Robin Torrence - Senior Principal Research Scientist, Geosciences and Archaeology

Dr Robin Torrence

Senior Fellow
PNG National Museum Delegation

Key Info

  • Position Title
    Senior Fellow, Archaeology and Geosciences
  • Section
    Archaeology and Geosciences
    Branch
    Life and Geosciences
    Division
    Australian Museum Research Institute

Email Dr Robin Torrence

Dr Robin Torrence's archaeological research focuses on the roles of ancient material culture, especially stone tools, in peoples’ daily lives, social strategies, and exchange systems. Dr Torrence has been especially interested in how the manufacture, design and exchange of tools can help people minimise risks. Throughout her career, Dr Torrence has collaborated in the development of new methods for studying trade, stone tool use, and subsistence patterns. Dr Torrence has been fortunate to have participated in fieldwork in many parts of the world, but her major projects have been in Greece, Papua New Guinea, and eastern Russia.

Robin's current research aims to understand social change in western Pacific societies over the past c. 50,000 years, since earliest colonization of the region. Robin is particularly interested in finding out how people coped with the highly active volcanic environment in West New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. Robin's research utilizes multiple interdisciplinary methods to reconstruct social landscapes, with particular emphasis placed on studying the production and exchange of obsidian artifacts, changes in land-use practices, and patterns of recolonisation following the relatively frequent disastrous volcanic events that occurred.

Another major research interest is the study of how indigenous groups used objects now commonly found in ethnographic museum collections to negotiate social relationships with outsiders. In collaboration with scholars from the University of Sydney and independent curators and researchers, Robin is studying changes in manufacture, style, and form of the artefacts actively used to structure social relations between local groups and European explorers, traders and government officials during the late nineteenth century in British New Guinea.

Research Projects

  • Understanding the diversity of stone tool assemblages over the past 50,000 years in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
  • Impact of natural disasters on cultural change with special reference to West New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
  • Reconstructing cross cultural social interaction through the analysis of ethnographic museum collections with a focus on the colonial history of Papua New Guinea.

Qualifications

1981 Ph.D. (Anthropology), University of New Mexico, U. S. A.

1974 M.A. (Anthropology), University of New Mexico, U.S.A.

1971 A.B. (magna cum laude), Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Appointments

2002-2020 Research Scientist, Australian Museum

Grants, awards and scholarships

2016 Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales

2016 AMRI Medal, Australian Museum Research Institute

2013 ICOM Australia Award for International Relations

2002 Society for American Archaeology Award for Excellence in Archaeological Analysis

1999 Elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities

Field Reports Papua New Guinea

These reports are available for download:

  • PDF Archaeological Research in West New Britain and the National Museum, Nov 2010
  • PDF Archaeological Survey at Hargy Oil Palms, Ltd., Nov 2010
  • PDF Indigenous Agency and Ethnograpic Collections from Central Province, Papua New Guinea, Sep-Oct 2008
  • PDF Archaeological Fieldwork in West New Britain, Apr-May 2005
  • PDF Archaeological Research in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea, Apr-May 2005
  • PDF Archaeological Research in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea, Jun-Jul 2004
  • PDF Archaeological Fieldwork in West New Britain, Jun-Aug 2002
  • PDF Report on an Archaeological Survey on the Bali-Witu Islands, West New Britain, Jul 2002
  • PDF Archaeological Fieldwork in West New Britain, Jun-Jul 2001
  • PDF Archaeological Fieldwork in West New Britain, May-Jun 2000
  • PDF Archaeological Fieldwork on Numundo and Garu Plantations, West New Britain, Jul 1999
  • PDF Archaeology Field Guide - Uluwan Decade Volcano Workshop, 1998
  • PDF Archaeological Fieldwork in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea, Jun-Aug 1997
  • PDF Archaeological Fieldwork on Garua Island, Jun-Aug 1996
  • PDF Archaelological and Ethnobotanical Fieldwork in West New Britain, Jun-Jul 1995
  • PDF Archaeological Research on Garua Island, Jun-Jul 1993
  • PDF Report on Archaeological Research on Garua Island, Jul-Aug 1992

Publications

  • 2019 Chan, Kiri (senior editor). Kambek: Reconnecting Collections. Queensland Museum. Conceived, researched and edited by the ‘Excavating MacGregor Project.’
  • 2015 Torrence, R., Rehren, Th., Martinón-Torres, M. (eds) Scoping the Future of Archaeological Science: Papers in Honour of Richard Klein Journal of Archaeological Science Special Issue 56: 1-248.
  • 2011 Byrne, S., Clarke, A., Harrison, R., Torrence, R. (eds) Unpacking the Collection: Networks of Material and Social Agency in the Museum. New York: Springer.
  • 2011 Specht, J. and Torrence, R. (eds) Changing Perspectives in Australian Archaeology. Technical Reports of the Australian Museum, Online 23.
  • 2007 Grattan, J. and Torrence, R. (eds) Living Under the Shadow: The Cultural Impacts of Volcanic Eruptions. Walnut Creek, California: Left Coast Press.
  • 2007 Torrence, R. (ed.) New Approaches to the Study of Volcanic Glass. Papers from the Manila Congress, Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 27: 114-162.
  • 2006 Torrence, R. and Barton, H. (eds) Ancient Starch Research. Walnut Creek, California: Left Coast Press.
  • 2003 Specht, J., Attenbrow, V. and Torrence, R. (eds) Shaping the Future Pasts: Papers in Honour of J. Peter White. Special issue, Australian Archaeology 57. 16 chapters.
  • 2002 Torrence, R. And Grattan, J. (eds), Natural Disasters and Culture Change. London: Routledge.
  • 2000 Torrence, R. and Clarke, A. (eds), The Archaeology of Difference: Negotiating Cross-Cultural Engagements in Oceania. London: Routledge.
  • 1997 Torrence, R. and White, J. P. (eds), For the Experimental Archaeologist: Papers Presented to Wal Ambrose. Special issue Archaeology in Oceania 32 (1). 15 chapters.
  • 1989 van der Leeuw, S. E. and Torrence, R. (eds), What's New? A Closer Look at the Process of Innovation. London: Allen and Unwin.
  • 1989 Torrence, R. (ed.), Time, Energy and Stone Tools. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Reprinted in paperback 2009.
  • 1986 Torrence, R., Production and Exchange of Stone Tools: Prehistoric Obsidian in the Aegean. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Reprinted in paperback 2009.
  • 1983 Torrence, R., and Cherry, J. (eds), L. R. Binford, In Pursuit of the Past. London: Thames and Hudson. Reprinted by University of California Press 2002.

