Jennifer G. Kahn

Rapid evolution of ritual architecture in central Polynesia indicated by precise 230Th/U coral dating

In Polynesia, the complex Society Islands chiefdoms constructed elaborate temples (marae), some of which reached monumental proportions and were associated with human sacrifice in the ‘Oro cult. We investigated the development of temples on Mo‘orea Island by 230Th/U dating of corals used as architectural elements (facing veneers, cut-and-dressed blocks, and offerings). The three largest coastal marae (associated with the highest-ranked chiefly lineages) and 19 marae in the inland ‘Opunohu Valley containing coral architectural elements were dated. Fifteen corals from the coastal temples meet geochemical criteria for accurate 230Th/U dating, yield reproducible ages for each marae, and have a mean uncertainty of 9 y (2σ). Of 41 corals from wetter inland sites, 12 show some diagenesis and may yield unreliable ages; however, the majority (32) of inland dates are considered accurate. We also obtained six 14C dates on charcoal from four marae. The dates indicate that temple architecture on Mo‘orea Island developed rapidly over a period of approximately 140 y (ca. AD 1620–1760), with the largest coastal temples constructed immediately before initial European contact (AD 1767). The result of a seriation of architectural features corresponds closely with this chronology. Acropora coral veneers were superceded by cut-and-dressed Porites coral blocks on altar platforms, followed by development of multitier stepped altar platforms and use of pecked basalt stones associated with the late ‘Oro cult. This example demonstrates that elaboration of ritual architecture in complex societies may be surprisingly rapid.

Mid- to late Holocene landscape change and anthropogenic transformations on Mo'orea, Society Islands: A multi-proxy approach

Archaeology’s ability to generate long-term datasets of natural and human landscape change positions the discipline as an inter-disciplinary bridge between the social and natural sciences. Using a multi-proxy approach combining archaeological data with palaeoenvironmental indicators embedded in coastal sediments, we outline millennial timescales of lowland landscape evolution in the Society Islands. Geomorphic and cultural histories for four coastal zones on Mo‘orea are reconstructed based on stratigraphic records, sedimentology, pollen analysis, and radiocarbon determinations from mid- to late Holocene contexts. Prehuman records of the island’s flora and fauna are described utilizing landsnail, insect, and botanical data, providing a palaeo-backdrop for later anthropogenic change. Several environmental processes, including sea level change, island subsidence, and anthropogenic alterations, leading to changes in sedimentary budget have operated on Mo‘orea coastlines from c. 4600 to 200 BP. We document significant transformation of littoral and lowland zones which obscured earlier human activities and created significant changes in vegetation and other biota. Beginning as early as 440 BP (1416–1490 cal. ad), a major phase of sedimentary deposition commenced which can only be attributed to anthropogenic effects. At several sites, between 1.8 and 3.0 m of terrigenous sediments accumulated within a span of two to three centuries due to active slope erosion and deposition on the coastal flats. This phase correlates with the period of major inland expansion of Polynesian occupation and intensive agriculture on the island, indicated by the presence of charcoal throughout the sediments, including wood charcoal from several economically important tree species.

Interpolity exchange of basalt tools facilitated via elite control in Hawaiian archaic states

Ethnohistoric accounts of late precontact Hawaiian archaic states emphasize the independence of chiefly controlled territories (ahupua‘a) based on an agricultural, staple economy. However, elite control of unevenly distributed resources, such as high-quality volcanic rock for adze production, may have provided an alternative source of economic power. To test this hypothesis we used nondestructive energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) analysis of 328 lithic artifacts from 36 archaeological features in the Kahikinui district, Maui Island, to geochemically characterize the source groups. This process was followed by a limited sampling using destructive wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WD-XRF) analysis to more precisely characterize certain nonlocal source groups. Seventeen geochemical groups were defined, eight of which represent extra-Maui Island sources. Although the majority of stone tools were derived from Maui Island sources (71%), a significant quantity (27%) of tools derived from extraisland sources, including the large Mauna Kea quarry on Hawai‘i Island as well as quarries on O‘ahu, Moloka‘i, and Lāna‘i islands. Importantly, tools quarried from extralocal sources are found in the highest frequency in elite residential features and in ritual contexts. These results suggest a significant role for a wealth economy based on the control and distribution of nonagricultural goods and resources during the rise of the Hawaiian archaic states.

Mid- to Late Prehistoric Landscape Change, Settlement Histories, and Agricultural Practices on Maupiti, Society Islands (Central Eastern Polynesia)

ABSTRACT We report on excavations and dating results from Maupiti Island, the smallest high island in the Leeward group of the Society Islands. Our discussion focuses on archaeological and paleo-ethnobotanical data from three coastal sites and two interior sites, in addition to presenting preliminary results of an inland reconnaissance survey. The first goal was to outline the settlement history of Maupiti, including aspects of coastal and inland habitation and subsistence. Utilizing data from auger transects, test excavations, AMS radiocarbon dating of short-lived species, and archaeo-botanical samples, we outline shifts in mid- to late prehistoric settlement and subsistence patterns. Wood charcoal and macro-botanical analyses provide evidence for human-induced landscape change and the first records of pre-contact vegetation on Maupiti. Excavations at two inland agricultural sites document the timing of agricultural intensification. Finally, utilizing data from the analysis of fish, marine shell, and terrestrial faunal remains in addition to the anthracology results, we discuss how vulnerable Maupiti was as a socioecosystem.

