ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a map of some key archaeological work into contacts between aboriginal Europeans and non-Europeans in the last millennium. Archaeological records are essentially the outcomes of the actions of many individuals, from a worn hearth to the Great Wall of China. When British ships came into contact with Tahitians, the encounter involved the British ship hierarchy as much as the various strata and roles of Polynesian society. The focus on the material aspects of cultural entanglements poses serious challenges and potential insights. The work of people like anthropologist Nicholas Thomas has been particularly influential for his commentary on historical cross-cultural contact. Looking across this millennium, we see from the fulcrum of cultural entanglements the formation of identities, some new like Mtis or American, some that refer to older societies like British or Inuit.
