Preface. In From Field to Museum—Studies from Melanesia in Honour of Robin Torrence, ed. Jim Specht, Val Attenbrow, and Jim Allen
Abstract
This collection of 16 papers by 32 authors covers a diverse range of topics on archaeological materials and museum collections. The papers range in geographical coverage from Sarawak in Malaysia to Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, but their main focus is on Papua New Guinea (PNG). Their time frame covers 6000 or so years down to the present. These wide geographical and temporal spreads are held together by a common thread: the varied relationships of the authors to Dr Robin Torrence, who retired from the position of Senior Principle Research Scientist at the Australian Museum in 2020. Over the last 35 years in Australian studies Robin has taught, supervised, examined, mentored, conducted fieldwork and museum research, or been a co-author with all of the first authors and most of the others.
Robin’s association with Australia began through encounters with Australian archaeologists at conferences while she was teaching Archaeology at Sheffield University in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 1980s. …