Nonmarine Mollusks from Archaeological Sites on Mo'orea, Society Islands, French Polynesia, with Descriptions of Four New Species of Recently Extinct Land Snails (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Endodontidae)

Abstract: Nonmarine mollusks recovered during archaeological excavations on the island of Mo‘orea, Society Islands, French Polynesia, were analyzed as part of a multidisciplinary study of anthropogenic environmental change. Records of now-extinct taxa in dated archaeological contexts were combined with historic collection data from the 1830s to the present to determine the chronology of extinction of the 10 species of land snails of the family Endodontidae that formerly inhabited the island. One species known only from a stratum antedating human settlement on the island and three known only archaeologically but from imprecisely dated strata were certainly extinct by the late nineteenth century but may have disappeared earlier. One species collected in 1838 was extinct by the late nineteenth century, and all of the described endodontid species present in the mid- to late nineteenth century are undoubtedly now extinct because none was collected by the 1934 Mangarevan Expedition or by subsequent collectors. Only a single unidentified living endodontid has been observed on Mo‘orea since the nineteenth century. Additional extinctions or extirpations have occurred among the Helicarionidae, terrestrial Assimineidae, and probably also in the Helicinidae. Four new species of Endodontidae are described: Libera kondoi, Minidonta opunohua, Nesodiscus nummus, and N. cookei. Libera jacquinoti, described in 1850 from poorly localized material and until now not collected subsequently, is shown to have inhabited Mo‘orea.

Polynesian colonization and landscape changes on Mo’orea, French Polynesia: The Lake Temae pollen record:

An analysis of sediment cores from Lake Temae utilizing pollen, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating, magnetic susceptibility measurements, and charcoal particle counts was undertaken to assess landscape transformation following Polynesian colonization of Mo’orea in the Society Islands. A significant influx of terrigenous sediment accompanied by increases in charcoal and the presence of the Polynesian cultigen Colocasia (taro) are indicative of human presence on the island by at least 1060–980 cal. yr BP. Polynesian arrival resulted in the rapid alteration of lowland vegetation illustrated in the pollen record by the removal of the coastal tree Pandanus and the promotion of more economically important trees such as Cocos. The most significant period of burning in the charcoal data overlaps with archaeological evidence for expansion into the island interior and the establishment and growth of more intense agricultural practices from 700 to 500 cal. yr BP. The pollen record also documents the apparent abandonment of the coastal plain near Lake Temae during this phase of inland expansion with the terrestrial landscape returning to an environment similar to that found before colonization. A final phase of environmental transformation commenced with European contact at the end of the 18th century and is marked most clearly in the Lake Temae sequence with the conversion of the system to a freshwater body accompanied by the expansion of the freshwater reed Typha and a level of burning not seen at any time over the previous 1000 years. Importantly, the new data from Lake Temae support the colonization model for central Eastern Polynesia of ca. 1000 cal. yr BP and refute the late settlement scenario for the Society Islands.

The Pacific Rat Race to Easter Island: Tracking the Prehistoric Dispersal of Rattus exulans Using Ancient Mitochondrial Genomes

The location of the immediate eastern Polynesian origin for the settlement of Easter Island (Rapa Nui), remains unclear with conflicting archaeological and linguistic evidence. Previous genetic commensal research using the Pacific rat, Rattus exulans; a species transported by humans across Remote Oceania and throughout the Polynesian Triangle, has identified broad interaction spheres across the region. However, there has been limited success in distinguishing finer-scale movements between Remote Oceanic islands as the same mitochondrial control region haplotype has been identified in the majority of ancient rat specimens. To improve molecular resolution and identify a pattern of prehistoric dispersal to Easter Island, we sequenced complete mitochondrial genomes from ancient Pacific rat specimens obtained from early archaeological contexts across West and East Polynesia. Ancient Polynesian rat haplotypes are closely related and reflect the widely supported scenario of a central East Polynesian homeland region from which eastern expansion occurred. An Easter Island and Tubuai (Austral Islands) grouping of related haplotypes suggests that both islands were established by the same colonization wave, proposed to have originated in the central homeland region before dispersing through the south-eastern corridor of East Polynesia.

Settlement Chronologies and Shifting Resource Exploitation in Ka'ū District, Hawaiian Islands

Museum collections contribute valuable information for cultural heritage, biological conservation, and the application of innovative and new methodological approaches. Collections deriving from archaeological projects in Hawai‘i serve as a case in point. Here, we report on re-analysis of two Ka‘ū District collections from Hawai‘i Island (HA-B22-64 and -248) to demonstrate what can be learned when applying new research questions to old collections. Our research goals center on two main themes: re-dating the HA-B22-64 and -248 sites to place them within the newly refined Hawaiian archipelago settlement chronology; and using diverse data sources to look at changing resource use in pre-Contact Hawai‘i through time. Our new AMS dating results indicate that the lower levels of rockshelter HA-B22-64 date to the mid- to Late Prehistoric period during the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, while upper levels calibrate to the ninteenth century. Both levels of HA-B22-248 calibrate to the late eighteenth to nineteenth centuries. In terms of resource use, Pu‘u Wa‘awa‘a volcanic glass is present at both sites in small amounts, which is consistent with other sites in the South Point area. However, the high percentage of Group 3 volcanic glass is unusual for the area, and represents the highest percentage for the Kona side of Hawai‘i Island. HA-B22-64 has a small number of basalt artifacts consistent with the Keahua I source on Kaua‘i, while both sites have evidence for artifacts produced from the Mauna Kea quarry. Technological data from our basalt assemblages do not support direct access to the Mauna Kea quarry nor the presence of adze specialists in Ka‘ū households; rather, we find rejuvenation and use of already finished adzes. Measurements on Scarine oral and pharyngeal jawbones illustrate a consistent and stable size structure of fish populations at both sites. This, along with the large overall fish size, is indicative of sustainable fishing practices.