Richard Walter - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Richard Walter

The use of oral tradition or oral history in archaeology is often a contentious issue. In this pa... more The use of oral tradition or oral history in archaeology is often a contentious issue. In this paper we briefly review methodological issues surrounding the use of such data and follow this with a case study using our research into the last 1,000 years of prehistory in Roviana Lagoon (New Georgia Group, Solomon Islands). We argue that it is not

PLOS ONE, 2015

Dogs accompanied people in their migrations across the Pacific Ocean and ultimately reached New Z... more Dogs accompanied people in their migrations across the Pacific Ocean and ultimately reached New Zealand, which is the southern-most point of their oceanic distribution, around the beginning of the fourteenth century AD. Previous ancient DNA analyses of mitochondrial control region sequences indicated the New Zealand dog population included two lineages. We sequenced complete mitochondrial genomes of fourteen dogs from the colonisation era archaeological site of Wairau Bar and found five closely-related haplotypes. The limited number of mitochondrial lineages present at Wairau Bar suggests that the founding population may have comprised only a few dogs; or that the arriving dogs were closely related. For populations such as that at Wairau Bar, which stemmed from relatively recent migration events, control region sequences have insufficient power to address questions about population structure and founding events. Sequencing mitogenomes provided the opportunity to observe sufficient diversity to discriminate between individuals that would otherwise be assigned the same haplotype and to clarify their relationships with each other. Our results also support the proposition that at least one dispersal of dogs into the Pacific was via a south-western route through Indonesia.

PloS one, 2015

The largest rookery for hawksbill turtles in the oceanic South Pacific is the Arnavon Islands, wh... more The largest rookery for hawksbill turtles in the oceanic South Pacific is the Arnavon Islands, which are located in the Manning Strait between Isabel and Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands. The history of this rookery is one of overexploitation, conflict and violence. Throughout the 1800s Roviana headhunters from New Georgia repeatedly raided the Manning Strait to collect hawksbill shell which they traded with European whalers. By the 1970s the Arnavons hawksbill population was in severe decline and the national government intervened, declaring the Arnavons a sanctuary in 1976. But this government led initiative was short lived, with traditional owners burning down the government infrastructure and resuming intensive harvesting in 1982. In 1991 routine beach monitoring and turtle tagging commenced at the Arnavons along with extensive community consultations regarding the islands' future, and in 1995 the Arnavon Community Marine Conservation Area (ACMCA) was established. Around t...

Stable isotope ratios (d13C and d15N) were analyzed from the bone collagen of individuals (n=58) ... more Stable isotope ratios (d13C and d15N) were analyzed from the bone collagen of individuals (n=58) from a Lapita burial ground (ca. 2800–2350 BP) on Watom Island, located off northeast New Britain in the Bismarck Archipelago. The aim of this study was to
assess the diet and subsistence strategies of humans
that lived during the later Lapita period in Near Oceania.
To aid in the interpretation of the human diet we
analyzed the stable isotope ratios of faunal material
from the site (n527). We also aim to assess methods of
animal husbandry at the site over time from an analysis
of the stable isotope ratios (d13C and d15N) of pig bones
(n522) from different temporal periods (Lapita, post-
Lapita, and late prehistoric). The protein diet of the
humans consisted of marine organisms from the inshore
environment and some deep-water species, most likely
marine turtle, in addition to higher trophic level terrestrial
foods, likely pig and native animals (e.g., fruit bat,
Cuscus and bandicoot). Although the sample sizes were
small, females (n54) displayed more variable d13C and
d15N values compared with males (n54), which may be
associated with the movement of adult females to the
island. The stable isotope analysis of the pig bones indicated
that there were few differences between the diets
of the pigs from the Lapita and post-Lapita layers, suggesting
that the method of pig husbandry was similar
between these two periods and was likely relatively freerange.

World Archaeology, 2006

Much archaeological thinking about the interrelationships between subsistence, sedentism and soci... more Much archaeological thinking about the interrelationships between subsistence, sedentism and sociopolitical organization has been carried out within an evolutionary framework. The classic model sees the development of complex social organization linked to a rise in the importance of agriculture and of a sedentary way of life. The New Zealand record offers challenges to this model. New Zealand is an unusual case involving a society moving from an agricultural to a predominantly hunting and gathering base and then, following large-scale faunal depletions, back towards agriculture. Despite these marked changes in subsistence practices there is little evidence in the archaeological or ethnographic record for any substantial alterations in patterns of mobility, sedentism or sociopolitical organization over the full duration of the New Zealand sequence. In the New Zealand case, cultural traditions inherited from tropical East Polynesia are shown to have been more influential than economics in determining the nature of Maori settlement and social organization.

