Polynesia

In this study, the archaic counting systems of Mesopotamia as understood through the Neolithic tokens, numerical impressions, and proto-cuneiform notations were compared to the traditional number-words and counting methods of Polynesia as understood through contemporary and historical descriptions of vocabulary and behaviors. The comparison and associated analyses capitalized on the ability to understand well-known characteristics of Uruk-period numbers like object-specific counting, polyvalence, and context-dependence through historical observations of Polynesian counting methods and numerical language, evidence unavailable for ancient numbers. Similarities between the two number systems were then used to argue that archaic Mesopotamian numbers, like those of Polynesia, were highly elaborated and would have served as cognitively efficient tools for mental calculation. Their differences also show the importance of material technologies like tokens, impressions, and notations to developing mathematics. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 785793.

The impact of widespread international labor migration on the family in Tonga is examined. The author describes how migration has affected gender and kinship relations. She also examines the ways in which church and state ideologies encourage the development of the nuclear family, while overseas labor migration creates a need to maintain extended support systems among family networks.

Between 1966 and 1974, France performed 41 atmospheric nuclear weapon tests in the Mururoa and Fangataufa atolls in French Polynesia. We performed a geographic analysis of thyroid cancer incidence, using data from the cancer registry of French Polynesia, medical evacuation files, insurance records and hospital and pathology laboratory files. A total of 153 thyroid cancers were diagnosed between 1985 and 1995 in the population born before 1976 and residing in French Polynesia. The incidence of thyroid cancer was 2-3 times larger in French Polynesia than in Maoris of New Zealand and Hawaiians of Hawaii. Based on few cases, a nonsignificant (p = 0.1) increase with decreasing distance between Mururoa and the birth place was observed in women born between 1950 and 1975 for thyroid cancer. Because the difference between Polynesian and reference populations was not larger for Polynesians who were children during the tests than for Polynesians born earlier; as would be expected in the case ...

The Rapa Nui "ecocide" narrative questions whether the prehistoric population caused an avoidable ecological disaster through rapid deforestation and over-exploitation of natural resources. The objective of this study was to characterize prehistoric human diets to shed light on human adaptability and land use in an island environment with limited resources. Materials for this study included human, faunal, and botanical remains from the archaeological sites Anakena and Ahu Tepeu on Rapa Nui, dating from c. 1400 AD to the historic period, and modern reference material. We used bulk carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses and amino acid compound specific isotope analyses (AA-CSIA) of collagen isolated from prehistoric human and faunal bone, to assess the use of marine versus terrestrial resources and to investigate the underlying baseline values. Similar isotope analyses of archaeological and modern botanical and marine samples were used to characterize the local environment. Re...

The Rapa Nui "ecocide" narrative questions whether the prehistoric population caused an avoidable ecological disaster through rapid deforestation and over-exploitation of natural resources. The objective of this study was to characterize prehistoric human diets to shed light on human adaptability and land use in an island environment with limited resources. Materials for this study included human, faunal, and botanical remains from the archaeological sites Anakena and Ahu Tepeu on Rapa Nui, dating from c. 1400 AD to the historic period, and modern reference material. We used bulk carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses and amino acid compound specific isotope analyses (AA-CSIA) of collagen isolated from prehistoric human and faunal bone, to assess the use of marine versus terrestrial resources and to investigate the underlying baseline values. Similar isotope analyses of archaeological and modern botanical and marine samples were used to characterize the local environment. Re...

Although here in DuPage we are very far from the Pacific, this class will help you become literate with regards to the cultures and histories of Pacific island societies. Each person living in the Pacific is part of an ongoing story of movement, settlement, and adaptation to island environments that has produced remarkable histories of cultural accomplishment and political struggle. Although relatively small in population, the Pacific islands span one-third of the globe, encompass about one fourth of the world’s languages, and include some of its most unique ecological zones. The Pacific has been an object of western world interest and fantasy since the earliest days of exploration, and continues to generate all kinds of exotic images, whether of paradise, of “disappearing” cultures, or threatened ecologies.

In this course, we will be concerned both with the experience of indigenous communities and with representations of the Pacific generated inside and outside the region. Pacific prehistory of travel began with Pleistocene movement of Homo sapiens sapiens, continued with Lapita colonization which gave way to the far-flung voyages of Polynesian navigators. Pacific indigenous settlement was then followed by waves of European explorers, missionaries, and colonizers. These movements have produced dramatic, and often tragic, stories of cultural encounter and transformation. The experience of Pacific communities, past and present, has much to teach us about living in communities that contend with global flows of people, culture, and capital. Today island travelers continue to move through national capitals and metropolitan centers from Honolulu to Los Angeles and Auckland, fashioning new forms and identities that extend the boundaries of the Pacific.

