Alexander Spoehr

Time Perspective in Micronesia and Polynesia

OCEANIA has been a favorite locale for those who have sought to reconstruct the sequence of past events on the basis of ethnographic evidence alone. Devoid of documented history prior to European contact, with until recently no archaeological data of material aid, Oceania presented to the student of culture history only a one-dimensional level of regional ethnology. The rigorous handling of the ethnographic data from this area, when combined with the evidence of linguistics and physical anthropology, has indicated much as to the probable direction of migration, and the general course of culture history in later periods. Nevertheless, little demonstrable chronology has thereby been established, while the more ambitious and speculative attempts at historical reconstruction are as complicated as they are improbable. Although important work of real significance for prehistory remains to be done in blocking out the contemporary distribution of languages, physical types, and cultures, particularly in Melanesia, further progress in unravelling the prehistory of Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia is primarily dependent on the prosecution of carefully planned archaeological research. Only archaeology will provide sequences of culture change in Oceania that can engage the confidence of the critically minded. The present paper is an outgrowth of recent archaeological work in Micronesia and Polynesia and deals only with those two areas. The following discussion treats two questions: (1) Do the established divisions of island Oceania provide the most useful framework within which to view the problems of Micronesian and Polynesian prehistory? and (2) On the basis of archaeological evidence what glimpses into the past do we possess, and what are some of the major problems that lie ahead?

The Marshall Islands and Transpacific Aviation

IN THE wake of a terrific bombardment by ships and aircraft, American marines landed on the beaches of Kwajalein in January of 1944, initiating the campaign to secure the Marshall Island bases. The Navy Departments atom-bomb test scheduled to take place at Bikini atoll brings the Marshalls once more to the center of public attention. No doubt they will be of military importance for some time to come. It is their economic importance, however, that concerns us here. The present article is an attempt to assess the significance of the Marshalls for commercial air transport.