A radiocarbon chronology for Samoan prehistory (original) (raw)
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Testing the human factor: radiocarbon dating the first peoples of the South Pacific
Journal of …, 2011
Archaeologists have long debated the origins and mode of dispersal of the immediate predecessors of all Polynesians and many populations in Island Melanesia. Such debates are inextricably linked to a chronological framework provided, in part, by radiocarbon dates. Human remains have the greatest potential for providing answers to many questions pertinent to these debates. Unfortunately, bone is one of the most complicated materials to date reliably because of bone degradation, sample pretreatment and diet. This is of particular concern in the Pacific where humidity contributes to the rapid decay of bone protein, and a combination of marine, reef, C 4 , C 3 and freshwater foods complicate the interpretation of 14 C determinations. Independent advances in bone pretreatment, isotope multivariate modelling and radiocarbon calibration techniques provide us, for the first time, with the tools to obtain reliable calibrated ages for Pacific burials. Here we present research that combines these techniques, enabling us to re-evaluate the age of burials from key archaeological sites in the Pacific.
Refining the chronology for west polynesian colonization: New data from the Samoan archipelago
The timing and unprecedented speed of the Lapita migration from the western edge of Oceania to western Poly-nesia in the Central Pacific have long been of interest to archaeologists. The eastern-most extent of that great human migration was the Samoan Archipelago in West Polynesia, although critical questions have remained about the timing and process of Samoan colonization. To investigate those questions, we carried out a Bayesian analysis of 19 radiocarbon dates on charcoal and 8 uranium-thorium (U-Th) series coral dates from four archaeological sites on Ofu Island in the eastern reaches of Samoa. The analysis indicates initial settlement of Ofu at 2717–2663 cal BP (68.2%) by people using Plainware rather than the diagnostic dentate-stamped Lapita pottery. This date range indicates that there is not a significant chronological gap between Lapita and Plainware sites in Samoa, which holds implications for modeling the settlement process in the Central Pacific.
A radiocarbon sequence for Samoan prehistory and the Pulemelei mound
We examine radiocarbon dates from Samoan archaeological sites using the fourfold division of Samoan prehistory established by Green (2002). The context of dating samples was assessed to recognize potentially "reliable" determinations in the Samoan [sup.14]C corpus. Radiocarbon dates associated with earth and stone structures were identified to one of four phases of construction/use to develop a chronology for the emergence and use of domestic and monumental architecture. The 17 radiocarbon determinations from the Pulemelei mound site were used to generate a local prehistoric sequence for the Letolo area. In general the results parallel the prehistoric sequence for Samoa, but the chronology of the Pulemelei mound demonstrates that monumental architecture in West Polynesia can have a complicated developmental history spanning several centuries.
RADIOCARBON DATES FROM AMERICAN SAMOA
Radiocarbon, 1993
Between 1988 and 1991, I directed five archaeological research projects in American Samoa. The goal of that research was to reveal changes in the prehistoric settlement system of Samoa, from initial colonization of the archipelago to the time of significant European contact. The chronological placement of key sites was an essential facet of the research. A secondary goal was to locate sites with ceramic components, particularly sites with Lapita ceramics, and relate the ceramic assemblages typologically and chronologically to those known for Western Samoa. These investigations generated 1614C dates from archaeological contexts. I present here the previously unpublished 14C data from those samples, and briefly summarize their importance for understanding Samoan prehistory.
RADIOCARBON DATES AND THE EARLIEST COLONIZATION OF EAST POLYNESIA: MORE THAN A CASE STUDY
Over the last 30 yr, there has been an ongoing debate on the dates and modes of the earliest colonization of East Polynesia, namely the Cook Islands, the 5 archipelagos of French Polynesia, the Hawai’i Islands, Easter Island, and New Zealand. At least 3 alternative models were proposed by Sinoto, Anderson, Kirch, and Conte, but interestingly all these mod- els basically relied on the same set of roughly 200 radiocarbon dates on various organic materials from archaeological exca- vations as far back as the 1950s. Some of the models differed by 500–1000 yr—for a proposed initial colonization around the turn of the BC/AD eras, if not considerably later. By comparing the different approaches to this chronological issue, it becomes evident that almost all known problems in dealing with 14C dates from archaeological excavations are involved: stratigraphy and exact location of samples, sample material and quality, inbuilt ages and reservoir effects, lab errors in ancient dates, etc. More recently, research into landscape and vegetation history has produced alternative 14C dating for early human impact, adding to the confusion about the initial stages of island colonization, while archaeological 14C dates, becoming increasingly “young” as compared to former investigations, now advocate a rapid and late (post-AD 900) colonization of the archipelagos. As it appears, the Polynesian case is more than just another case study, it’s a lesson on 14C-based archaeological chronology. The present paper does not pretend to solve the problems of early Polynesian colonization, but intends to con- tribute to the debate on how 14C specialists and archaeologists might cooperate in the future.