  • 2020 Torrence. R., Bonshek. E., Clarke, A., Davies, S. M., Philp, J., Quinnell, M. Regimes of value in museum practices: A networked biography of the MacGregor field collection from British New Guinea. Museum History Journal DOI: 10.1080/19369816.2020.1807122.
  • 2020 Kononenko, N., Stevenson, C. Kelloway, S., White, J. The many uses of Matā on Rapa Nui. Rapa Nui Journal 32: 59-106.
  • 2019 Chan, K. with Clarke, A, Davies, S., Knowles, C., Miller, I., Torrence, R. (eds.) 2019. Kambek: Reconnecting Collections. Brisbane: Queensland Museum.
  • 2019 Pengilley, A., Brand, C., Flexner, J., Specht, J., Torrence, R. Detecting exchange networks in New Britain, Papua New Guinea: geochemical comparisons between axe-adze blades and in situ volcanic rock sources. Archaeology in Oceania 54: 200-213.
  • 2019 Torrence, R. Social responses to volcanic eruptions: A review of key concepts. Quaternary International 499: 258-265.
  • 2019 Pengilley, A., Brand, C., Flexner, J., Specht, J., Torrence, R. Detecting exchange networks in New Britain, Papua New Guinea: geochemical comparisons between axe-adze blades and in situ volcanic rock sources. Archaeology in Oceania 54: 200-213.
  • 2019 Torrence, R. Social responses to volcanic eruptions: A review of key concepts. Quaternary International 499: 258-265.
  • 2018 Torrence, R., Kononenko, N. White, P. Revisiting Rapa Nui Matā. Rapa Nui Journal 31: 1-20.
  • 2018 Torrence, R., Kononenko, N., Sheppard, P., Allen, M., Bedford, S., Kirch, P., Spriggs, M. Tattooing tools and the Lapita cultural complex. Archaeology in Oceania 53: 58-73.
  • 2016 Kononenko, N., Torrence, R., Sheppard, P. Detecting early tattooing in the Pacific region through experimental usewear and residue analyses of obsidian tools. Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports 8: 147-163. DOI 10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.05.041
  • 2016 Torrence, R. and Clarke, A. Excavating ethnographic collections: negotiations and cross-cultural exchange in Papua New Guinea. World Archaeology 48 (2): 181-195. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2016.1146161
  • 2016 Mulrooney, M., Torrence, R., and McAlister, A. The demise of a monopoly: implications of geochemical characterization of a stemmed obsidian tool from the Bishop Museum collection. Archaeology in Oceania 51: 62-69. DOI: 10.1002/arco.5069.
  • 2016 Torrence, R. Social resilience and long-term adaptation to volcanic disasters: the archaeology of continuity and innovation in the Willaumez Peninsula, Papua New Guinea. Quaternary International 396: 6-16. DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2014.04.029.
  • 2015 Torrence, R., Martinón-Torres, M. and Rehren, Th. Forty years and still growing: Journal of Archaeological Science looks to the future. Journal of Archaeological Science 56: 1-8.
  • 2015 Barton, H. and Torrence, R. Cooking up recipes for ancient starch: assessing current methodologies and looking to the future. Journal of Archaeological Science 56: 194-201.
  • 2015 Kononenko, N., Torrence, R., and White, J. P. Unexpected uses for obsidian: experimental replication and use-wear/residue analyses of chopping tools. Journal of Archaeological Science 54: 254-269. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2014.11.010
  • 2014 Galipaud, J-C., Reepmeyer, C., Torrence, R., Kelloway, S. and White, J.P. Long distance connections in Vanuatu: New obsidian characterisations for the Makué site, Aore Island. Archaeology in Oceania 49(2): 110-116. DOI:10.1002/arco.5030
  • 2014 Doelman, T., Jia, P., Torrence, R., and Popov, V. 2014. Remains of a puzzle: the distribution of volcanic glass artefacts from sources in Northeast China and Far East Russia. Lithic Technology 39(2): 81-95. DOI: 10.1179/0197726114Z.00000000035
  • 2014 Summerhayes, G. R., Kennedy, J., Matisoo-Smith, E., Mandui, H., Ambrose, W., Allen, C., Reepmeyer, C., Torrence, R., and Wadra, F. Lepong: a new obsidian source in the Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea. Geoarchaeology 29: 238-248. doi 10: 1002/gea.21475.
  • 2013 Torrence, R., Kelloway, S. and White, P. Stemmed tools, social interaction, and voyaging in early-mid Holocene Papua New Guinea. The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology 8: 278-310. doi.org/10.1080/15564894.2012.761300
  • 2013 Torrence, R., White, P., Kononenko, N. Meaningful stones: obsidian stemmed tools from Barema, New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Australian Archaeology 77: 1-8.
  • 2013 Jia, P., Doelman, T., Torrence, R., Glascock, M. New Pieces: The Acquisition and Distribution of Volcanic Glass Sources in Northeast China during the Holocene. Journal of Archaeological Science 40: 971-982. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2012.09.001
  • 2012 Torrence, R. Volcanic disasters and agricultural intensification: a case study from the Willaumez Peninsula, Papua New Guinea. Quaternary International 249: 151-161. DOI 10.1016/j.quaint.2011.03.041