The Wilson Bulletin, 2000

Abstract We report the first prehistoric bird bones from the isolated limestone island of Niue, S... more Abstract We report the first prehistoric bird bones from the isolated limestone island of Niue, South Pacific. Discovered in a cave known as Anakuli, the bones are Holocene in age but lack cultural association. They represent three extinct species: a night-heron (Nycticorax ...

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2008

Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 2011

ABSTRACT A shoreline and archaeological excavations at Cook's Cove, eastern North Island,... more ABSTRACT A shoreline and archaeological excavations at Cook's Cove, eastern North Island, New Zealand were examined for stratigraphy and plant microfossils and results compared with previous interpretations of this site. Buried soils, distal tephras and pollen revealed evidence of pre- and post-settlement forest disturbance. Microfossil starch and calcium oxalate crystals of introduced sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) and taro (Colocasia esculenta) were identified throughout the deposits, indicating intensive local cultivation and processing of these crops. Results are consistent with revised New Zealand geochronological models and, bearing in mind loss of evidence by erosion, differ in several respects to those of previous studies, as follows. The sea-rafted Taupo Pumice (AD 200) and Loisel's Pumice (from multiple off-shore sources) were not as widespread. Although microscopic charcoal was present to the full depth of all profiles, we did not observe macroscopic pieces below the Loisel's Pumice. The only material we found that appeared to equate to the deposit previously identified tentatively as air-fall Kaharoa Tephra (AD 1300) appeared not to be a tephra. Finally, we found little evidence for marine inundation of the site.

Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 2001

This article considers the interplay between the bodily experience of landscape and the formation... more This article considers the interplay between the bodily experience of landscape and the formation of sociality. We investigate the social experiences of landscape in nineteenth-century Roviana Lagoon in the Solomon Islands, dealing specifically with the ritualized architecture of a fortification on Nusa Roviana Island. Drawing on oral tradition and archaeological and historical data, we argue that the architectural remains reflect a powerful mode of shaping social experience and notions of personhood in the manipulation of ideology. The Roviana landscape creates a world in which genealogical lines are sedimented to place, and practices of ritual violence and head-hunting are made to appear necessary and natural. Paying attention to both oral and material history allows a greater understanding of the ways in which such social structures are reproduced, and adds to the construction of a rich historical anthropology. F 4. Ancestral skull house constructed of sheet coral, Kalikoqu. Photo: T. Thomas. F 5. Artefact types commonly deposited on shrines. Composite photo: T. Thomas.

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2011

Using ancient DNA (aDNA) extracted from eggshell of the extinct moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) we d... more Using ancient DNA (aDNA) extracted from eggshell of the extinct moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) we determined the species composition and number of eggs found in a late thirteenth century earth oven feature at Wairau Bar (South Island, New Zealand) e one of New Zealand's most significant archaeological sites. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA signatures confirmed this oven feature contained fragments of at least 31 moa eggs, representing three moa genera: Emeus; Euryapteryx; Dinornis. We demonstrate through the genetic identification of 127 moa eggshell fragments that thickness is an unreliable character for species assignment. We also present a protocol for assessing the preservation likelihood of DNA in burnt eggshell. This is useful because eggshell fragments found in archaeological contexts have often been thermally modified, and heat significantly increases DNA fragmentation. Eggshell is widely used in radiocarbon dating and stable isotope research, this study showcases how aDNA can also add to our knowledge of eggshell in both archaeological and palaeoecological contexts.

The Reber-Rakival site on Watom Island is of particular significance, as it is the first place wh... more The Reber-Rakival site on Watom Island is of particular significance, as it is the first place where what is now known as Lapita pottery was found, by a German missionary in 1909. It is also significant as a Lapita-era burial site, although there has been much debate about the exact relationship between the burials and the Lapita occupation. In 2008 and 2009 an Otago University/Otago Museum/Papua New Guinea National Museum expedition carried out new excavations at the SAC locality in Rakival Village, in order to increase the sample size of both burials and ceramics, and to address some of the ongoing debates. The expedition found more burials, Lapita ceramics and associated artefactual material, and while it confirmed the relationship between the burials and the Lapita occupation, it also found that previous excavations had not reached the base of the site, and evidence of human occuption was found up to 0.8m deeper than previously known. Based on this work, a refined stratigraphic sequence is presented, with 7 layers replacing the old 4 zone model that has been used to date. This paper presents the description and interpretation of the SAC locality at Watom, and provides a basis for other more specialist papers that are in preparation.

