Long‐distance connections in V anuatu: New obsidian characterisations for the M akué site, A ore I sland

A geochemical study using pXRF and LA–ICP – MS to characterise artefacts from sites dating to the initial phase of colonisation on A ore and M alo islands, V anuatu, has confirmed the dominance of obsidian from the distant K utau/ B ao source in W est N ew B ritain, with a smaller group from local outcrops in the B anks I slands, V anuatu. Three flakes from the U mleang/ U mrei source in the A dmiralty I slands have also been identified in later levels. Distance fall‐off analysis of metric and technological attributes suggests that during the early phase of human colonisation of R emote O ceania, obsidian circulated within a series of separate, loosely connected social spheres.