Paths to Knowledge: Connecting Experts in Oral Histories and Archaeology

Nero, Karen (2011-11-01). "Paths to Knowledge: Connecting Experts in Oral Histories and Archaeology". In Liston, Jolie; Clark, Geoffrey; Alexander, Dwight (eds.). Paths to Knowledge: Connecting Experts in Oral Histories and Archaeology (PDF). Canberra, Australia: ANU Press. doi:10.22459/TA35.11.2011.11. ISBN 978-1-921862-47-2.

Abstract: Introduction outlines terminology and notes and situates the work within Micronesia, drawing on extended residence in Palau and close collaboration with the Belau National Museum, alongside a section noting that under United States trust territorial administration the former district villages were recognized. The geographic focus includes Palau, Yap, Pohnpei, the Outer Islands, and Koror, with institutional references to local and regional organizations. The text presents a framework of indigenous Pohnpeian types of historical knowledge, describing genres and the expectations held by historians and audiences, and highlights prior scholarship such as Mauricio’s 1992 contribution to interdisciplinary work linking archaeologists and oral historians. It addresses the integration of mytho-history into interpretations of the past, noting that accuracy depends on understanding the texts, and identifies ideological data as a potential source for archaeologists working in collaboration with ethnohistorians and native peoples. A review of Fitzpatrick’s use of oral traditions distinguishes quotations from Kubary’s late nineteenth-century and Müller’s early twentieth-century observations about Yapese and Outer Islanders working on infrastructure projects in Palau from oral traditions, then turns to descriptions of more equal exchange relationships and cognate place names and titles between Palau and Yap, using oral traditions to frame the study.

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MAG: 2824872966
OpenAlex: W2824872966