  • 2012 Torrence, R., White, J. P., Kelloway, S. Expanding the range of PXRF to ethnographic collections. International Association of Obsidian Studies Bulletin 46: 9-14.
  • 2011 Clarke, A. and Torrence, A. Archaeology and the collection: tracing material relationships in colonial Papua from 1875 to 1925. Journal of Australian Studies 35(4) 433-448. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14443058.2011.617384
  • 2011 Torrence, R. Finding the right question: learning from stone tools on the Willaumez Peninsula, Papua New Guinea. Archaeology in Oceania 46: 29-41.
  • 2011 Specht, J. and Torrence, R. Changing Perspectives in Australian Archaeology. Preface. Technical Reports of the Australian Museum, Online 23: 1–2. doi:10.3853/j.1835-4211.23.2011.1565
  • 2011 McKee, C., Neall, V., and Torrence, R. A remarkable pulse of large-scale volcanism on New Britain Island, Papua New Guinea. Bulletin of Volcanology 73: 27-37. D0I 10. 1007/s00445-010-0401-8. Abstract
  • 2010 Kononenko, N., Torrence, R., Barton, H., and Hennell, A. Cross-cultural interaction on Wuvulu Island, Papua New Guinea: the perspective from use-wear and residue analyses of turtle bone artifacts. Journal of Archaeological Science 37: 2911-2919. Abstract
  • 2010 Kononenko, N., Specht, J. and Torrence, R. Persistent traditions in the face of natural disasters: stemmed and waisted stone tools in late Holocene New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Australian Archaeology 70: 17-28. Abstract
  • 2010 Jia, P., Doelman, T., Chen; Q., Zhao, H. Lin; S., Torrence, R. and Glascock, M. Moving Sources: a preliminary study of volcanic glass artefact distributions in Northeast China using PXRF. Journal of Archaeological Science 37: 1670-1677. Abstract.
  • 2010 Kelloway, S., Kononenko, N., Torrence, R. and Carter, E. Assessing the viability of portable Raman spectroscopy for determining the geological source of obsidian. Vibrational Spectroscopy 53: 88-96. DOI 10.1016/j.vibspec.2010.02.006. Abstract.
  • 2009 Doelman, T, Torrence, R., Kluyev, N., Sleptsov, I., Popov, V. Innovations in microblade core production at the Tigrovy-8 late Palaeolithic quarry in eastern Russia. Journal of Field Archaeology 34: 367-384. Abstract
  • 2009 Torrence, R, Neall, V. and Boyd, B. Volcanism and Historical Ecology on the Willaumez Peninsula, Papua New Guinea. . Pacific Science 63: 507-535. Abstract
  • 2009 Carter, E. A., Hargreaves, M. D., Kononenko, N., Graham, I. Edwards, G. M., Swarbrick, B., Torrence, R. Raman spectroscopy applied to understanding prehistoric obsidian trade in the Pacific Region. Vibrational Spectroscopy 50: 116-124. doi:10.1016/j.vibspec.2008.09.002. Abstract
  • 2009 Torrence, R., Swadling, P., Ambrose, W., Kononenko, N., Rath, P. and Glascock, M. Obsidian stemmed tools and Mid-Holocene interaction. Asian Perspectives 48: 118-147. Abstract.
  • 2009 Parr, J., Boyd, W., Harriott, V. and Torrence, R. Human adaptive responses to catastrophic landscape disruptions during the Holocene at Numundo, PNG. Geographical Research 47(2): 155-174. Abstract
  • 2009 Denham, T. et al. (24 authors) Archaeobotany in Australia and New Guinea: Practice, potential and prospects. Australian Archaeology 68: 1-10.
  • 2009 Kononenko, N. and Torrence, R. Tattooing in Melanesia: local invention or Lapita introduction? Antiquity 83: http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/kononenko/. Article.
  • 2008 Neall, V., Wallace, R. and Torrence, R. The volcanic environment for 40,000 years of human occupation on the Willaumez Isthmus, West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 176: 330-343. doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2008.01.037
  • 2008 Torrence, R. and Swadling, P. Social networks and the spread of Lapita. Antiquity 82: 600-616.
  • 2008 Petrie, C. and Torrence, R. Assessing the effects of volcanic disasters on human settlement in the Willaumez Peninsula, Papua New Guinea: a Bayesian approach. The Holocene 18 (5): 729-744.
  • 2008 Doelman, T., Torrence, R., Popov, V., Ionescu, M., Kluyev, N., Sleptsov, I., Pantyukhina, I., White, P. and Clements, M.. Source selectivity: an assessment of volcanic glass sources in the Southern Primorye Region, Far East Russia. Geoarchaeology 23(2): 1-31.
  • 2007 Lentfer, C. and Torrence, R. Holocene volcanic activity, vegetation succession, and ancient human land use: unraveling the interactions on Garua Island, Papua New Guinea. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 143: 83-105.
  • 2006 Torrence, R. Celebrating differences. Archaeologies 2: 80-4.
  • 2004 Torrence, R., Bonetti, R., Guglielmetti, A., Manzoni, A., and Oddone, M. Importance of source availability and accessibility: a case study from Papua New Guinea. Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 4:53-65.