New Zealand moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) are the only late Quaternary megafauna whose extinction was clearly caused by humans. New Zealand offers the best opportunity to estimate the number of people involved in a megafaunal extinction event because, uniquely, both the Polynesian settlement of New Zealand and moa extinction are recent enough to be dated with a high degree of precision. In addition, the founding human population can be estimated from genetic evidence. Here we show that the Polynesian population of New Zealand would not have exceeded 2,000 individuals before extinction of moa populations in the habitable areas of the eastern South Island. During a brief (o150 years) period and at population densities that never exceeded B0.01 km À 2 , Polynesians exterminated viable populations of moa by hunting and removal of habitat. High human population densities are not required in models of megafaunal extinction.

Accumulation of ciguatoxins (CTXs) in tropical reef fish tissues during their life is responsible of the most prevalent human seafood intoxication in the South Pacific called Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP). It has been assumed for a long time that CTXs are transferred and accumulated along the trophic food chain, and consequently that smaller individuals within a given fish species are safer to eat than larger ones. However, the relationship between toxicity and fish size has been studied for a limited number of species only and the conclusions are often contradictory. The toxicity of 856 fishes from 59 different species sampled in six islands in French Polynesia between 2003 and 2011 was assessed by Receptor Binding Assay. Among them, 45 species  island and 32 families  island for which the number of individuals was !6 allowed testing the relationship between toxicity and size. Except for six specimens of Lutjanus bohar caught in Fakarava (P < 0.01; R 2 ¼ 0.854), the 44 remaining species  island showed no significant increase of CTXs concentration with fish total length (TL). Moreover, the proportion of toxic individuals decreased significantly for Epinephelus polyphekadion from Fakarava (n ¼ 24; P < 0.05) and Kyphosus cinerascens from Raivavae (n ¼ 29; P < 0.05), while no significant variation was detected for the other 43 species  island. At the family level, only three positive and three negative relationships between size and CTXs concentration were observed among the 32 family  island analyzed. No relationship between the proportion of toxic fish within a family and the relative total length of individuals were observed. The lack of relationship between toxicity and size observed for most of the species and families from the six islands suggests that fish size cannot be used as an efficient predictor of fish toxicity in French Polynesia. These results highlight the need for improving our knowledge about metabolic processes which may play a role in CTXs bio-accumulation and depuration among the different trophic levels of fishes.

The involvement of Christian missionaries in the development of Pacific archaeology often remains on the fringes of the discipline's history. This paper aims to contribute to this area of research by exploring the ideas, methods and legacy of one missionary theorist: Reverend William Ellis (1794–1872). Through an exploration of Ellis's work in Polynesia, specific focus will be directed to the ways in which he read interpretations of Pacific prehistory in material culture, linguistics, oral traditions and island landscapes. Ellis's theories attracted interest from eminent individuals such as Charles Darwin and John Dunmore Lang, creating a complex network of knowledge exchange between missionaries, Pacific Islanders and armchair ethnographers. The involvement of missionaries in early ethnology arguably forms an integral part of the foundations of Pacific archaeology. Investigating and analysing the content and context of work by those such as Ellis has value for understanding the development of the discipline.

"No subject in science can be deeply understood without the history of its roots and the human story behind it. This fine collection of essays does precisely that. It offers a well edited and refreshing approach to the way ‘monsters’ are produced about the past of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) when we put our scientific mind to rest. The bundle is concluded with a nice and very welcome overview of the state of affairs in the field of rongorongo inscriptions". - Jan J. Boersema, Leiden University, Author of "The Survival of Easter Island" (CUP, 2015)

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 Nui, Polynesia, PPN, petroglyphs, pictograms, rock art, rongorongo, script, writing


The original was first read by Sergei V. Rjabchikov as the paper “The Sea Route from the Marquesas to Mangareva and Then to Easter Island: New Data” on the scientific session of the Sergei Rjabchikov Foundation – Research Centre for Studies of Ancient Civilisations and Cultures, November 20, 2014, Krasnodar, Russia.

Rjabchikov, Sergei V., 2022. The Rapanui Rock Picture about the Explorers: The Plot has been Decoded Entirely. Paper. 9 pages.

Abstract. In this paper Sergei V. Rjabchikov offers the complete interpretation of the Rapanui petroglyph of the explorer canoe and its crew on the basis of the readings of the famous rongorongo script of Easter Island.

