.
The Shutlers finish their book with the statement: “Discoveries will continue that will require constant revisions of ideas regarding the time and routes used to settle various parts of Oceania and the influences affecting the prehistoric cultural de velopment in this vast area”.
One finding they mention concerns blood groupings: “Present evidence from blood groupings (Simmons 1956, Swindler 1955) and anthropo morphic studies (Swindler 1962) indicate no genetic relationship be tween the dark-skinned people of the Pacific and those of Africa as to a common origin” and “The differ ences between Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia have been exagger ated in the past”.
As to probable dates of settlement of Island South East Asia and Oceania they include a fascinating table and give the following dates: South East Asian Mainland and In donesia 2,000,000 to 4,500 BP (Be fore the Present). Philippines 400,000 BP, Micronesia 3,500 BP, New Guinea and Australia 35,000 + BP, Island Melanesia 4,000 BP and Poly nesia 1140 BC. None of the above quotes taken thus out of context can give the reader a full picture of the care with which the authors preface their statements. They have sifted the great amount of scientific material upon which it is based into a prac tical format.
The authors are correct in their understatement that “the book pro vides a review of major topics on what is currently known of the pre history of the Pacific Islands and Australia, There are 17 pages of re ferences cited, a five-page index, six excellent maps, three tables of data, five pages of illustrated line drawings and eight photo plates. The authors have substantiated the ring of author ity throughout this book by con veniently placing many names and often the dates of the relevant
scientific statements right in the body of the text beside the subject matter.
There has long been a need for just such a book as Richard Shutler Jr and Mary Elizabeth Shutler have created concerning the beginning of man’s habitation of the 3,000,000 square miles and some 25,000 islands which are included in the term, Oceania. Small as is this soft-cover edition, its research was big and the work involved is a lasting addition to the field of Oceanic studies.
I was pleased to see on its opening page the words, “In memoriam J.
Bruce Palmer” ... a fitting tribute to a man whose love for and excel lent work among the peoples of the Islands has never been accorded its just dues.
Oceanic Prehistory knits together many isolated facts which would be impossible for an interested non expert to sort out on his own. It suc ceeds in presenting in a nutshell the results of many lifetimes of search
ing, discussing and collating.
Beth
Dean.
(OCEANIC PREHISTORY, by Richard Shutter Jr and Mary Elizabeth Shutter.
Published by Cummings Publishing Co, Menlo Park, California. No price given).
Macabre moments
in the jungle
1 am tired of novels written in jerking English where the author seems to think the only punctuation is the full-point, and, like most others it seems. I’m tired of four-letter words being made to do more than they were ever intended to do.
All this may be said of Master White Grass, but more so than many novels this one is suited to this treatment and to this style. Although it may not seem so on the surface, Master White Grass is painstakingly constructed and highly readable.
These are the reasons I enjoyed read ing Master White Grass, and because each of the characters is known to everyone who was ever with an Aus tralian, or for that matter, any other Army in World War 11.
Perhaps the book will be of interest only to those who have gone through World War II in tropical jungles, but those of you who have might do worse than renew an old friendship with the persons who move through the book Master White Grass —Peter Livingston (MASTER WHITE GRASS, by Douglas Waugh. Published by Thomas Nelson (Australia) Limited, 19-39 Jeffcott Street, West Melbourne: 104 Bathurst Street, Sydney. Cased, 174 pages, $5.95.)