  • 2004 Doelman, T., Kononenko, N., Popov, V., Summerhayes, G., Torrence, R., Bonetti, R., Guglielmetti, A., Manzoni, A. and Oddone, M. Acquisition and movement of volcanic glass in the Primorye region of Far Eastern Russia. Russia and the Pacific. Humane Problems of the Asian-Pacific Region Countries. 4 (46): 112-124.
  • 2004 Torrence, R., Neall, V., Doelman, T., Rhodes, E., McKee, C., Davies, H., Bonetti, R., Guglielmetti, A., Manzoni, A., Oddone, M., Parr, J., Wallace, R. Pleistocene colonisation of the Bismarck Archipelago: new evidence from West New Britain. Archaeology in Oceania 39: 101-130.
  • 2004 Torrence, R., Wright, R. and Conway, R. Identification of starch granules using image analysis and multivariate techniques. Journal of Archaeological Science 31: 519-532.
  • 2003 Rath, P. and Torrence, R. Producing value: stemmed tools from Garua Island, Papua New Guinea. Australian Archaeology 57: 119-127.
  • 2003 Specht, J., Attenbrow, V. and Torrence, R. Introduction to special volume. Australian Archaeology 57: iii.
  • 2002 R. Torrence, The archaeology of cultural landscapes on Garua Island, Papua New Guinea. Antiquity 76: 766-776.
  • 2002 N. Araho, R. Torrence and J. White, Valuable and useful: Mid-Holocene stemmed obsidian artefacts from West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 68: 61-81.
  • 2002 Lentfer, C. Torrence, R. and Therin, M. Starch grains and environmental reconstruction: a modern test case from West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Journal of Archaeological Science 29:687-698.
  • 1999 Torrence, R., Specht, J., Davies, H., Ainge, P. and White, J. P. A Pleistocene landscape in West New Britain. Australian Archaeology 49: 44-45.
  • 1999 Torrence, R., Bird, R., Bailey, G. and Johnson, P. Description of the procedures for PIXE-PIGME analysis at ANSTO. International Association for Obsidian Studies Bulletin 23: 22.
  • 1999 Kealhofer, L. Torrence, R. and Fullagar, R. Integrating phytoliths within use-wear/residue studies of stone tools. Journal of Archaeological Science 26: 527-546.
  • 1998 Boyd, W.E., Lentfer, C. and Torrence, R. Phytolith analysis for a wet tropics environment: methodological issues and implications for the archaeology of Garua Island, West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Palynology: 213-228.
  • 1998 Barton, H., Fullagar, R. and Torrence, R. Clues to stone tool function re-examined: comparing starch grain frequencies on used and unused obsidian artifacts. Journal of Archaeological Science 25: 1231-1238.
  • 1998 Bonetti, R., Di Cesare, P., Guglielmetti, A., Malerba, F., Migliorini, E., Oddone, M., Bird, J. R., Torrence, R. and Bultitude, R. J. Fission track dating of obsidian source samples from the Willaumez Peninsula, Papua New Guinea and North Queensland and Eastern Australia. Records of the Australian Museum 50: 277-284.
  • 1997 Torrence, R. and Summerhayes, G. Sociality and the short distance trader: intra-regional obsidian exchange in the Willaumez region. Archaeology in Oceania 32: 74-84.
  • 1997 Bird, J. R., Torrence, R., Summerhayes, G. and Bailey, G. New Britain obsidian sources. Archaeology in Oceania 32: 54-60.
  • 1997 Torrence, R. Dear Wal. Archaeology in Oceania 32: 1-3.
  • 1996 Machida, H., Blong, R., Specht, J.,Torrence, R., Moriwaki, H., Hayakawa, Y., Talai, B., Lolok, D., Pain, C. Holocene explosive eruptions of Witori and Dakataua caldera volcanoes in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Quaternary International 34-36: 65-78.
  • 1995 Torrence, R. and Victor, K. L. The relativity of density. Archaeology in Oceania 30:121-131.
  • 1995 Torrence, R. Lukluk bek long taim bepo. Past 20: 1-2.
  • 1993 Crowe, D. and Torrence, R. Admiralty Islands spear decorations: a minicatalog of pmm patterns. Symmetry: Culture and Science 4: 385-396.
  • 1993 Torrence, R. Ethnoarchaeology, museum collections and prehistoric exchange: obsidian-tipped artifacts from the Admiralty Islands. World Archaeology 24: 467-481.
  • 1992 Torrence, R., Specht, J., Fullagar, R. and Bird, R. From Pleistocene to present: obsidian sources in West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea. Records of the Australian Museum 42: 83-98.
  • 1991 Specht, J., Fullagar, R. and Torrence, R. What was the significance of Lapita pottery at Talasea? Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 11: 281-294.
  • 1990 Torrence, R., Specht, J. and Fullagar, R. Pompeiis in the Pacific. Australian Natural History 23: 457-463.
  • 1988 Specht, J. Fullagar, R., Torrence, R., and Baker, N. Prehistoric obsidian exchange in Melanesia: a perspective from the Talasea sources. Australian Archaeology 27: 3-16.
  • 1983 Davis, J., Schofield, E., Torrence, R., and Williams, D. Keos and the Eastern Aegean: the Cretan Connection. Hesperia 52: 361-366.
  • 1981 Torrence, R. Die Obsidiangewinnung und-bearbeitung auf der griechischen Insel Melos-- Ein Beitrag zum Tauschhandel. Der Anschnitt 3: 86-103.
  • 1979 Torrence, R. Macrocore production at the Melos obsidian quarries. Lithic Technology 8:51-60.