The original was first delivered by Sergei V. Rjabchikov as the paper “The Rapanui Rock Picture about the Explorers: The Plot has been Decoded Entirely” on the scientific session of the Sergei Rjabchikov Foundation – Research Centre for Studies of Ancient Civilisations and Cultures in Krasnodar on April 5, 2022.

Keywords: Easter Island, Rapanui, Rapa Nui, Polynesia, rongorongo, script, writing, hieroglyphic script, folklore, Austronesian

Rjabchikov, Sergei V., 2022. The Rongorongo Record about King Tara Tahi and His Son Anua Motua on a Rock Panel on Nuku Hiva, the Marquesas Islands. Paper, 4 pages.

Abstract. The Marquesan king Tara Tahi and his son Matua (Motua, Anua Motua) once lived on Nuku Hiva. Perhaps they left that land. We know that both rulers voyaged afterwards via Mangareva to Easter Island. I believe that the rongorongo script was invented on the Marquesas Islands (Rjabchikov 2014: 164). Really, according to the Rapanui traditions, king Hotu-Matua possessed the knowledge of the rongorongo script, and took sixty-seven rongorongo tablets from his distant homeland to Easter Island (Thomson 1891: 514). The Rapanui king Hina Ri Ru (Hinalilu), who was in my opinion the Marquesan king Tara Tahi, wrote the rongorongo, and brought the records with him from the same remote island (Routledge 1998: 279).

The original was first delivered by Sergei V. Rjabchikov as the paper “The Rongorongo Record about King Tara Tahi and His Son Anua Motua on a Rock Panel on Nuku Hiva, the Marquesas Islands” on the scientific session of the Sergei Rjabchikov Foundation – Research Centre for Studies of Ancient Civilisations and Cultures in Krasnodar on April 24, 2022.

Keywords: Easter Island, Rapanui, Rapa Nui, Nuku Hiva, Marquesas, Polynesia, rongorongo, script, writing, hieroglyphic script, folklore, Austronesian

The human settlement of the Pacific Islands represents one of the most recent major migration events of mankind. Polynesians originated in Asia according to linguistic evidence or in Melanesia according to archaeological evidence. To shed light on the genetic origins of Polynesians, we investigated over 400 Polynesians from 8 island groups, in comparison with over 900 individuals from potential parental populations of Melanesia, Southeast and East Asia, and Australia, by means of Y chromosome (NRY) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers. Overall, we classified 94.1% of Polynesian Y chromosomes and 99.8% of Polynesian mtDNAs as of either Melanesian (NRY-DNA: 65.8%, mtDNA: 6%) or Asian (NRY-DNA: 28.3%, mtDNA: 93.8%) origin, suggesting a dual genetic origin of Polynesians in agreement with the ''Slow Boat'' hypothesis. Our data suggest a pronounced admixture bias in Polynesians toward more Melanesian men than women, perhaps as a result of matrilocal residence in the ancestral Polynesian society. Although dating methods are consistent with somewhat similar entries of NRY/mtDNA haplogroups into Polynesia, haplotype sharing suggests an earlier appearance of Melanesian haplogroups than those from Asia. Surprisingly, we identified gradients in the frequency distribution of some NRY/mtDNA haplogroups across Polynesia and a gradual west-to-east decrease of overall NRY/mtDNA diversity, not only providing evidence for a west-to-east direction of Polynesian settlements but also suggesting that Pacific voyaging was regular rather than haphazard. We also demonstrate that Fiji played a pivotal role in the history of Polynesia: humans probably first migrated to Fiji, and subsequent settlement of Polynesia probably came from Fiji.

Rjabchikov, Sergei V., 2022. The God Tinilau (Tagaloa) in a Proto-Polynesian Plot: The New Pictogram has been Decoded. Paper. 2 pages.

The original was first delivered by Sergei V. Rjabchikov as the paper “The God Tinilau (Tagaloa) in a Proto-Polynesian Plot: The New Pictogram has been Decoded” on the scientific session of the Sergei Rjabchikov Foundation – Research Centre for Studies of Ancient Civilisations and Cultures in Krasnodar on April 16, 2022.

Abstract. The Proto-Polynesian drawing is deciphered. Two signs of the Proto-Polynesian pictography are the clues to several Proto-Polynesian lexical forms.

