The exhibition titled "LAPITA, Oceanic Ancestors" showcases Lapita pottery and other artifacts that shed light on the Austronesian settlers who inhabited parts of Oceania approximately 3,000 years ago. It features an exceptional collection of well-preserved Lapita vessels and objects on loan mainly from New Caledonia and Vanuatu. The exhibition seeks to position Lapita ceramics in their proper historical and archaeological context and trace the legacy of Lapita artistic traditions in contemporary Oceanic cultures.

1. LAPITA
Oceanic ancestors
“Special theme” exhibition – East Mezzanine
November 09
th
, 2010 – January 09
th
2011
Curators of the exhibition: Christophe Sand and Stuart Bedford
The exhibition LAPITA, Oceanic ancestors showcases a panorama of the Lapita Cultural
Complex through an exceptional selection of objects and fragments of objects originating
mainly from New Caledonia and Vanuatu.
Based on recent archaeological discoveries which
have made it possible to reassess our knowledge of
prehistoric Oceania, the exhibition repositions Lapita
ceramics – which date to 3000 years ago - in their
historical and archaeological context.
It displays the technical specificities and stylistic
diversity of Lapita objects and analyzes the still
prevalent heritage of these decorative pieces in
contemporary Oceanic decorative traditions.
The first international exhibition on this theme,
LAPITA, Oceanic ancestors is a testimony to the
history of the settlement of Remote Oceania. The
Lapita ceramic tradition is historically linked to the
foremost settlement of Austronesian language
speakers in the South West Pacific, from the middle
of the second millennium BC: these pieces of
pottery, the first fragments of which were
discovered at the beginning of the 20th
century,
remain the most identifiable archaeological
markers of the spread of these populations.

2. * LAPITA CERAMICS
The surprising homogeneity of the pieces of pottery decorated with dentate-stamped motifs,
spread in less than 400 years over a distance of close to 4500 km, inspired archaeologists to
speak of a "Lapita cultural complex" represented across the entire South-West Pacific region
some 3000 years ago.
More than 250 archaeological sites containing Lapita potsherds have been identified to
date. But during the last decade, the discovery of a pottery pit in New Caledonia and a
cemetery at Téouma in Vanuatu have made it possible to study, for the very first time,
a considerable collection of well-preserved Lapita vessels and have thus made an
essential contribution to the description of this ceramic tradition.
One of the main characteristics of this ceramic
tradition lies in the complexity of the identified forms
and the decoration. The reassembly of pots from
fragments and analyses of the material coming from
excavations have helped in establishing a rich typology of
forms and motifs and demonstrated that the Austronesian
potters had developed a particular manufacturing
technique. The pottery, made of clay, and often mixed
with beach or river sand, was constructed with
interlocking slabs. The designs, imprinted on the finished
pots before firing, were crafted with toothed tools.
The organization and layout of the dentate-stamped
patterns imprinted on the pottery is characterized by a
certain symmetry. The patterns are characterized by
one or two central bands comprising often complex
designs, which are bordered by friezes with simple and
repetitive designs.
Studies have identified fifteen or so main categories of
patterns. The continued excavations of Lapita sites in
Melanesia has made it possible to identify the presence
of stylized human faces in the Lapita range of
decorations, in addition to a range of geometric patterns.
CollectionVanuatu©Tousdroitsréservés

3. Collection Vanuatu © Tous droits réservés
Etoffe d'écorce.Tapa.Liber d'écorce battu. Peinture
Wallis et Futuna, Polynésie. Musée du quai Branly,
Paris
* ITINERARY OF THE EXHIBITION
Section 1: Lapita settlement
The exhibition starts with an outline of the general context of the history of Lapita. Visitors
can thus contemplate the archaeological and human context linked to the Austronesian
settlement of the South West Pacific about 3000 years ago.
This general introduction is accompanied by maps of the region showing the movement of
Austronesian populations, objects that illustrate the characteristics and evolution of the
traditions of this cultural group (pottery from different regions of the Lapita distribution,
along with adzes, ornaments and fishhooks, etc.). This section also presents details of the
impact of human arrival on the local flora and fauna.
Section 2: Lapita decorative designs and intact
Lapita pottery vessels
Large ceramic fragments are displayed next to the
sketched reconstruction of their design motifs. Twenty-
odd graphic sets showcase the rich diversity of Lapita
patterns and allow visitors to identify regional
specificities. Around ten largely intact Lapita pottery
vessels, the only ones known to date for the Pacific
region, are spread throughout the exhibition but
mainly located in this section to illustrate their graphic
diversity.
Section 3:
Lapita legacy: traditional Oceanic
graphics
This section focuses on relationships between the
Lapita period designs and those present in
several Oceanic decorative traditions. This
heritage is illustrated by a set of traditional
objects: tapa cloth, mats and carved wood from
the collections of the musée du quai Branly.
Section 4: Present-day Lapita
Lastly, a link is made between the Lapita patterns and current artistic productions from
the Pacific region through contemporary objects from Vanuatu: mats, baskets, etc.
© Tous droits réservés

4. The Exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Vanuatu Cultural Centre and the Institute of
Archaeology of New Caledonia and the Pacific
With the support of the Pacific Fund of the Ministry of External and European Affairs
* CURATORS OF THE EXHIBITION:
Christophe SAND directs research in anthropology, ethnology and prehistory and is a
specialist in Oceanic prehistory. He has undertaken many research missions in the South-
West Pacific and more particularly in New Caledonia. His work concerns the first Lapita
settlements, the cultural dynamics of Pre-European history, the emergence of traditional
Oceanic societies and the consequences of the settlement of Europeans in the Pacific. He
is currently the director of the Institute of Archaeology of New Caledonia and the Pacific.
Stuart Bedford is a Research Fellow at the Department of Archaeology and Natural
History at the Australian National University in Canberra. For the last fifteen years, the
focus of his research has been Vanuatu and more specifically issues such as the origins of
the first settlers, the timing and strategies of colonization, the associated environmental
impacts as well as the subsequent cultural transformations.
The scenography of the exhibition has been done by the Agence Pylône.
* PRACTICAL INFORMATION: www.quaibranly.fr
Catalogue: Lapita – Co-edition musée du quai Branly / Somogy – 352 pages – 49 €
Visuals available for the press: http://ymago.quaibranly.fr
Access provided on request.
LAPITA, Oceanic Ancestors is being showcased on the East Mezzanine
at the same time as the exhibition RIGHT IN THE EYES, tribal masks
from Nepal, an exceptional set of 22 primitive masks from Nepal
donated by the collector Marc Petit to the museum in 2003.
Press contact: Musée du quai Branly contacts:
Pierre LAPORTE Communication
tel: 33 (0)1 45 23 14 14
info@pierre-laporte.com
Nathalie MERCIER
Director of communication
tel: 33 (0)1 56 61 70 20
nathalie.mercier@quaibranly.fr
Magalie VERNET
Person in charge of media relations
tel: 33 (0)1 56 61 52 87
magalie.vernet@quaibranly.fr