See full list of publications

  • 2015 Torrence, R. and Clarke, A. ‘Decorated in red, black, and white’: Agency and desire in historical auction and sale catalogues. In S. Foster and K. Leacock (eds) Art, Artifact, Commodity: Perspectives on the P.G.T. Black Collection. Buffalo: Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, Volume 42, pp. 45-53. Buffalo: Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences.
  • 2015 Torrence, R. Smoking Pipes. In S. Foster and K. Leacock (eds) Art, Artifact, Commodity: Perspectives on the P.G.T. Black Collection. Buffalo: Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, Volume 42, p. 23. Buffalo: Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences.
  • 2015 Torrence, R. Manus daggers. In S. Foster and K. Leacock (eds) Art, Artifact, Commodity: Perspectives on the P.G.T. Black Collection. Buffalo: Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, Volume 42, p. 59. Buffalo: Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences.
  • 2015 Torrence, R. Reflections and connections. In S. Brown, A. Clarke and U. Frederick (eds), Object Stories: Artifacts and Archaeologists, pp.153-159. Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press.
  • 2014 Torrence, R., White, J. P., Kelloway, S. Expanding the range of PXRF to ethnographic collections. In C. D. Dillian (ed.) Twenty-Five Years on the Cutting Edge of Obsidian Studies. USA: International Association for Obsidian Studies, pp. 157-168.
  • 2013 Torrence, R. and Clarke, A. Creative colonialism: locating Indigenous strategies in ethnographic museum collections. In R. Harrison, S. Bryne and A. Clarke (eds) Reassembling the Collection: Ethnographic Museums and Indigenous Agency, pp. 171-195. Santa Fe: SAR Press.
  • 2012 Carter, E. A., Kelloway, S., Kononenko, N. and Torrence, R. Raman spectroscopic studies of obsidian. In H. Edwards and P. Vandenabeele (eds), Analytical Archaeometry: Selected Topics, pp. 323-349. Wakefield: The Royal Society of Chemistry.
  • 2012 Doelman, T., Torrence, R. Popov, V. Kluyev. N. and Sleptsov, I. Volcanic glass procurement and use in the late Paleolithic, Central Primorye, Far East Russia. In C. M. Stevenson and I. Liritzis (eds), The Dating and Provenance of Obsidian and Other Manufactured Glasses, pp. 97-113. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
  • 2011 Torrence, R. and Clarke, A. “Suitable for decoration of halls and billiard rooms:” finding indigenous agency in historic auction and sale catalogues. In Byrne, S., Clarke, A., Harrison, R., Torrence, R. (eds), Unpacking the Collection: Networks of Material and Social Agency in the Museum, pp. 29-54. New York: Springer. Abstract
  • 2011 Byrne, S., Clarke, A., Harrison, R., Torrence, R. Networks, agents and objects: frameworks for unpacking museum collections. In Byrne, S., Clarke, A., Harrison, R., Torrence, R. (eds), Unpacking the Collection: Networks of Material and Social Agency in the Museum, pp. 3-28. New York: Springer.
  • 2010 Popov, V., Kluyuev, N., Sleptsov, I., Doelman, T., Torrence, R., Kononenko, N. and White, P. Gialoklatic Shkotovo plateau (Primorye): an important source of archaeological obsidian in the south of the Russian Far East. In N. Kluyuev and Y. Vostrestsov (eds.), Lifting the Veil of Millennia: for the 80th Birthday of Janna Vasilyevna Andreeva. Vladivostok: Institute for History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of Far East Russia, pp. 295-314. (in Russian).
  • 2008 Klujev, N., Sleptsov, I., Popov, V., Torrence, R., Doelman, T., Pantyukhina, I., Gladchenkov, A. Some results of joint Russian-Australian researches in Primorski territory in 2006. In Archaeological Discoveries in 2006, pp. 49-50. Moscow: Nauka (in Russian).
  • 2008 Torrence, R. Punctuated landscapes: creating cultural places in volcanically active environments. In B. David and J. Thomas (eds), Handbook of Landscape Archaeology, pp. 333-343. Walnut Creek, California: Left Coast Press.
  • 2008 Klujev, N., Sleptsov, I., Popov, V., Torrence, R., Doelman, T., Pantyukhina, I., Gladchenkov, A. 2008. Some results of joint Russian-Australian researches in Primorski territory in 2006. In Archaeological Discoveries in 2006, pp. 49-50. Moscow: Nauka (in Russian).
  • 2007 Torrence, R. and Doelman, T. Problems of scale: evaluating the effects of volcanic disasters on cultural change in the Willaumez Peninsula, Papua New Guinea. In J. Grattan and R. Torrence (eds), Living Under The Shadow: The Cultural Impacts of Volcanic Eruptions, pp. 42-66. Walnut Creek, California: Left Coast Press.
  • 2007 Grattan, J. and Torrence, R. Beyond gloom and doom: the long-term consequences of volcanic disasters. In J. Grattan and R. Torrence (eds), Living Under The Shadow: The Cultural Impacts of Volcanic Eruptions, pp. 1-18. Walnut Creek, California: Left Coast Press.
  • 2007 Specht, J. and Torrence, R. Lapita all over: Land-use on the Willaumez Peninsula, Papua New Guinea. In S. Bedford, C. Sand, and and S. Connaughton (eds), Oceanic Explorations: Lapita and Western Pacific Settlement. Terra Australis 26, pp. 71-96. Canberra: ANU E-Press. http://epress.anu.edu.au/ta26_citation.html
  • 2007 Specht, J. and Torrence, R. Pottery of the Talasea area, West New Britain Province, In J. Specht and V. Attenbrow (eds), Archaeological Studies of the Middle and Late Holocene, Papua New Guinea, Part IV. Technical Reports of the Australian Museum 20: 131-196 (online). http://dx.doi.org/10.3853/j.1835-4211.20.2007.1476
  • 2006 Torrence, R. and Therin, M. 2006. Experiments for testing starch extraction techniques. In R. Torrence and H. Barton (eds), Ancient Starch Research, pp. 156-158. Walnut Creek, California: Left Coast Press. (Box within chapter).
  • 2006 Torrence, R. and Conway, R. 2006. Classification using image analysis and multivariate techniques. In R. Torrence and H. Barton (eds), Ancient Starch Research, pp. 137-142. Walnut Creek, California: Left Coast Press. (Box within chapter).
