ABSTRACT
Largely as a consequence of recent political events, a new appraisal of the history of New Caledonia is being carried out by the current inhabitants. For instance, a history book for schools has been drawn up for the first time by a group of New Caledonian authors and it shows that it is becoming possible to study historical events from the two last centuries more critically, by examining controversial subjects such as convicts or the massive introduction of workers from Asia for development purposes. Archaeology also has a role to play in the reconstruction of New Caledonian history because it provides a good characterization of the indigenous societies which the first European navigators encountered. Often the archaeology is better than ethnographic accounts which were written largely in the early twentieth century. Modern Kanaks searching for their social and cultural origins have generally looked to anthropological accounts, but these sources date long after the initiation of European contact and can therefore present a distorted picture of indigenous social organization. Through an analysis of the demography of New Caledonia’s pre-European indigenous population, this chapter demonstrates the important role of archaeology in the reconstruction of traditional Kanak society.