PLoS ONE, 2012

Data from morphology, linguistics, history, and archaeology have all been used to trace the dispe... more Data from morphology, linguistics, history, and archaeology have all been used to trace the dispersal of chickens from Asian domestication centers to their current global distribution. Each provides a unique perspective which can aid in the reconstruction of prehistory. This study expands on previous investigations by adding a temporal component from ancient DNA and, in some cases, direct dating of bones of individual chickens from a variety of sites in Europe, the Pacific, and the Americas. The results from the ancient DNA analyses of forty-eight archaeologically derived chicken bones provide support for archaeological hypotheses about the prehistoric human transport of chickens. Haplogroup E mtDNA signatures have been amplified from directly dated samples originating in Europe at 1000 B.P. and in the Pacific at 3000 B.P. indicating multiple prehistoric dispersals from a single Asian centre. These two dispersal pathways converged in the Americas where chickens were introduced both by Polynesians and later by Europeans. The results of this study also highlight the inappropriate application of the small stretch of D-loop, traditionally amplified for use in phylogenetic studies, to understanding discrete episodes of chicken translocation in the past. The results of this study lead to the proposal of four hypotheses which will require further scrutiny and rigorous future testing.

World Archaeology, Jan 1, 2004

Mortuary architecture and ritual assemblages have played a central role in archaeological inquiry... more Mortuary architecture and ritual assemblages have played a central role in archaeological inquiry since the discipline began. Most recently they have featured in the archaeology of social organization where variations in scale and value of the objects concerned are seen as reflections of religion, ideology, ethics or politics. This study looks at the shrines and cult assemblages of late prehistoric Roviana Lagoon, in the Western Solomon Islands. Drawing on a rich ethnographic record we show how these things were actively manipulated in the construction of social relations and religion. In doing so we argue that dedicatory offerings and shrines were involved in aspects of personhood and agency rather than simply serving as reflections of past social conditions.

PLoS ONE, 2012

Data from morphology, linguistics, history, and archaeology have all been used to trace the dispe... more Data from morphology, linguistics, history, and archaeology have all been used to trace the dispersal of chickens from Asian domestication centers to their current global distribution. Each provides a unique perspective which can aid in the reconstruction of prehistory. This study expands on previous investigations by adding a temporal component from ancient DNA and, in some cases, direct dating of bones of individual chickens from a variety of sites in Europe, the Pacific, and the Americas. The results from the ancient DNA analyses of forty-eight archaeologically derived chicken bones provide support for archaeological hypotheses about the prehistoric human transport of chickens. Haplogroup E mtDNA signatures have been amplified from directly dated samples originating in Europe at 1000 B.P. and in the Pacific at 3000 B.P. indicating multiple prehistoric dispersals from a single Asian centre. These two dispersal pathways converged in the Americas where chickens were introduced both by Polynesians and later by Europeans. The results of this study also highlight the inappropriate application of the small stretch of D-loop, traditionally amplified for use in phylogenetic studies, to understanding discrete episodes of chicken translocation in the past. The results of this study lead to the proposal of four hypotheses which will require further scrutiny and rigorous future testing.

Chickens in Chile by Richard Walter

Two issues long debated among Pacific and American prehistorians are (i) whether there was a pre-... more Two issues long debated among Pacific and American prehistorians are (i) whether there was a pre-Columbian introduction of chicken (Gallus gallus) to the Americas and (ii) whether Polynesian contact with South America might be identified archaeologically, through
the recovery of remains of unquestionable Polynesian origin. We present a radiocarbon date and an ancient DNA sequence from a single chicken bone recovered from the archaeological site of El Arenal-1, on the Arauco Peninsula, Chile. These results not only provide firm evidence for the pre-Columbian introduction of chickens to the Americas, but strongly suggest that it was a Polynesian introduction.