  • 2006 Torrence, R. Landscape change as detected by starch granules. In R. Torrence and H. Barton (eds), Ancient Starch Research, pp. 168-170. Walnut Creek, California: Left Coast Press. (Box within chapter).
  • 2006 Torrence, R. What really happened at Kuk Swamp? In R. Torrence and H. Barton (eds), Ancient Starch Research, pp. 24-26. (Box within chapter).
  • 2006 Barton, H. and Torrence, R. Looking ahead. In R. Torrence and H. Barton (eds), Ancient Starch Research, pp. 217-224. Walnut Creek, California: Left Coast Press.
  • 2006 Torrence, R. Starch in sediments. In R. Torrence and H. Barton (eds), Ancient Starch Research, pp. 145-176. Walnut Creek, California: Left Coast Press.
  • 2006 Torrence, R. Description, classification and identification. In R. Torrence and H. Barton (eds), Ancient Starch Research, pp. 115-144. Walnut Creek, California: Left Coast Press.
  • 2006 Beck, W. and Torrence, R. Starch pathways. In R. Torrence and H. Barton (eds), Ancient Starch Research, pp. 53-74. Walnut Creek, California: Left Coast Press.
  • 2006 Gott, B., Barton, H., Samuel, D., and Torrence, R. Biology of starch. In R. Torrence and H. Barton (eds), Ancient Starch Research, pp. 35-45. Walnut Creek, California: Left Coast Press.
  • 2006 Torrence, R. Starch and archaeology. In R. Torrence and H. Barton (eds), Ancient Starch Research, pp. 17-34. Walnut Creek, California: Left Coast Press.
  • 2006 Torrence, R. and Barton, H. Preface. In R. Torrence and H. Barton (eds), Ancient Starch Research, pp. 15-16. Walnut Creek, California: Left Coast Press.
  • 2004 Torrence, R. Valued stone: how so? In I. Macfarlane, R. Paton and M. Mountain (eds), Many Exchanges: Archaeology, History, Community and the Work of Isabel McBryde. Aboriginal History Monograph 11: 357-372.
  • 2004 Torrence, R. Pre-Lapita valuables in island Melanesia. In V. Attenbrow and R. Fullagar (eds), A Pacific Odyssey: Archaeology and Anthropology in the Western Pacific. Papers in Honour of Jim Specht. Australian Museum: Records of the Australian Museum: Supplement 29: 163-172.
  • 2004 Torrence, R. Now you see it, now you don’t: changing obsidian source use in the Willaumez Peninsula, Papua New Guinea. In J. Cherry, C. Scarre and S. Shennan (eds), Explaining Social Change: Studies in Honour of Colin Renfrew (McDonald Institute Monographs). pp. 115-125.Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.
  • 2003 Torrence, R. ‘Like everywhere you’ve never been’: archaeological fables from Papua New Guinea, in Theory, Method and Practice in Modern Archaeology, pp. 287-300, eds R. J. Jeske and D. K. Charles. Praeger: Westport, Connecticut.
  • 2002 R. Torrence and Grattan, J. The archaeology of disasters: past and future trends. In R. Torrence and J. Grattan (eds) Natural Disasters and Culture Change, pp. 1-18. London: Routledge.
  • 2002 R. Torrence, What makes a disaster? A long-term view of volcanic eruptions and human responses in Papua New Guinea. In R. Torrence and J. Grattan (eds) Natural Disasters and Culture Change, pp. 292-310. London: Routledge.
  • 2002 White, J.P., Coroneos, C., Neall, V., Boyd, W. and Torrence, R. FEA site, Boduna Island: Further investigations. In S. Bedford, D. Burley and C. Sand (eds), Fifty Years in the Field. New Zealand Archaeological Association Monograph 25: 101-7.
  • 2002 Thinking big about small tools. In R. Elston and S. Kuhn (eds.), Thinking Small: Global Perspectives on Microlithization, pp. 179-189. Archaeological papers of the American Anthropological Association No. 12. Arlington: American Anthropological Association.
  • 2002 Torrence, R. Obsidian-tipped spears and daggers: what can we learn from 130 years of collecting? In C. Kaufmann, C. Kocher Schmid and S. Ohnemus (eds), Admiralty Arts from the South Seas, pp. 73-80. Zurich: Museum Reitberg.
  • 2001 Anderson, A., Bedford, S., Clark, G., Lilley, I., Sand, C., Summerhayes, G., Torrence, R. An inventory of Lapita sites containing dentate-stamped pottery. In G. R. Clark, A. Anderson, and T. Vunidilo (eds.), The Archaeology of Lapita Dispersal in Oceania, pp. 1-14. Terra Australia 17. Canberra: Pandanus Press.
  • 2001 Torrence, R. and White, J.P. Tattooed faces from Boduna Island, Papua New Guinea. In G. R. Clark, A. Anderson, and T. Vunidilo (eds.), The Archaeology of Lapita Dispersal in Oceania, pp. 135-140. Terra Australia 17. Canberra: Pandanus Press.
  • 2001 Lentfer, C., Boyd, W. and Torrence, R. Phytolith research relating to the archaeology of West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. In J. M. Meunier and F. Colin (eds), Phytoliths: Applications in Earth Sciences and Human History, pp. 213-224. Tokyo: A.A. Balkema Publishers.
  • 2001 Torrence, R. Hunter-gatherer technology viewed at different scales. In C. Panter-Brick, R. Layton, P. Rowley-Conwy (eds), Hunter-Gatherers: An Interdisciplinary Perspective, pp. 73-98. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • 2000 Torrence, R. and Stevenson, C. Beyond the beach: changing Lapita landscapes on Garua Island, PNG. In A. Anderson and T. Murray (eds), Australian Archaeologist: Collected Papers in Honour of Jim Allen, pp. 324-345. Canberra: Coombs Press.
  • 2000 Torrence, R. Just another trader? An archaeological perspective on European barter with Admiralty Islanders, Papua New Guinea. In R. Torrence and A. Clarke (eds), The Archaeology of Difference: Negotiating Cross-Cultural Engagements in Oceania, pp. 104-141. London: Routledge.
  • 2000 Torrence, R. and Clarke, A. Negotiating difference: practice makes theory for contemporary archaeology in Oceania. In R. Torrence and A. Clarke (eds), The Archaeology of Difference: Negotiating Cross-Cultural Engagements in Oceania, pp.1-31. London: Routledge.
  • 2000 Torrence, R., Pavlides, C., Jackson, P. and Webb, J. Volcanic disasters and cultural discontinuities in the Holocene of West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. In B. McGuire, D. Griffiths, and I. Stewart (eds), The Archaeology of Geological Catastrophes. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 171: 225-244.