The 15 archipelagos of East Polynesia, including New Zealand, Hawaii, and Rapa Nui, were the last habitable places on earth colonized by prehistoric humans. The timing and pattern of this colonization event has been poorly resolved, with chronologies varying by >1000 y, precluding understanding of cultural change and ecological impacts on these pristine ecosystems. In a metaanalysis of 1,434 radiocarbon dates from the region, reliable short-lived samples reveal that the colonization of East Polynesia occurred in two distinct phases: earliest in the Society Islands A.D. ∼1025–1120, four centuries later than previously assumed; then after 70–265 y, dispersal continued in one major pulse to all remaining islands A.D. ∼1190–1290. We show that previously supported longer chronologies have relied upon radiocarbon-dated materials with large sources of error, making them unsuitable for precise dating of recent events. Our empirically based and dramatically shortened chronology for the colonization of East Polynesia resolves longstanding paradoxes and offers a robust explanation for the remarkable uniformity of East Polynesian culture, human biology, and language. Models of human colonization, ecological change and historical linguistics for the region now require substantial revision
The Journal of Samoan Studies, 2006
This paper presents more than 100 14C dating results for Tutuila and Manu’a. The results address a number of current topics in Sämoan archaeology. Deposition of volcanic ash on the Holocene Leone Volcanics (Täfuna Plain) continued to at least 13 or 14 centuries BP; ceramics under these ash strata suggest occupation of a lava landscape for up to 700 years prior to the ash falls. Models of ceramic cessation in Sämoa are discussed in light of new dating results. Coastal flats on Tutuila aggraded and/or prograded significantly in the post 1600 BP period, creating many newly habitable areas. Two securely dated lithic manufacture sites dating to 600–700 BP are discussed. Inland settlement on Tutuila is discussed and began by at least 2000 BP. Shell bracelets and decorated pottery are found in relatively late contexts (1300–1600 BP).
An early radiocarbon chronology for the Hawaiian Islands: A preliminary analysis
1991
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE KNOWN for the Hawaiian Islands up to about 1985 led most archaeologists to accept a date for initial settlement by approximately A.D. 500-600 (e. g., Bellwood 1978; Jennings 1979). As new dates were announced, many archaeologists shifted their estimate for Hawaiian settlement to approximately A.D. 300-400 (e.g., Bellwood 1987;, and some recognized the potential for even earlier dates with additional field research (c. g., Kirch 1986: 31). The corpus of radiocarbon dates available to date, when considered in their entirety, may be suggestive of colonization of the Hawaiian Islands significantly earlier than has been generally accepted. The purpose of this article is to further analyze and evaluate the earliest radiocarbon chronology now available for the Hawaiian Islands. In so doing, it (1) provides an overview of Hawaiian dates with ranges (those with the highest probability at one standard deviation) that fall within the first millennium A.D.; (2) employs the latest advances in the calibration of radiocarbon dates, including the new curves for marine samples; and (3) analyzes synthetically the dates and their implications for the colonization and earliest centuries of Hawaiian prehistory.
Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences, 2011
The 15 archipelagos of East Polynesia, including New Zealand, Hawaii, and Rapa Nui, were the last habitable places on earth colonized by prehistoric humans. The timing and pattern of this colonization event has been poorly resolved, with chronologies varying by >1000 y, precluding understanding of cultural change and ecological impacts on these pristine ecosystems. In a metaanalysis of 1,434 radiocarbon dates from the region, reliable short-lived samples reveal that the colonization of East Polynesia occurred in two distinct phases: earliest in the Society Islands A.D. ∼1025-1120, four centuries later than previously assumed; then after 70-265 y, dispersal continued in one major pulse to all remaining islands A.D. ∼1190-1290. We show that previously supported longer chronologies have relied upon radiocarbon-dated materials with large sources of error, making them unsuitable for precise dating of recent events. Our empirically based and dramatically shortened chronology for the colonization of East Polynesia resolves longstanding paradoxes and offers a robust explanation for the remarkable uniformity of East Polynesian culture, human biology, and language. Models of human colonization, ecological change and historical linguistics for the region now require substantial revision.