Formal Analysis of Diagnostic Ceramics from Site 14, Podtanean

New Caledonia has been studied by several archaeologists, yet there is much that can be clarified by a reanalysis of what has already been done. Green and Mitchell (1983:19) attempted a review and synthesis but pointed to "serious deficiencies" in the presentation of Gifford and Shutler's pioneering work from New Caledonia, published in 1956. Rather than being able to reanalyze the Gifford and Shutler collections first-hand, Green and Mitchell were restricted to working with the Hearst (then Lowie) Museum catalog, which inherently carries over Gifford and Shutler's original classifications. This paper presents new data based on a reanalysis of the site 14 diagnostic ceramics, which have been curated in the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum. It makes clear some aspects of the ceramic assemblage which were not evident in the original monograph (Gifford and Shutler 1956), and should be seen as a modest contribution towards the development of a ceramic chronology for New Caledonia.