Keywords: Polynesia, Polynesian, Proto-Polynesian, Fiji, Fijian, rock art, petroglyph, pictography, folklore, Austronesian

Resumen. Isla de Pascua, un territorio de unos 170 km 2 , poblado por unas 6 mil personas, puede equipararse a un pueblo o una aldea. Desde 1888 Rapa Nui pertenece a Chile; situada a la distancia de 3700 km de sus costas, cumple con la definición de un área periférica. Tras la primera visita europea en 1722 y otras expediciones que se produjeron a lo largo del siglo XVIII, a partir de la mitad del siglo XIX la isla sufrió cambios culturales y sociales de gran magnitud. Acabadas las razzias esclavistas, la población decimada por enfermedades contagiosas fue evangelizada por los misioneros; luego la isla fue convertida en un rancho de ovejas por comerciantes extranjeros. Mientras tanto fue anexionada a Chile. Ya en el siglo XX Rapa Nui fue escena de dos levantamientos de los indígenas, quienes tenían que esperar hasta 1966 a que se les otorgase la ciudadanía plena. En 2007 la reforma constitucional transformó Isla de Pascua en el llamado Territorio Especial, pero los problemas de la pequeña comunidad rapanui no terminaron. Hoy los pascuenses intentan luchar por un mayor grado de autodeterminación y contra la avalancha de turistas que pone en peligro el medio ambiente insular y su riqueza arqueológica.

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.

Rjabchikov, Sergei V., 2022. On the Semantics of the Wooden Statue of the God A’a from Rurutu, the Austral Islands, Polynesia. Paper. 2 pages.

Abstract. We can realize that small figures attached to the sculpture of the god A’a (Tangaroa) depict the other deities and even humans, different parts of the world and different divine ideas created by this principal deity.

The original was first delivered by Sergei V. Rjabchikov as the paper “On the Semantics of the Wooden Statue of the God A’a from Rurutu, the Austral Islands, Polynesia” on the scientific session of the Sergei Rjabchikov Foundation – Research Centre for Studies of Ancient Civilisations and Cultures in Krasnodar on May 19, 2022.

Keywords, Polynesia, folklore, Austronesian, Polynesian, Rurutu, Samoa, Tonga

Rjabchikov, S.V., 2022. The Rongorongo Script was Invented on the Marquesas Islands: The New Evidence. Paper. 3 pages. The original was first delivered by Sergei V. Rjabchikov as the paper “The Rongorongo Script was Invented on the Marquesas Islands: The New Evidence” on the scientific session of the Sergei Rjabchikov Foundation – Research Centre for Studies of Ancient Civilisations and Cultures in Krasnodar on June 12, 2022.

Abstract. The rongorongo record disclosed on the Marquesas is successfully decoded. The parallel rongorongo records are presented on the Tahua tablet (text A) from Easter Island.

Keywords: Polynesia, folklore, Austronesian, Polynesian, Marquesas, Easter Island, Rapanui, Rapa Nui, rongorongo, script

Resumen
En el presente artículo deseo ocuparme de un episodio que tenía lugar durante la visita del Capitán James Cook en Isla de Pascua (1774) y fue descrito, entre otros, por los Forster, naturalistas de su tripulación (precisamente, eran supernumerarios). Se trata del primer encuentro entre un indígena rapanui y los exploradores, que se produjo a bordo de “Resolution”. A mi parecer, la explicación de los hechos, presentada por George Forster, constituye un ejemplo de malendentido o interpretación errónea de lo ocurrido. Que yo sepa, hasta el presente momento este error no ha sido descubierto por los expertos en el tema de la exploración temprana de Isla de Pascua.

Summary
In this present paper I would like to expound and explain an event that took place during the visit of Captain James Cook to Easter Island (1774), and was described, among others, by the Forsters – the naturalists belonging to his crew (strictly speaking, they were supernumeraries). It was the scene of the first encounter between an indigenous Rapanui and the explorers aboard the “Resolution”. To my mind, the presentation of the episode, offered by George Forster, constitutes an example of misunderstanding or misinterpretation of what really had happened. To the best of my knowledge, this mistake has not previously been discovered by researchers specializing in the early exploration of Easter Island.

Rjabchikov, Sergei V., 2022. The Mystery of the Dog in the Marquesan Rock Art has been Solved. Paper. 2 pages.

Abstract. Sergei V. Rjabchikov studies the drawing on a boulder, Nuku Hiva, the Marquesas Islands. As a result, the mixture of the Peruvian and Polynesian mythologies has been deciphered successfully.

The original was first delivered by Sergei V. Rjabchikov as the paper “The Mystery of the Dog in the Marquesan Rock Art has been Solved” on the scientific session of the Sergei Rjabchikov Foundation – Research Centre for Studies of Ancient Civilisations and Cultures in Moscow on July 4, 2022.