The use of oral tradition or oral history in archaeology is often a contentious issue. In this pa... more The use of oral tradition or oral history in archaeology is often a contentious issue. In this paper we briefly review methodological issues surrounding the use of such data and follow this with a case study using our research into the last 1,000 years of prehistory in Roviana Lagoon (New Georgia Group, Solomon Islands). We argue that it is not

PLOS ONE, 2015

Dogs accompanied people in their migrations across the Pacific Ocean and ultimately reached New Z... more Dogs accompanied people in their migrations across the Pacific Ocean and ultimately reached New Zealand, which is the southern-most point of their oceanic distribution, around the beginning of the fourteenth century AD. Previous ancient DNA analyses of mitochondrial control region sequences indicated the New Zealand dog population included two lineages. We sequenced complete mitochondrial genomes of fourteen dogs from the colonisation era archaeological site of Wairau Bar and found five closely-related haplotypes. The limited number of mitochondrial lineages present at Wairau Bar suggests that the founding population may have comprised only a few dogs; or that the arriving dogs were closely related. For populations such as that at Wairau Bar, which stemmed from relatively recent migration events, control region sequences have insufficient power to address questions about population structure and founding events. Sequencing mitogenomes provided the opportunity to observe sufficient diversity to discriminate between individuals that would otherwise be assigned the same haplotype and to clarify their relationships with each other. Our results also support the proposition that at least one dispersal of dogs into the Pacific was via a south-western route through Indonesia.

PloS one, 2015

The largest rookery for hawksbill turtles in the oceanic South Pacific is the Arnavon Islands, wh... more The largest rookery for hawksbill turtles in the oceanic South Pacific is the Arnavon Islands, which are located in the Manning Strait between Isabel and Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands. The history of this rookery is one of overexploitation, conflict and violence. Throughout the 1800s Roviana headhunters from New Georgia repeatedly raided the Manning Strait to collect hawksbill shell which they traded with European whalers. By the 1970s the Arnavons hawksbill population was in severe decline and the national government intervened, declaring the Arnavons a sanctuary in 1976. But this government led initiative was short lived, with traditional owners burning down the government infrastructure and resuming intensive harvesting in 1982. In 1991 routine beach monitoring and turtle tagging commenced at the Arnavons along with extensive community consultations regarding the islands' future, and in 1995 the Arnavon Community Marine Conservation Area (ACMCA) was established. Around t...

Stable isotope ratios (d13C and d15N) were analyzed from the bone collagen of individuals (n=58) ... more Stable isotope ratios (d13C and d15N) were analyzed from the bone collagen of individuals (n=58) from a Lapita burial ground (ca. 2800–2350 BP) on Watom Island, located off northeast New Britain in the Bismarck Archipelago. The aim of this study was to
assess the diet and subsistence strategies of humans
that lived during the later Lapita period in Near Oceania.
To aid in the interpretation of the human diet we
analyzed the stable isotope ratios of faunal material
from the site (n527). We also aim to assess methods of
animal husbandry at the site over time from an analysis
of the stable isotope ratios (d13C and d15N) of pig bones
(n522) from different temporal periods (Lapita, post-
Lapita, and late prehistoric). The protein diet of the
humans consisted of marine organisms from the inshore
environment and some deep-water species, most likely
marine turtle, in addition to higher trophic level terrestrial
foods, likely pig and native animals (e.g., fruit bat,
Cuscus and bandicoot). Although the sample sizes were
small, females (n54) displayed more variable d13C and
d15N values compared with males (n54), which may be
associated with the movement of adult females to the
island. The stable isotope analysis of the pig bones indicated
that there were few differences between the diets
of the pigs from the Lapita and post-Lapita layers, suggesting
that the method of pig husbandry was similar
between these two periods and was likely relatively freerange.

World Archaeology, 2006

Much archaeological thinking about the interrelationships between subsistence, sedentism and soci... more Much archaeological thinking about the interrelationships between subsistence, sedentism and sociopolitical organization has been carried out within an evolutionary framework. The classic model sees the development of complex social organization linked to a rise in the importance of agriculture and of a sedentary way of life. The New Zealand record offers challenges to this model. New Zealand is an unusual case involving a society moving from an agricultural to a predominantly hunting and gathering base and then, following large-scale faunal depletions, back towards agriculture. Despite these marked changes in subsistence practices there is little evidence in the archaeological or ethnographic record for any substantial alterations in patterns of mobility, sedentism or sociopolitical organization over the full duration of the New Zealand sequence. In the New Zealand case, cultural traditions inherited from tropical East Polynesia are shown to have been more influential than economics in determining the nature of Maori settlement and social organization.

The Wilson Bulletin, 2000

Abstract We report the first prehistoric bird bones from the isolated limestone island of Niue, S... more Abstract We report the first prehistoric bird bones from the isolated limestone island of Niue, South Pacific. Discovered in a cave known as Anakuli, the bones are Holocene in age but lack cultural association. They represent three extinct species: a night-heron (Nycticorax ...

