Frank R. Thomas

The Lapita Occupation at Naitabale, Moturiki Island, Central Fiji

In 2003 the authors discovered and excavated a Lapita site at Naitabale close to the southern end of Moturiki Island (central Fiji). Today the site is 350 m inland from the coast, but in Lapita times it was located behind the active beach ridge. A large collection of potsherds (including 92 dentate-stamped or incised Lapita sherds), shell, and animal bones was recovered, together with a human burial. Sherd decorations show affinities with the Western Lapita Province rather than the Eastern Lapita Province (which includes Fiji). Temper analyses of 45 Lapita sherds do not show any unmistakably exotic (to Fiji) pottery, but 29 percent are nonlocal to Moturiki and nearby islands. Fish bones are mostly from inshore species (dominated by Scaridae), while nonfish vertebrates are dominated by turtle and include dog and chicken. Shellfish remains are dominated by gastropods, mostly Strombus spp. (43 percent of gastropod MNI). The surf clam (Atactodea striata) accounts for 38 percent of bivalve MNI, with Anadara antiquata and Gafrarium pectinatum each representing 14 percent of the bivalve MNI. The skeleton is that of a woman (Mana) 161–164 cm tall who died at 40–60 years of age. Six radiocarbon dates from bones overlap 2740–2739 cal. years B.P. (790–789 B.C.). The mandible lacks antegonial notches but is not a proper rocker jaw. The cranium was better preserved than any Lapitaassociated skeleton hitherto described, which allowed the head to be reconstructed. Stable-isotope analyses show that her diet contained significant amounts of reef foods but was probably dominated by terrestrial plants. The Lapita occupation of Naitabale is likely to have begun by 2850 cal. years B.P. (900 B.C.). Radiocarbon dates and pottery decorative styles both suggest Naitabale was first occupied within the early part of the Lapita history of Fiji.

Self-reliance in Kiribati: contrasting views of agricultural and fisheries production

Aid and remittances have long defined the economies of Pacific Island ‘micro states’ as part of the MIRAB approach to development. However, these sources of support now face an uncertain future. While recognizing that atoll nations, such as Kiribati, are constrained in terms of their agricultural potential, particularly on urban South Tarawa, there is still room for improvement of both traditional and exotic crop production to help reverse the trend of increasing imported food dependency and the rising incidence of nutritionally related non-communicable diseases. By contrast, the inshore fisheries sector currently satisfies both subsistence and local commercial needs. This paper examines extant agricultural and nearshore fisheries activities on South Tarawa and analyzes the impact on health and nutrition and on the environment.

Remodeling Marine Tenure on the Atolls: A Case Study from Western Kiribati, Micronesia

Kiribati underwent dramatic changes in laws governing access to intertidal resources as a result of colonial intrusion. In recent years, the impact of population growth, urbanization, more efficient extractive technologies, and expanding market opportunities have prompted island councils to adopt by-laws to protect existing resources. However, there remains the challenge of enforcing territorial rights. Several approaches that might lead to a viable tenurial system include alternative short-term gains, cooperative ventures, and the judicious application of TEK (Traditional Ecological Knowledge) as an instrument for resource management. The first two are seen as preconditions for the success of the third because of the insights they provide within the context of behavioral ecology. This theoretical approach and associated models caution us from essentializing the environmental outcomes of human behavior by showing the lack of a resource conservation strategy. These aforementioned solutions for ensuring sustainable development of the intertidal zone are discussed based on fieldwork among several atoll communities in Western Kiribati with a focus on shellfish gathering.