Keywords: Marquesas Islands, Easter Island, Rapanui, Rapa Nui, Polynesia, Quechua, Andean, Peruvian, rongorongo, script, writing, hieroglyphic script, folklore, mythology, Austronesian studies

The geographic distribution and relative importance of traditional agricultural systems in Hawaiʻi, based on ethnohistoric and archeological data, is only partially understood. Knowledge of the size and distribution of these systems is critical in estimating island populations, production, and surplus, as well as for assessing societal dynamics and the sustainability of indigenous agricultural systems. We employ geospatial modeling using rainfall, elevation, soil type, streamflow, slope, and substrate age, to create a geographic information system (GIS) model for the distribution of four major production systems on Molokaʻi Island e intensive pondfield irrigation, intensive dryland cropping, extensive colluvial slope agriculture, and fishpond aquaculture. Model results were checked against archaeological data sets for known areas, testing for goodness of fit between model predictions and empirical field evidence. Our model predicts that Molokaʻi could have sustained 9.52 km 2 of irrigated pondfields, 7.98 km 2 of intensive dryland systems, and 18.5 km 2 of colluvial slope agriculture. Fishponds are estimated to have yielded 17.98 metric tons of fish protein per year. The total agricultural production for the island is calculated to be 41,490 metric tons per year (wet weight), with pondfield, dryland, and slope systems yielding 46, 17, and 37 percent of total production respectively. Our results indicate that colluvial slope cultivation, which has been largely ignored in previous studies, was a major contributor to Hawaiian agricultural production, especially on the geologically older islands. Pondfield irrigation and colluvial slope systems had higher caloric efficiency than intensive dryland field systems, providing greater surplus to labor ratios in areas with abundant land suitable to irrigation and slope cultivation. Surplus discrepancies likely influenced population distribution as well as sociopolitical dynamics between districts and among neighboring islands. The model has applicability to the entire Hawaiian archipelago and to other islands in Polynesia, where it may be used to estimate pre-contact agricultural production and carrying capacities, two main factors influencing pre-contact social and political dynamics in Hawaiʻi and other island groups.

ABSTRACT: Fifty years ago pioneering archaeologist Robert Suggs reported a small number of pottery sherds from the Marquesas Islands. The first such finds in East Polynesia, at the time they were considered indicative of both a Marquesan homeland and local ceramic manufacture. In the intervening years, additional sherds have been recovered from three other Marquesan localities resulting in a total of 14 specimens. Prior petrographic studies demonstrate unambiguously that some derive from Fiji. Others have been interpreted historically as representative of an indigenous Marquesan ceramic industry. Here we bring together key petrographic analyses from Polynesia, recent chronological assessments of the Marquesan sequence, and insights from new field research to reassess the origins and chronology of Marquesan pottery. We suggest that there is little support for an indigenous Marquesan ceramic industry, and most likely all of the specimens are imports. With respect to the timing of ceramic arrivals, three hypotheses are explored: 1) with founding settlers, 2) as a component of long-distance exchange networks operating between the 12th to 16th centuries AD, or 3) as late prehistoric or historic imports. The preponderance of evidence points to the second alternative, although the other two cannot be completely discounted for the assemblage as a whole.

This PhD thesis presents an anthropological analysis of informal education activities among two French autochthonous communities: the Wayana-Apalaï people, living in French Guiana, and the Enata people, in French Polynesia. Thanks to the data gathered through a long term ethnographic fieldwork, it was determined the time dedicated to educational interactions in the domestic environment, the dominant educational styles and the educational logic of both communities. The educational dynamic has been interpreted as a process of transmission of cultural data related to a natural and social landscape. The results obtained show that educational strategies applied by Wayana-Apalaï and Enata educators are shaped by the constraints of the post-colonial dynamics and the requirements imposed by the global market economy.

Résumé
Dans le cadre de cet article, nous proposons une synthèse de la littérature archéolo- gique récente sur deux aspects fondamentaux de la mobilité dans les sociétés tradi- tionnelles d’Océanie: le peuplement progressif des différents archipels et les systèmes d’échange à longue distance mis en place depuis la période du Lapita. L’établissement d’un solide cadre chronologique permet de penser l’évolution des sociétés austroné- siennes d’Océanie dans la longue durée, notamment vis-à-vis des réseaux d’interaction dont l’étude a longtemps été dominée par les travaux ethnographiques.
Mots clés : Océanie, Austronésiens, Polynésie, peuplement, échanges à longue distance.
Abstract
Through a review of the recent literature, this paper summarizes two main aspects of mobility patterns within Austronesian societies in Oceania, namely the peopling of the Pacific islands and the inter-island interactions over long distances during the last three millennia. While the study of external exchange systems is traditionally restricted to the ethnographic present, the established chronological framework for human occu- pation in Remote Oceania over a long period of time allows for the reconstruction of inter-community interactions.
Keywords : Oceania, Austronesian people, Polynesia, Peopling, Long-distance exchange.