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2008

Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 2011

ABSTRACT A shoreline and archaeological excavations at Cook's Cove, eastern North Island,... more ABSTRACT A shoreline and archaeological excavations at Cook's Cove, eastern North Island, New Zealand were examined for stratigraphy and plant microfossils and results compared with previous interpretations of this site. Buried soils, distal tephras and pollen revealed evidence of pre- and post-settlement forest disturbance. Microfossil starch and calcium oxalate crystals of introduced sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) and taro (Colocasia esculenta) were identified throughout the deposits, indicating intensive local cultivation and processing of these crops. Results are consistent with revised New Zealand geochronological models and, bearing in mind loss of evidence by erosion, differ in several respects to those of previous studies, as follows. The sea-rafted Taupo Pumice (AD 200) and Loisel's Pumice (from multiple off-shore sources) were not as widespread. Although microscopic charcoal was present to the full depth of all profiles, we did not observe macroscopic pieces below the Loisel's Pumice. The only material we found that appeared to equate to the deposit previously identified tentatively as air-fall Kaharoa Tephra (AD 1300) appeared not to be a tephra. Finally, we found little evidence for marine inundation of the site.

Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 2001

This article considers the interplay between the bodily experience of landscape and the formation... more This article considers the interplay between the bodily experience of landscape and the formation of sociality. We investigate the social experiences of landscape in nineteenth-century Roviana Lagoon in the Solomon Islands, dealing specifically with the ritualized architecture of a fortification on Nusa Roviana Island. Drawing on oral tradition and archaeological and historical data, we argue that the architectural remains reflect a powerful mode of shaping social experience and notions of personhood in the manipulation of ideology. The Roviana landscape creates a world in which genealogical lines are sedimented to place, and practices of ritual violence and head-hunting are made to appear necessary and natural. Paying attention to both oral and material history allows a greater understanding of the ways in which such social structures are reproduced, and adds to the construction of a rich historical anthropology. F 4. Ancestral skull house constructed of sheet coral, Kalikoqu. Photo: T. Thomas. F 5. Artefact types commonly deposited on shrines. Composite photo: T. Thomas.

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2011

Using ancient DNA (aDNA) extracted from eggshell of the extinct moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) we d... more Using ancient DNA (aDNA) extracted from eggshell of the extinct moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) we determined the species composition and number of eggs found in a late thirteenth century earth oven feature at Wairau Bar (South Island, New Zealand) e one of New Zealand's most significant archaeological sites. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA signatures confirmed this oven feature contained fragments of at least 31 moa eggs, representing three moa genera: Emeus; Euryapteryx; Dinornis. We demonstrate through the genetic identification of 127 moa eggshell fragments that thickness is an unreliable character for species assignment. We also present a protocol for assessing the preservation likelihood of DNA in burnt eggshell. This is useful because eggshell fragments found in archaeological contexts have often been thermally modified, and heat significantly increases DNA fragmentation. Eggshell is widely used in radiocarbon dating and stable isotope research, this study showcases how aDNA can also add to our knowledge of eggshell in both archaeological and palaeoecological contexts.

The Reber-Rakival site on Watom Island is of particular significance, as it is the first place wh... more The Reber-Rakival site on Watom Island is of particular significance, as it is the first place where what is now known as Lapita pottery was found, by a German missionary in 1909. It is also significant as a Lapita-era burial site, although there has been much debate about the exact relationship between the burials and the Lapita occupation. In 2008 and 2009 an Otago University/Otago Museum/Papua New Guinea National Museum expedition carried out new excavations at the SAC locality in Rakival Village, in order to increase the sample size of both burials and ceramics, and to address some of the ongoing debates. The expedition found more burials, Lapita ceramics and associated artefactual material, and while it confirmed the relationship between the burials and the Lapita occupation, it also found that previous excavations had not reached the base of the site, and evidence of human occuption was found up to 0.8m deeper than previously known. Based on this work, a refined stratigraphic sequence is presented, with 7 layers replacing the old 4 zone model that has been used to date. This paper presents the description and interpretation of the SAC locality at Watom, and provides a basis for other more specialist papers that are in preparation.