Mollusk Habitats and Fisheries in Kiribati: An Assessment from the Gilbert Islands

Biological and ecological attributes of 24 species of edible bivalves and gastropods from the Gilbert Islands Group, Kiribati, Micronesia, were assessed for their resilience by examining size at maturity, intertidal burying, adjacent subtidal populations, benthic mobility, and larval type. Foraging for mollusks is largely con®ned to the intertidal and shallow subtidal regions, although modern diving gear and outboard motors now provide human foragers access to offshore resources. Changes brought about by human demographic pressures have resulted in overexploitation of a number of molluscan resources. It is suggested that the sustainable use of invertebrates and other marine species for food and nonfood purposes in Kiribati rests on a remodeled form of marine tenure. Atolls present a variety of marine environments and molluscan resources that have provided subsistence living to generations of Paci®c islanders (Tebano et al. 1993, Taniera 1994). Kiribati (Figure 1) is but one of more than 20 nations in the Paci®c, each of which possessed a rich inshore ®sheries tradition and lore. In recent years, however, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) has suffered the inevitable decline that characterizes similar bodies of knowledge throughout most of Oceania. High human population density, urban drift, more ef®cient extractive technologies, and expanding market opportunities all have inevitably affected the ocean resources of these islands. In this study, I examined the prey biology and ecology of mollusk ®sheries in Kiribati, Gilbert Islands, looking at factors distinguishing vulnerable from resilient resources, and their effect on subsistence. Can traditional ecological knowledge be wedded with modern technology to revive the ®sheries? Because the thrust of this paper is limited to prey biology and ecology in the context of mollusk ®sheries, details of analytic methodology related to foraging ef®ciency are not discussed here, but can be found in Thomas (1999). Data on molluscan resources of the Gilbert Islands date back to the 1950s when Banner and Randall (1952) described the invertebrates of Onotoa Atoll, but identi®cations were poor and there were few detailed descriptions of exploitive strategies. A major interdisciplinary environmental survey on the main atoll of Tarawa, Republic of Kiribati (Abbott and Garcia 1995), expanded species identi®cation and habitat description, and provided an assessment of the impact of human activities (Figure 2). The Tarawa Lagoon Project of 1992±1994 (Paulay 1995) is a major study of the lagoon, and data from that project are included in this study. materials and methods Several communities engaged in subsistence and commercial exploitation of mollusks were investigated intermittently between 1993 and 1998. Research focused on four atolls in the central Gilberts: Abaiang, Tarawa (both urbanized and rural sectors), Maiana, and Abe77 1 Financial support from the University of Hawai`is Arts and Sciences Advisory Council; funds provided by Alison Kay through a University of Hawai`i Foundation Grant and Research Assistantship; Sigma Xi (The Scienti®c Research Society) Grant-in-Aid of Research nos. 2710 and 8326; the Hawaiian Malacological Society; two grants from Conchologists of America, Inc.; and travel funds provided by Temakei Tebano at the University of the South Paci®c. Manuscript accepted 1 February 2000. 2 Ogden Environmental and Energy Services, 680 Iwilei Road, Suite 660, Honolulu, Hawai`i 96817. Paci®c Science (2001), vol. 55, no. 1:77±97 : 2001 by University of Hawai`i Press

Shellfish Gathering and Conservation on Low Coral Islands: Kiribati Perspectives

ABSTRACT Low coral island societies in the Pacific have always lived in a precarious environment. Consequently, some writers have stated that people living on atolls and table reefs must have devised effective conservation strategies. Predictions from three optimal foraging models in ethnographic contexts (patch choice, patch sampling, and risk) applied to shellfish gathering in Kiribati, Micronesia, do not support the assumption that human foragers are motivated by a desire to conserve resources. While historical ecology data are sparse, there is little to indicate that coral islanders in the past needed to practice conservation of marine resources, including shellfish.