Rjabchikov, Sergei V., 2018. The Bird-man Cult in the Rapanui Rock Art and Oral Literature. Polynesia Newsletter, 16, pp. 2-32.

Keywords: writing, rongorongo, folklore, rock art, Rapanui, Rapa Nui, Easter Island, Polynesia, Quechua, Andean, Old Peruvian, Incan, petroglyph, archaeoastronomy, mythology

For the past fifty years, historical linguistics and archaeology have provided seemingly mutually corroboratory evidence for the settlement of east Polynesia.  However, more recent findings in archaeology have shifted this relationship out of balance, calling previous conclusions into question. This paper first reviews the generally accepted archaeological and linguistic theories of east Polynesia's settlement, then describes the recent archaeological findings, highlighting the areas where the evidence from the two disciplines is now discordant.  In sections four and five, I examine the linguistic data from Eastern Polynesian languages and propose a new, contact-based model for the region.  The new linguistic model ultimately demonstrates that the settlement of east Polynesia and the development of the Eastern Polynesian languages occurred in one major period of dispersal with subsequent spheres of contact among central Polynesian communities, producing the pattern of cultural and linguistic traits we see today.

Abstract: New materials on the early history of Polynesia are presented. The inscripion on the Tahua tablet tells of the arrival of king Hotu-Matua, son of king Tara tahi, from Mangareva and Hiva. The author also studies the East Polynesian folklore in this work.

Sergei V. Rjabchikov says:

«This  author  (Rjabchikov  1994:  5;  1997c:  204)  read  on  the  Mamari  tablet  a  message  about  the  war  between the two tribal  alliances  of  the island called  Hanau Eepe  and  Hanau Momoko  respectively, and this event  took place  in  time  close  to  the  appearance  in  the  sky  of  Halley‟s  Comet  in  1682  A.D.  So,  this  tablet  dates  back pretty  accurately  to  this  year.  The  fact  is  that  the  superstitious  scribe  who  compiled  this  inscripion  was impressed  by  both  the  defeat  of  his  tribe  and  the  strange  celestial  phenomenon,  and  in  his  mind  both  these events merged together. When the Europeans began to visit  the island, they  saw  firsthand that  there were no tall  palms here at all.  This  fact  led  Orliac  (2005)  to  date  back  the  Mamari  tablet  to  the  17th  century  A.D.  So,  the  dating proposed  by  me  was  successfully  confirmed.»

«Having  read  the  inscription  on  the  Berlin  tablet  (O    2[4]),  I  found  in  this  text  the  name  of  the  birdman  Hina  Ono  (glyphs  2  68);  this  personality  ruled  in  1848  A.D.  (Rjabchikov  2012d:  4).  This  bird-man  was also  named  Ure  te  Ono  (Barthel  1978:  295)  and  Ko  Tahinga  (Horley  2012a:  58).  The  latter  name  reads  Ko Ta  Hinga  (=  Hina)  indeed.  Interestingly,  this  board  is dated  back  using  the  radiocarbon  method  to  some  time between  ca.  1830  A.D.  and  1870  A.D.  (Wieczorek  et  al.  2021:  1).  It  is  the  successful  confirmation  of  my dating  of  that  board.»

The Contents of this issue of Polynesia Newsletter, number 27:                                                                                                             

Popova, Tatiana, 2021. [A Review, Part 2:] Kieviet, Paulus, 2017. A Grammar of Rapa Nui. (Studies in Diversity Linguistics 12.) Berlin: Language Science Press. Polynesia Newsletter, 27, pp. 2-4.
                                                                                                                                 
Popova, Tatiana, 2021. Proto-Polynesian *Ka-kai or *Kai ‘Sharp’? Or *Kaqi Indeed? Polynesia Newsletter, 27, pp. 5-6.                                                                                                                             

Rjabchikov, Sergei V., 2021. On the Reflexes of Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *Lawit ‘Hook’ in the Polynesian Languages. Polynesia Newsletter, 27, p. 6.

