Polynesian Archaeology Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

● NZ HERITAGE BOOK AWARD 2019
● Two KA PALAPALA PO'OKELA AWARDS 2019
● STORYLINES NOTABLE BOOK AWARD 2019
● Best of 2019 - Radio New Zealand National: 'absolutely one of the best books I have ever read'
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
AUTHOR WEBSITE: https://authors.org.nz/author/andrewcrowe/
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

- by
- •
- Geography, Pacific Island Studies, Polynesian Studies, Natural History

The book compiles ten years of research at the water sactuary of Ava Ranga Uka A Toroke Hau on Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile). The results of this international and interdisciplinary research project offer new insights into hitherto unknown aspects of the Rapanui culture and their interaction with nature on the island. A vast degree of landscape transformation, measures against erosion, large-scale pigment production, megalithic hydraulic architecture, deliberate planting of palm trees, and evidence for a water and fertility cult are among the results of the project presented here. To make our reseach accessible to the Rapanui people, we decided that the first publication should be in Rapanui and Spanish.

- by Annette Kühlem and +2
- •
- Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, Landscape Archaeology, Sacred Landscape (Archaeology)
- by marjorie boaza
- •
- Anthropology, Oral Tradition, Pacific History, Polynesian Archaeology
- by Carl P Lipo and +1
- •
- Archaeology, Geochronology, Pacific Archaeology, Easter Island Archaeology

Combining temper analysis of Polynesian Plain Ware with the concept of technological style, I argue that at least two separate pottery production groups are reflected in the ceramic assemblage of Aganoa, an ancestral Polynesian village on Tutuila Island, American Sāmoa. These production groups appear to have been consistent over time and probably reect long term divisions in ancestral Polynesian social organization. Identification of such groups provide greater insight into production organization, allowing Sāmoan archaeologists to begin to ask questions about how the organization of pottery production articulated with other aspects of ancestral Polynesian society, including exchange, production of other material culture, and political organization.

- by Suzanne L . Eckert
- •
- Pottery (Archaeology), Ceramic Petrography, Samoa, Polynesian Archaeology
- by Marshall Weisler
- •
- Geography, Archaeology, Zooarchaeology, Marine Ecology
- by Robert DiNapoli
- •
- Archaeology, Pacific Island Studies, Oceania (Archaeology), Archaeological Theory
- by Sian Halcrow
- •
- History, Anthropology, Biological Anthropology, Social Anthropology

Stone adzes are found throughout the Pacific islands and documenting their diversity is critical to understanding relationships between past human populations. The adze typology devised by Roger Duff half a century ago is the standard across New Zealand and the rest of Polynesia. Here we describe the different types in the Duff system and analyse 148 adzes from the Wairau Bar site, which has a high diversity of complete adzes and is the assemblage that Duff used as the basis of his system. We use Principal Components Analysis of morphometric variables to test the empirical basis of the Duff system — an analytical exercise that should have applicability to typological systems elsewhere. Our results show different Duff types clustering separately to an extent, but there are issues of ambiguity in assigning types. Duff emphasized cross-section shape and the elaboration of the tang. We propose a new classification system that emphasizes technological and functional features of the adzes. There is considerable agreement between Duff's system and ours, as different manufacturing methods create different cross-section shapes, and functional modifications are often related to the adze tang. We describe four main manufacturing methods with functional elaborations, resulting in nine different adze types that are represented by at least 3 specimens each at Wairau Bar. Examples of each of these adze types are illustrated. We also note the presence of 'stitched' edges on some adzes likely resulting from fine punch work. The Wairau Bar adzes are some of the finest examples of knapping skill known anywhere in the world and suggest a high level of craft specialization.

- by Ceri Shipton and +2
- •
- Lithic Technology, Pacific Archaeology, New Zealand Archaeology, Adzes
- by Matthew Campbell
- •
- Oral Tradition, Polynesian Archaeology, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