PLoS ONE, 2012

Data from morphology, linguistics, history, and archaeology have all been used to trace the dispe... more Data from morphology, linguistics, history, and archaeology have all been used to trace the dispersal of chickens from Asian domestication centers to their current global distribution. Each provides a unique perspective which can aid in the reconstruction of prehistory. This study expands on previous investigations by adding a temporal component from ancient DNA and, in some cases, direct dating of bones of individual chickens from a variety of sites in Europe, the Pacific, and the Americas. The results from the ancient DNA analyses of forty-eight archaeologically derived chicken bones provide support for archaeological hypotheses about the prehistoric human transport of chickens. Haplogroup E mtDNA signatures have been amplified from directly dated samples originating in Europe at 1000 B.P. and in the Pacific at 3000 B.P. indicating multiple prehistoric dispersals from a single Asian centre. These two dispersal pathways converged in the Americas where chickens were introduced both by Polynesians and later by Europeans. The results of this study also highlight the inappropriate application of the small stretch of D-loop, traditionally amplified for use in phylogenetic studies, to understanding discrete episodes of chicken translocation in the past. The results of this study lead to the proposal of four hypotheses which will require further scrutiny and rigorous future testing.

World Archaeology, Jan 1, 2004

Mortuary architecture and ritual assemblages have played a central role in archaeological inquiry... more Mortuary architecture and ritual assemblages have played a central role in archaeological inquiry since the discipline began. Most recently they have featured in the archaeology of social organization where variations in scale and value of the objects concerned are seen as reflections of religion, ideology, ethics or politics. This study looks at the shrines and cult assemblages of late prehistoric Roviana Lagoon, in the Western Solomon Islands. Drawing on a rich ethnographic record we show how these things were actively manipulated in the construction of social relations and religion. In doing so we argue that dedicatory offerings and shrines were involved in aspects of personhood and agency rather than simply serving as reflections of past social conditions.

PLoS ONE, 2012

Data from morphology, linguistics, history, and archaeology have all been used to trace the dispe... more Data from morphology, linguistics, history, and archaeology have all been used to trace the dispersal of chickens from Asian domestication centers to their current global distribution. Each provides a unique perspective which can aid in the reconstruction of prehistory. This study expands on previous investigations by adding a temporal component from ancient DNA and, in some cases, direct dating of bones of individual chickens from a variety of sites in Europe, the Pacific, and the Americas. The results from the ancient DNA analyses of forty-eight archaeologically derived chicken bones provide support for archaeological hypotheses about the prehistoric human transport of chickens. Haplogroup E mtDNA signatures have been amplified from directly dated samples originating in Europe at 1000 B.P. and in the Pacific at 3000 B.P. indicating multiple prehistoric dispersals from a single Asian centre. These two dispersal pathways converged in the Americas where chickens were introduced both by Polynesians and later by Europeans. The results of this study also highlight the inappropriate application of the small stretch of D-loop, traditionally amplified for use in phylogenetic studies, to understanding discrete episodes of chicken translocation in the past. The results of this study lead to the proposal of four hypotheses which will require further scrutiny and rigorous future testing.

Two issues long debated among Pacific and American prehistorians are (i) whether there was a pre-... more Two issues long debated among Pacific and American prehistorians are (i) whether there was a pre-Columbian introduction of chicken (Gallus gallus) to the Americas and (ii) whether Polynesian contact with South America might be identified archaeologically, through
the recovery of remains of unquestionable Polynesian origin. We present a radiocarbon date and an ancient DNA sequence from a single chicken bone recovered from the archaeological site of El Arenal-1, on the Arauco Peninsula, Chile. These results not only provide firm evidence for the pre-Columbian introduction of chickens to the Americas, but strongly suggest that it was a Polynesian introduction.

Data from morphology, linguistics, history, and archaeology have all been used to trace the dispe... more Data from morphology, linguistics, history, and archaeology have all been used to trace the dispersal of chickens from Asian
domestication centers to their current global distribution. Each provides a unique perspective which can aid in the
reconstruction of prehistory. This study expands on previous investigations by adding a temporal component from ancient
DNA and, in some cases, direct dating of bones of individual chickens from a variety of sites in Europe, the Pacific, and the
Americas. The results from the ancient DNA analyses of forty-eight archaeologically derived chicken bones provide support
for archaeological hypotheses about the prehistoric human transport of chickens. Haplogroup E mtDNA signatures have
been amplified from directly dated samples originating in Europe at 1000 B.P. and in the Pacific at 3000 B.P. indicating
multiple prehistoric dispersals from a single Asian centre. These two dispersal pathways converged in the Americas where
chickens were introduced both by Polynesians and later by Europeans. The results of this study also highlight the
inappropriate application of the small stretch of D-loop, traditionally amplified for use in phylogenetic studies, to
understanding discrete episodes of chicken translocation in the past. The results of this study lead to the proposal of four
hypotheses which will require further scrutiny and rigorous future testing.