Rjabchikov, Sergei V., 2021. The Voyage of King Hotu-Matua from the Marquesas Islands to Mangareva and Afterwards to Easter Island: A School Exercise on the Tahua Tablet. Polynesia Newsletter, 27, pp. 7-22.                                                                                                             

This article is dedicated in particular to the radiocarbon datings of  Rapanui  artifacts.

Keywords: Easter Island, Rapanui, Rapa Nui, Polynesia, rongorongo, script, writing, hieroglyphic script, folklore, Austronesian

Abstract :
The ubiquity of stone adze blades in archaeological sites and museum collections resulted in their use as “cultural fossils” to draw cultural evolutionary changes in the Polynesian islands. The typological approach proves useful for understanding the archaeological diversity in Oceania. Yet, it lacks efficiency when it comes to shedding light on the technical and economic choices involved in the production processes.
After a discussion of previous knapping experimentations performed in Polynesia, I propose a panel of diagnostic criteria for identifying the use of hard and soft hammerstone in the manufacture of adze blades. Then, I focus on the production of blades from assemblages collected on the North coast of Tubuai Island (Austral Archipelago, French Polynesia). Along with the need to consider the whole manufacturing process and the post-production exchange networks comes the necessity to connect different archaeological assemblages. Geochemical characterisation of the geological sources and artefacts discovered within archaeological contexts were used to settle the favoured framework for understanding the series of production sequences and for identifying the transfer of tools produced within and outside the island. Among the different supply networks identified on the island, I chose to investigate the operational sequences located within two sites: a quarry complex involving several workshops and a coastal dwelling site.
Through the investigation of manufacture, maintenance and exchange processes regarding stone adze blades, I propose a new insight on the economic system in the chiefdoms of central Polynesia. The technical tradition documented on Tubuai is related to the production and transformation of flakes used as blanks for adze blades manufacture. This association of flaking and shaping processes originated in Western Polynesia but was also spread over Eastern Polynesia. The size and the form of these adzes were directly linked to one’s capacity for producing standard-sized blanks and for shaping specific blades forms. Based on the Tubuai collections, I identified a highly standardised production related to specialist knappers’ workshops, as well as a production of heterogeneous forms of small adze blades within a non-specialised dwelling context. Thanks to the analysis of the production processes within the community and the long-distance intercommunity exchanges, I finally discuss the economic role of stone adzes in ancient Polynesian chiefdoms.

Keywords: Prehistory, Archaeology, Ethnohistory, Polynesia, Austral Island, Chiefdom, Stone tools, Lithic technology, Geochemistry, Exchange


Résumé :
En raison de leur ubiquité dans les assemblages archéologiques et les collections ethnographiques, les lames d’herminette en pierre ont longtemps été utilisées comme « fossiles-directeurs » afin de mettre en évidence des corrélations typo-chronologiques en Océanie. Néanmoins, les critères d’observations formels utilisés dans cette approche typologique ne permettaient pas de rendre compte de la complexité des processus techniques de fabrication.
Après avoir rappelé les autres études expérimentales réalisées précédemment dans la région, nous proposons un premier référentiel des stigmates de taille sur roches basaltiques qui nous permet d’identifier différentes techniques de percussion utilisées dans la confection des lames d’herminette en pierre. La restitution des activités techniques qui ont abouti à la production de ces outils a été réalisée à travers l’analyse technologique d’assemblages archéologiques (produits finis ou semi-finis et déchets de taille) récoltés dans différentes sites de la côte Nord de l’île de Tubuai (Archipel des Australes, Polynésie Française). La caractérisation géochimique des gîtes géologiques et des artefacts taillés découverts en contexte archéologique a permis de restituer la répartition spatiale des différentes séquences de production au sein d’une même communauté ainsi que les transferts d’objets produits dans d’autres archipels. Parmi les différents réseaux d’approvisionnement identifiés dans l’île, j’ai choisi de suivre les activités techniques présentes au sein de deux sites : le premier est un complexe spécialisé dans la production des outils en pierre associant carrière d’extraction et ateliers de transformation, et l’autre un site d’habitat côtier.
A travers la restitution des dynamiques de production, d’entretien et d’échange des lames d’herminettes en pierre, nous proposons un nouveau regard sur l’économie traditionnelle des chefferies de Polynésie centrale. Dans les assemblages étudiés, la confection de lames d’herminette a été essentiellement réalisée à travers la production d’éclats utilisés comme supports et transformés par façonnage. Cette combinaison des processus de débitage et de façonnage semble correspondre à une tradition technique qui prend son origine en Polynésie occidentale et qui est identifiée dans tous les archipels de Polynésie orientale. A partir des collections étudiées à Tubuai, il est possible de distinguer une production très standardisée de grandes lames au sein des ateliers spécialisés, et une production très peu standardisée de petites lames au sein des habitats côtiers. Grâce à la restitution des processus de production existant au sein d’une même communauté et des échanges intercommunautaires effectués à longue distance, nous discutons le rôle économique des herminettes à lame de pierre dans les chefferies polynésiennes.