This thesis presents the results of an archaeobotanical study of agricultural development in the Kingdom of Tonga. Prior to this study, there has been no direct archaeological evidence for agriculture in Tongan prehistory. Through the implementation of systematic archaeobotanical techniques, this study aimed to fill this gap and address two key research questions: 1) whether early colonisers were dependent on introduced crops, or if human dispersal was fuelled predominantly by the exploitation of natural resources; and 2) whether archaeobotanical data can provide new evidence to examine the role of agriculture within the development of the maritime chiefdom in Tonga through agroecological modelling.
This research was divided into two main phases. The first involved the construction of a comprehensive comparative collection for macrobotanical (vegetative storage and fruit parenchyma and endocarp), and microbotanical (starch) components of economic and supplementary plant taxa from Tonga. As part of this, a study of the morphological attributes of starch and parenchyma was conducted that incorporated multivariate statistical analyses of diagnostic attributes. Two methods for taxonomic classification were suggested: automated classification using Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) of starch, and the use of an Identification Flowchart Key for parenchyma.
In the second phase of research, archaeobotanical data from three sites on Tongatapu, representing three different time periods in Tongan prehistory, is presented. Macrobotanical and microbotanical remains were extracted from these sites using flotation, wet-sieving and bulk stratigraphic sampling and compared to a comprehensive reference collection using a combination of SEM and light microscopy. Sampled cultural deposits at Talasiu (2750-2650 cal BP), Leka (1300-1000 cal BP) and Heketa (800-600 cal BP) present new insights into the role of plant taxa within late-Lapita, the Formative Period, and early stages of the Classic Tu’i Tonga chiefdom. Modelling using techniques from Human Ecology, specifically agroecology, replicated past production systems using measures of system efficiency such as nutritional value of taxa, labour investment and productivity in terms of yields. These were compared to expectations based on current literature, and a revised chronology for agricultural development and links to social complexity is presented.
This study demonstrates that multivariate statistical analysis and identification flowcharts enable the discrimination of starch and vegetative storage parenchyma from most Tongan plant taxa based on metric and nominal morphological attributes. When applied to archaeobotanical data these techniques indicate that most staple cultigens and some supplementary or famine foods were brought to Tonga within a few hundred years of initial Lapita colonisation. Late prehistoric introductions likely included the sweet potato (Ipomoea
v
batatas) by 600 BP, transported via East Polynesia through the extensive trade networks of the developing Tongan state. Modelling past production systems linked decreased system nutritional efficiency over time to horticultural specialisation in primary crops and increasingly centralised government on Tongatapu. Critically, this analysis modelled the high nutritional efficiency of Lapita subsistence, and linked this to the division of labour investment between both economic and supplementary species within a decentralised social hierarchy.

- by Ella Ussher
- •
- Archaeobotany, Tonga, Polynesian Archaeology

In the early 1900s, Australian-born archaeologist John F.G. Stokes was the first to extensively use modern surveying techniques and photography to document Hawaiian archaeological sites. Stokes carried out fieldwork for a Bishop Museum-based research program driven by interests in Polynesian origins and Hawaiian religious change, focusing specifically on the monumental temple sites called heiau in Hawaiian. Using a sample of the visual record of plan maps and photographs from Stokes's work, we examine how Stokes represented sacred sites, including the variable level of architectural detail offered. Stokes's reliance on Native Hawaiian informants is notable, as it may have played an important role in shaping his view of the archaeological landscape. Stokes's survey record provides an important dataset for understanding the paradigms at work in Polynesian archaeology in the early 20th century, and the influences of this work in subsequent approaches to monumentality in the archipelago and beyond.

- by Patrick Kirch and +1
- •
- History of Archaeology, Polynesian Archaeology, Hawaiian archaeology, Archaeological surveying and mapping

Rjabchikov, S.V., 2014. The Sea Route from the Marquesas to Mangareva and Then to Easter Island: New Data. Polynesia Newsletter, 3, pp. 2-14. Keywords: Marquesas Islands, Marquesan, Mangareva, Mangarevan, Easter Island, Rapanui, Rapa... more

- by Sergei Rjabchikov
- •
- Religion, Comparative Religion, Archaeology, Art History
- by Sean P. Connaughton
- •
- Archaeology, Anthropology, Pacific Island Studies, Polynesian Studies

Keywords: Rjabchikov, rongorongo, Easter Island, Polynesia, script, writing, Rapanui, Rapa Nui, petroglyphs, rock art

We report on non-destructive Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis of 1,562 volcanic glass and 295 basaltic artifacts from the Wai‘ahukini Rockshelter (H8) near South Point, Hawai‘i Island. Volcanic glass found at the site is divided into three geochemical groups as found elsewhere on Hawai‘i Island, including material from the trachyte cone at Pu‘u Wa‘awa‘a (PWW). Basaltic material is subdivided into
nine geochemical groups with the provenance of a majority of the adze related material inferred to be from non-local sources. These results are consistent with a model of
centralized control and distribution of stone tools on Hawai‘i Island.

- by Jennifer Kahn
- •
- Geochemistry, Political Economy, Oceania (Archaeology), Archaeometry

Rjabchikov, S.V., 2016. The Rongorongo Script Has Been Deciphered. Polynesia Newsletter, 6, p. 5.

Keywords: Rjabchikov, Riabchikov, Ryabchikov, Easter Island, Rapanui, Rapa Nui, Polynesia, rongorongo, script, writing

- by Sergei Rjabchikov
- •
- Religion, Ancient History, Archaeology, Folklore

This bibliography gathers together the available research on the easternmost of the Pacific's “mystery” islands – the Pitcairn Group, comprising Pitcairn, Oeno, and Henderson Island. These islands are amongst the most remote on earth, but both were definitely settled at some point by prehistoric Polynesian seafarers. However, when “rediscovered” by Europeans in the late 18th century, they were utterly abandoned. The references below are primarily the work of archaeologists, who have teased out the fragmentary and tantalizing evidence for these vanished visitors.