  • 1999 Therin, M., Fullagar, R. and Torrence, R. Starch in sediments: a new approach to the study of subsistence and land use in Papua New Guinea. In C. Gosden and J. Hather (eds), The Prehistory of Food, pp. 438-462. London: Routledge.
  • 1998 Summerhayes, G., Bird, J. R., Fullagar, R. Gosden, C., Specht, J., Torrence, R. Application of PIXE-PIGME to archaeological analysis of changing patterns of obsidian use in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. In S. Shackley (ed.), Archaeological Obsidian Studies, pp. 129-158. New York: Plenum.
  • 1996 Torrence, R. Prehistoric obsidian trade. In B. Fagan (ed.), Oxford Companion to Archaeology, pp. 721-722. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • 1996 Torrence, R. Trade, Prehistoric. In B. Fagan (ed.), Oxford Companion to Archaeology, pp. 718-720. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • 1996 Torrence, R., Specht, J., Fullagar, R. and Summerhayes, G. Which obsidian is worth it? in J. M. Davidson, G. Irwin, B. F. Leach, A. Pawley, and D. Brown (eds), Oceanic Culture History: Essays in Honour of Roger Green, pp. 211-224. Dunedin: New Zealand Journal of Archaeology Special Publication.
  • 1994 Torrence, R. Strategies for moving on in Lithic studies, in P. Carr (ed.), The Organization of Technology: North American Prehistoric Chipped Stone Technologies, pp. 123-131. International Monographs in Prehistory. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.
  • 1993 Torrence, R. Obsidian tools: a study in prehistoric Melanesian trade. In G. Burenhult (ed.), People of the Stone Age, pp. 160-161. New York: American Museum of Natural History.
  • 1993 Summerhayes, G., Gosden, C., Fullagar, R., Specht, J., Torrence, R., Bird, J.R., Shagholi, N., Katsaros, A. West New Britain obsidian: production and consumption patterns, in B. L. Fankhauser and J. R. Bird (eds.), Archaeometry: Current Australiasian Research. Occasional Papers in Prehistory 22, pp. 57-68. Canberra: Department of Prehistory, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University.
  • 1992 Torrence, R. What is Lapita about obsidian? A view from the Talasea sources. In J-C Galipaud, (ed.), Lapita et Peuplement, pp. 111-126. Noumea: ORSTOM.
  • 1991 Torrence, R. and Fullagar, R. Obsidian exploitation at Umleang, Lou Island, in J. Allen and C. Gosden (eds) Report of the Lapita Homeland Project. Occasional Papers in Prehistory, No. 20, pp. 113-143. Canberra: Department of Prehistory, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University.
  • 1991 Torrence, R. Catalogue of chipped and ground stone from Kephala and Paoura. In J. Cherry, J. Davis and E. Mantzourani (eds), Landscape Archaeology as Long-Term History, pp. 196-198. Los Angeles: UCLA Press.
  • 1991 Torrence, R. The chipped stone. In J. Cherry, J. Davis, and E. Mantzourani (eds), Landscape Archaeology as Long-Term History, pp. 175-195. Los Angeles: UCLA Press.
  • 1989 Torrence, R. and van der Leeuw, S.E. Introduction: what's new about innovation? In S. van der Leeuw and R. Torrence, (eds), What's New? A Closer Look at the Process of Innovation, pp. 1-15. London: Allen and Unwin.
  • 1989 Torrence, R. Re-tooling: towards a behavioral theory of stone tools. In R. Torrence (ed.), Time, Energy, and Stone Tools, pp. 57-66. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • 1989 Torrence, R. Tools as optimal solutions. In R. Torrence (ed.), Time, Energy, and Stone Tools, pp. 1-6. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  • 1986 Torrence, R. Ground and polished stone. In J. L. Davis, Ayia Irini: Period V, pp. 96-97. Mainz on Rhine: Verlag Philipp Von Zabern.
  • 1986 Torrence, R. Chipped stone. In J. L. Davis, Ayia Irini: Period V, pp. 90-96. Mainz on Rhine: Verlag Philipp Von Zabern.
  • 1985 Torrence, R. The chipped stone. In C. Renfrew, The Archaeology of Cult: The Sanctuary at Phylakopi, pp. 469-478. London: Thames and Hudson.
  • 1984 Cherry, J. F. and Torrence, R. The typology and chronology of chipped stone assemblages in the prehistoric Cyclades. In J.A. Macgillivray and R. L. N. Barber (eds), The Prehistoric Cyclades: Contributions to a Workshop on Cycladic Chronology, pp. 12-25. Edinburgh: Department of Classical Archaeology.
  • 1984 Torrence, R. Towards an economic approach to pressure blade technology. In Prehistoire de la Pierre Taillee, 2: Economie du Debitage Laminaire: Technologie et Experimentation, pp. 159-166. Paris: Cercle de Recherches et D'Etudes Prehistoriques.
  • 1984 Torrence, R. Monopoly or direct access? Industrial organization at the Melos obsidian quarries. In B. Purdy and J. E. Ericson (eds) Quarry Production Analysis, pp. 49-63. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • 1983 Torrence, R. Time budgeting and hunter-gatherer technology. In G. Bailey (ed.), Hunter-Gatherer Economy in Prehistory: A European Perspective, pp. 11-22. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • 1982 Cherry, J. F. and Torrence, R. The earliest prehistory of Melos. In C. Renfrew and J. M. Wagstaff (eds), An Island Polity: The Archaeology of Exploitation in Melos, pp. 24-34. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • 1982 Torrence, R. Obsidian quarries and their use. In C. Renfrew and J. M. Wagstaff (eds), An Island Polity: The Archaeology of Exploitation in Melos, pp. 193-221. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • 1979 Cherry, J. F. and Torrence, R. Quantitative Distributional Data. In C. Renfrew et al., Investigations in Orkney, pp. 173-180. London: Thames and Hudson.
  • 1979 Torrence, R. A technological approach to Cycladic blade industries. In J. L. Davis and J. F. Cherry (eds), Papers in Cycladic Prehistory, pp. 66-86. UCLA Institute of Archaeology, Monograph XIV. Los Angeles: University of California at Los Angeles.
  • 1978 Torrence, R. Chipping away at some misconceptions about sampling lithic assemblages. In J. F. Cherry, C. S. Gamble and S. J. Shennan (eds), Sampling in Contemporary British Archaeology, pp. 373-98. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, British Series 50.

