Roger C. Green

Influence of marine sources on 14C ages: Isotopic data from Watom Island, Papua New Guinea inhumations and pig teeth in light of new dietary standards

Abstract Gauging the effect of 14C‐depleted marine foods on radiocarbon ages requires an accurate assessment of the likely proportion of marine foods in the diet. Several factors must be considered, including region‐specific δ13C, δ15N and δ34S data values (regional stable isotope values can differ from global averages), temporal variations in δ13C which offset values in modern dietary standards by up to 1.5%o, and that modelling which considers only δ13C may overestimate the contribution of various dietary sources. Here, we compare previous calculations by linear interpolation of δ13C and a complex computer simulation of marine contribution to the diet of inhumations from the SAC archaeological site Watom Island, Papua New Guinea, with the ISOSOURCE mixing model and a revised database of regional dietary sources and their isotopic values, to estimate marine diet contributions and radiocarbon offsets for burials from the SAC site. Though different estimates of marine contribution to diet do not significantly alter previous calibrations of radiocarbon ages for the inhumations, the new ISOSOURCE calculations challenge the idea of excessive exploitation of marine resources and support evidence for arboriculture and horticulture being a major component in Lapita diet.

Oceanic Tooth-Size Variation as a Reflection of Biological and Cultural Mixing [and Comments and Reply]

Tooth size in Oceania varies from a minimum equivalent to the figure for the pre-Chinese inhabitants of Taiwan to a maximum equivalent to the figure for large-toothed Australian Aborigines. The minimum figure is found among the easternmost and weternmost inhabitants, and the maximum figure occurs in the highlands of New Guinea. Elsewhere, intermediate figures are evident, and it is apparent that the populations in which they can be observed display phenotypes that are intermediate in pigmentation and hair form between those on the Asian mainland and those whose identification with an equatorial habitat can be traced back into the Pleistocene. In addition, it is evident that the small-toothed populations speak languages that are most closely related to hypothetical Proto-Austronesian While the largest-toothed populations speak languages that are not related to Austronesian at all. To the extent that tooth size rises above the level of that found in the most typical Autronesian-speakers, the language deviates from hypothetical Proto-Austronesian. This suggests that the original population of New Guinea and some adjacent islands continued in situ from well back into the Pleistocene. Within the last 4,000 years, populations which had been shaped by long-term residence on the Asian mainland moved out into the Pacific via Taiwan and the Philippines. Superior navigation and resource utilization capabilities allowed them to colonize previously uninhabited islands maintaining much of their original phenotype, but where they encountered the earlier inhabitants on the larger Melanesian landmasses they display the effects of cultural and phenotypic mixing in proportion to the contribution of the two main parent populations.

USE OF THREE ISOTOPES TO CALIBRATE HUMAN BONE RADIOCARBON DETERMINATIONS FROM KAINAPIRINA (SAC), WATOM ISLAND, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

In archaeological dating, the greatest confidence is usually placed upon radiocarbon results of material that can be directly related to a defined archaeological event. Human bone should fulfill this requirement, but bone dates obtained from Pacific sites are often perceived as problematic due to the incorporation of 14C from a range of different reservoirs into the collagen via diet. In this paper, we present new human bone gelatin results for 2 burials from the SAC archaeological site on Watom Island, Papua New Guinea, and investigate the success of calibrating these determinations using dietary corrections obtained from δ34S, δ15N, and δ13C isotopes.

The Marine ΔR for Nenumbo (Solomon Islands): A Case Study in Calculating Reservoir Offsets from Paired Sample Data

It is necessary to calculate location-specific marine ∆R values in order to calibrate marine samples using cal- ibration curves such as those provided through the IntCal98 (Stuiver et al. 1998) data. Where known-age samples are avail- able, this calculation is straightforward (i.e. Stuiver et al. 1986). In the case that a paired marine/terrestrial sample calculation is performed, however, the standard calculation (i.e. Stuiver and Braziunas 1993) requires that the samples are treated as relat- ing to isochronous events. This may not be an appropriate assumption for many archaeological paired samples. In this paper, we present an approach to calculating marine ∆R values that does not require the dated events to be treated as isochronous. When archaeological evidence allows the dated events to be tightly temporally constrained, the approach presented here and that described by Stuiver and Braziunas (1993) give very similar results. However, where tight temporal constraints are less certain, the 2 approaches can give rise to differing results. The example analysis considered here shows that a ∆R of -81 ± 64 14C yr is appropriate for samples in the vicinity of Nenumbo (Reef Islands, southeast Solomon Islands) around the period 2000-3000 BP.

Archaeology and Development [and Comments and Reply]

The establisment of a national site survey in the Solomon Islands provides a case study of the way in which the discipline of archaeology, developed in highly industrialised, wealthy countries, must be adapted if it is to prove meaningful in other parts of the world. Such changes are not only organisational and logistical; they extend to the conceptual basis of archaeology and to the relationship of the discipline to society. Specifically discussed are the problems of interpreting archaeological discoveries in terms of traditional perspectives of the past, the establishment of an archaeological unit and fieldwork programme, the question of decentralisation, rescue archaeology, protective legislation, the use of archaeology within the educational system, and the role of the external researcher.

From Tongan Meeting House to Samoan Chapel

While evidence for a strong, long-standing, and direct connection between Sāmoa and Tonga before European contact is well known, this paper provides a case study of Sāmoa–Tonga interaction by indigenous agency. It shows that the Samoan fale āfolau (long house) is convincingly interpreted as an historic introduction from Tonga, with Samoan modification, which served as an early Christian chapel design. A Tongan origin for the fale āfolau is an especially contested viewpoint in present-day Sāmoa, where many consider it to be a truly indigenous design.