- by Don Macnaughtan
- •
- Ethnography, Pacific Island Studies, Island Studies, Bibliography

Site report on archaeological excavations at the To'aga site, Ofu Island, American Samoa.

This chapter explores the long-term processes whereby settlers moving into Central Eastern Polynesia (CEP) adapted to new island environments and social landscapes. Over a thousand-year period, CEP societies instigated environmental change and subsistence intensification, in addition to developing localized styles of material culture and affecting great change in their sociopolitical complexity. In comparing the cultural sequences from three CEP archipelagoes (Society Islands, Marquesas Islands, Austral Islands), the chapter demonstrates shared patterns in demographic change and
shifts in subsistence and exchange, while at the same time highlighting inter-archipelago variation in terms of pathways to emerging elite power. Trends in CEP regional variation provide broad support for models positing a relationship between the evolution of social complexity in CEP chiefdoms, and the effects of island size/age and the availability of natural resources.

The prospect that First Nations Australians were in contact with cultures beyond Australia prior to European arrival has fascinated theorists for over a century. Early views tended to see Aboriginal culture as too primitive to have independently developed 'higher level' cultural traits. Once this view was abandoned, further enquiry into external contact largely ceased. However, it has been gradually recognised that transformations occurred within Australia not only independently but also through external elements arriving from the north (Macassans and Papuans). This paper offers perhaps the first comprehensive overview of a less studied potential conduit: the eastern seaboard of Australia. Given the vast scale of the eastern seaboard (and its geographic position directly opposite the seafaring cultures of the Pacific Basin it is surprising that the notion of contact between these two realms has received such limited attention. The east coast is a potentially very large target for contact. Queensland and New South Wales mainland and island coastlines comprise in excess of 15,000 km. The Pacific Basin is similarly a huge potential source for contact, covering over one-third of the world's surface, and containing over 20,000 islands. Our paper first considers the contrast between studies of the eastern and western edges of the Pacific Basin, and then the means (and evidence) by which 'contact' is normally discerned. We next consider the potential for contact based on ocean currents and similar factors. The bulk of the paper assesses specific source regions and purported evidence of contact from these regions: Papua New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia and two islands between these areas (Norfolk and Lord Howe). Our study concludes that evidence for Pacific-Australian contact ought to be relatively abundant, given the size of the source area (the Pacific Basin) and the target area (the eastern seaboard). Instead, contact must have been very limited and sporadic, as most evidence has been either inconclusive or requires further substantiation. Equally, the impact of these cultures on the development of Australian First Nations seems to have been negligible. On the other hand, this review accumulated enough evidence to suggest there was considerable potential for such contacts. We conclude that archaeological frameworks should be developed to investigate purported and possible Pacific-Eastern seaboard contacts.

- by ray kerkhove and +1
- •
- Archaeology, Indigenous or Aboriginal Studies, Australian Indigenous Archaeology, Prehistory
- by Patrick Kirch
- •
- History of Archaeology, Polynesian Archaeology, Hawaiian archaeology

Knowledge of biodiversity in the past, and the timing, nature, and drivers of human-induced ecological change, is important for gaining deep time perspectives and for modern conservation efforts. The Marquesas Islands (Polynesia) are one of the world's most remote archipelagos and illustrate the vulnerability of indigenous bioscapes to anthropogenic activities. Characterised by high levels of endemism across many biotic groups, the full spectrum of the group's flora and fauna is nonetheless incompletely known. Several centuries of Polynesian settlement reshaped biotic communities in ways that are not yet fully understood, and historically-introduced mammalian herbivores have devastated the indigenous lowland flora. We report here on archaeological recovery of a diverse assemblage of plant and arthropod subfossils from a waterlogged deposit on the largest Marquesan island: Nuku Hiva. These materials offer new perspectives on the composition of lowland plant and arthropod communities pene-contemporaneous with human arrival. Bayesian analysis of multiple 14 C results from short-lived materials date the assemblages to the mid-12 th century AD (1129-1212 cal. AD, 95.4% HPD). Evidence for human activities in the catchment coincident with deposit formation includes Polynesian associated arthropods, microcharcoal, and an adzed timber. Plant macrofossils (seeds, fruits, vegetative structures) and microfossils (pollen, phytoliths) reveal coastal and lowland wet-moist forest communities unlike those observed today. Several apparently extinct taxa are identified, along with extant taxa currently constrained to high altitude and/or interior areas. A diverse inventory of subfossil arthropods-the first pre-18 th century records for the islands-includes more than 100 distinct taxa, with several new archipelago records and one previously unreported for eastern Polynesia. The assemblages provide new insights into lowland Marquesan forest communities coincident with human arrival, and portend the considerable anthropogenic transformations that followed. These records also have implications for human colonisation of the Marquesas Islands and East Polynesia at large.

- by Melinda S Allen
- •
- Palaeoenvironment, Island Biogeography, Palaeobotany, Palaeoentomology