  • 1996 Boyd, B. and Torrence, R. Periodic erosion and human land use on Garua Island, PNG: A progress report. In S. Ulm, I. Lilley and A. Ross (eds), Australian Archaeology ‘95: Proceedings of the 1995 Australian Archaeological Association Annual Conference. Tempus 6:265-274. St. Lucia: University of Queensland.
  • 1993 Summerhayes, G., Bird, R., Hotchkiss, M., Gosden, C., Specht, J., Torrence, R. and Fullagar, R. Obsidian sourcing studies in Papua New Guinea using PIXE-PIGME Analysis. Proceedings of the Australian Conference on Nuclear Techniques of Analysis, pp. 107-110. Lucas Heights: ANSTO.
  • 1989 Fullagar, R., Ambrose, W., Bird, R., Specht, J., Torrence, R. and Baker, N. Stocktaking the rocks: obsidian sources in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Proceedings of the Sixth Australian Conference on Nuclear Techniques of Analysis, pp. 187-189.
  • 1978 Torrence, R. The Melos obsidian quarries: a case study in lithic technology. In F. Engelen (ed.), Third International Conference on Flint, pp. 70-3. Maastrict: Netherlands Geologische Vereniging.

  • 2012 Torrence, R. Boats, stones and risks. Australian Archaeology 74: 26-27.
  • 2011 Torrence, R. Comment on ‘Lapita colonization across the Near/Remote Oceania Boundary’ by Peter Sheppard. Current Anthropology 52: 831-2.
  • 2010 Comments on’Farming and Language in Island Southeast Asia’ by Mark Donohue and Tim Denham. Current Anthropology 51: 246-7.
  • 2006 Torrence, R. Comment on ‘Kimberley points and the technologies of enchantment’ by Rodney Harrison. Current Anthropology 47: 83-4.
  • 1978 Torrence, R. Comment on ‘Ports of trade in early Medieval Europe’ by Richard Hodges. Norwegian Archaeological Review 11:108-11.
  • 1975 Torrence, R. Comment on ‘The structure of an industry: a behavioral analysis of Mesoamerican chipped stone’ by P. Sheets. Current Anthropology l6: 386.

  • 2005 McKee, C., Patia, H., Kuduon, J. and Torrence, R. Volcanic Hazard Assessment of the Krummel-Garbuna,Welcker Volcanic Complex, Southern Willaumez Peninsula, WNB, Papua New Guinea. Geological Survey of Papua New Guinea Report 2005/4. Port Moresby: Papua New Guinea Geological Survey. 34pp +maps.
  • 1973 Cherry, J. F. and Torrence, R. The current state of archaeological research in the Davis Mountains, Texas. In A Natural Areas Survey: Part 4, Mount Livermore and Sawtooth Peak, pp. 105-20. Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. Austin: University of Texas.
  • 1973 Cherry, J. F. and Torrence, R. An archaeological survey of Capote Canyon, Texas. In A Natural Areas Survey: Part 3, Capote Canyon, pp. 185-220. Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. Austin: University of Texas.
  • 1973 Cherry, J. F. and Torrence, R. A reconnaissance of the archaeological resources of Matagorda Island, Texas. In A Natural Areas Survey: Part 2, Matagorda Island, pp. 175-230. Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. Austin: University of Texas.
  • 1973 Cherry, J. F. and Torrence, R. An archaeological reconnaissance of Victorio Canyon, Hudspeth and Culberson Counties, Texas. In A Natural Areas Survey: Part I, Victorio Canyon, pp. 175-230. Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. Austin: University of Texas.

  • 1993-4 (6 months) (written and designed with S. Colley and the staff at the Macleay Museum) Lukluk Bek Long Taim Bepo: Community Archaeology in Papua New Guinea. Macleay Museum, University of Sydney.
  • 1995-2019 (written and designed with S. Colley, the staff at the Macleay Museumand PNG National Museum) How We Know About the Past: Archaeology in West New Britain. National Museum and Art Gallery, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.