太平洋史前Lapita陶器：線上數位資料庫的建置與其對後期深化研究的效益

Research Impacts of Establishing an Online Database for the Study of Lapita Pottery

自2005年起由多國學者合作策劃與推動的長期太平洋史前Lapita陶器研究計劃，是透過對太平洋區域的各個相關遺址及所出土的陶器進行資料蒐集彙整，試圖來建立一適合此地區陶器資料建置的標準，並透過線上數位資料庫提供各國研究人員比較各地之Lapita陶器收藏。通過建置大量且詳盡的陶器型制、質地、紋飾與製作技術等方面的資料，讓研究人員得以利用統計方法來互相對照、比較遺址之間的異同，用以檢驗及修正過去針對此一史前文化所提出的不同假說。本文中將對過去針對Lapita陶器紋飾研究所做的努力以及所遇見的困難做一反思，鋪陳利用建立一跨國資料庫來解決研究困難的理念及當下所獲得之初步成果，並提出幾項未來可能之研究議題發展方向。從建立此一資料庫的經驗中也可以看出，典藏的考古資料若能即時數位化，並善加的整合、管理與運用，便能針對過去不同的假說提出更為詳盡的資料來驗證，也能在理論發展上提出新的見解。

Established in 2005 through international collaboration, the long-term project of the study of Lapita pottery is aimed at collecting and integrating information on important Lapita sites and pottery findings to both establish a standardized method for coding vessel forms and motifs for further comparisons among island groups, and to provide a platform for researchers to conduct cross-regional comparisons online. This database contains detailed information about several important Lapita pottery assemblages, including attributes such as morphology, petrographic and chemical composition, motif, and forming technique. The ultimate goal will be to provide researchers with large amounts of accurate data with which to test or modify different hypothesis regarding issues such as exchange networks, pottery-making traditions, migration routes, etc., that have been the focus of study on the Lapita Culture Complex.In this paper I will first present the efforts of previous scholars to establish a systematic method of comparing pottery assemblages, the difficulties they faced, and how those difficulties may be resolved by the establishment of an online database. Preliminary results of motif comparisons are also presented based on data from 60 sites have now been verified and entered into the database as a test run and also as an example of possible research directions for the near future. It is also clear that once archived archaeological records are properly digitalized, managed, and integrated in a well-designed database, these data may provide a solid foundation for developing new ideas and insights to test existing hypotheses, or even establish new ones.