Historical ecology in Kiribati: linking past with present

Abstract: Compared with “high” islands, atolls and table reefs have received little attention from archaeologists focusing on historical ecology in Oceania. Limited archaeological investigations in the three archipelagoes composing the Republic of Kiribati (Gilbert, Phoenix, and Line Groups) reflect primarily culture historical reconstructions. Given the unique environmental challenges posed by coral islands, their potential for prehistoric ecological research should be recognized. By contrast, the last 50 years have witnessed a host of environmental studies, from agricultural improvements to sea-level rise and contemporary human impact on terrestrial and marine resources. In an attempt to better understand the influence of natural and human-induced processes in the more distant past, this paper explores several themes of relevance to coral islands in general. These include (1) natural and anthropogenic change on geomorphology and ecosystems, (2) anthropogenic impacts on faunal resources, (3) environmental evidence for human colonization, (4) interisland exchange networks and population mobility, and (5) social evolution.

Value of traditional oral narratives in building climate-change resilience: insights from rural communities in Fiji

In the interests of improving engagement with Pacific Island communities to enable development of effective and sustainable adaptation strategies to climate change, we looked at how traditional oral narratives in rural/peripheral Fiji communities might be used to inform such strategies. Interviews were undertaken and observations made in 27 communities; because the custodians of traditional knowledge were targeted, most interviewees were 70-79 years old. The view that oral traditions, particularly those referring to environmental history and the observations/precursors of environmental change, were endangered was widespread and regretted. Interviewees’ personal experiences of extreme events (natural disasters) were commonplace but no narratives of historical (unwitnessed by interviewees) events were found. In contrast, experiences of previous village relocations attributable (mainly) to environmental change were recorded in five communities while awareness of environmentally driven migration was more common. Questions about climate change elicited views dominated by religious/fatalist beliefs but included some more pragmatic ones; the confusion of climate change with climate variability, which is part of traditional knowledge, was widespread. The erosion of traditional environmental knowledge in the survey communities over recent decades has been severe and is likely to continue apace, which will reduce community self-sufficiency and resilience. Ways of conserving such knowledge and incorporating it into adaptation planning for Pacific Island communities in rural/peripheral locations should be explored.

Shellfish gathering in Kiribati,Micronesia: Nutritional,microbiological, andtoxicological aspects

Shellfish gathering has received comparatively little attention in the anthropological literature. Yet, the contribution of shellfish to the diet of indigenous societies can be significant. Reef and lagoon gleaning activities in Kiribati, Micronesia illustrate the importance of this class of invertebrates, particularly on urban South Tarawa. Proximate composition of 24 bivalves and gastropods add to our knowledge of the nutritional value of tropical shellfish. Microbiological contamination remains a problem, however, notably among inshore shellfish collected from Tarawa Lagoon. Assays on one species of cowrie (Cypraea tigris) confirm its toxicological properties, as suggested by some informants. The future of shellfish resources in Kiribati will need to address the issue of open access associated with an erosion of customary marine tenure.

Pacific Islands Archaeology

As one of the last regions to be “decolonized”, Oceania has yet to attract a large following of indigenous archaeologists actively engaged in methodological and theoretical debates. However, the expanding fields of public archaeology and cultural heritage management are now drawing more attention from indigenous communities. Human settlement of the region goes back to at least 40,000 years in the area commonly referred to as Melanesia (Near Oceania), but some of the more distant islands of Polynesia (Remote Oceania) have a much more recent history. This world of islands displays considerable ecological and cultural diversity, and is testimony to humanity’s greatest achievement in long-distance ocean dispersal. The region continues to challenge archaeologists with questions of local and regional significance (e.g., origin and timing of settlement) or of broader interest, such as island studies, the extent of pre-European contact environmental change by indigenous communities and how the latter have in turn responded to changing conditions, and theoretical discussions on political economy, monumentality, and long-distance exchange.

The Growth and Collapse of Pacific Island Societies: Archaeological and Demographic Perspectives

The Growth and Collapse of Pacific Island Societies: Archaeological and Demographic Perspectives. Edited by Patrick V. Kirch and Jean-Louis Rallu. University of Hawai’i Press, Honolulu. 2007. ISBN 978-0-8248-3134-9 (Hardcover US