Mots-clés : Préhistoire, Archéologie, Ethnohistoire, Polynésie, Iles Australes, Chefferies, Technologie lithique, Géochimie, Echange

Rjabchikov, Sergei V., 2022. The Name of the First King Hinariru is Written in the Record on the Aruku-Kurenga Tablet from Easter Island. Paper. 1 page.

Abstract. The successful study of two rongorongo records engraved on stone hats (pukao) at Akahanga and Tarakiu on Easter Island gave a key to the decoding of the rongorongo record on the Aruku-Kurenga tablet.

The original was first delivered by Sergei V. Rjabchikov as the paper “The Name of the First King Hinariru is Written in the Record on the Aruku-Kurenga Tablet from Easter Island” on the scientific session of the Sergei Rjabchikov Foundation – Research Centre for Studies of Ancient Civilisations and Cultures in Krasnodar on January 25, 2022.

Keywords: Easter Island, Rapanui, Rapa Nui, Polynesia, rongorongo, script, writing, hieroglyphic script, folklore, Austronesian

A report prepared for Rod Dixon, Director of the University of the South Pacific in the Cook Islands, addressing language shift and maintenance, language and dialects, expatriate/diaspora members of the speech community, language policy and language in education, dictionaries of Cook Islands Maori, records of Cook Islands Maori (oral and written), and Proposals for research/action. The report has recently been uploaded to the Cook Islands Maori Database blog http://maori.org.ck/blog/author/ano/

Rjabchikov, Sergei V., 2022. The History of One Decipherment of the Script of Easter Island. Dossier, 124, pp. 1-19.

Abstract. In this paper the information concerning my own decoding of the rongorongo writing system is presented.

Keywords: Polynesia, folklore, mythology, Austronesian, Polynesian, Rapanui, Rapa Nui, Easter Island, rongorongo, hieroglyphic script, rock art, bird-man, birdman, petroglyph

The Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) has, since the middle of the 20th century, declared itself to be a supporter and promoter of the heritage of Pacific Islander societies, whilst a succession of detractors have accused it of increasingly commercialising and trivialising that same heritage. Can these apparently opposing viewpoints be reconciled? If not, can either (or both) claims be considered accurate?

In order to interrogate both these claims this paper will first reflect on recent theoretical positions on cultural tourism and fieldwork undertaken at related heritage sites, in particular those where part of their appeal rests on Western notions of the exotic and primitive. After having identified the major relevant contributions from researchers, the paper will consider how far the PCC aligns with similar tourist destinations, and how the priorities and decisions of the PCC’s management have created an undeniably influential and commercially successful, but politically problematic tourist destination.

The paper then argues that despite expectations on the part of tourist promoters that heritage can be successfully harnessed as a purely commercial resource, it retains an important political dimension that, in practice, is often utilised by those controlling tourist sites to further their aims, but is also open to manipulation by individuals or groups in subaltern positions.

Genetic affinities between aboriginal Taiwanese and populations from Oceania and Southeast Asia have previously been explored through analyses of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y chromosomal DNA, and human leukocyte antigen loci. Recent genetic studies have supported the “slow boat” and “entangled bank” models according to which the Polynesian migration can be seen as an expansion from Melanesia without any major direct genetic thread leading back to its initiation from Taiwan. We assessed mtDNA variation in 640 individuals from nine tribes of the central mountain ranges and east coast regions of Taiwan. In contrast to the Han populations, the tribes showed a low frequency of haplogroups D4 and G, and an absence of haplogroups A, C, Z, M9, and M10. Also, more than 85% of the maternal lineages were nested within haplogroups B4, B5a, F1a, F3b, E, and M7. Although indicating a common origin of the populations of insular Southeast Asia and Oceania, most mtDNA lineages in Taiwanese aboriginal populations are grouped separately from those found in China and the Taiwan general (Han) population, suggesting a prevalence in the Taiwanese aboriginal gene pool of its initial late Pleistocene settlers. Interestingly, from complete mtDNA sequencing information, most B4a lineages were associated with three coding region substitutions, defining a new subclade, B4a1a, that endorses the origin of Polynesian migration from Taiwan. Coalescence times of B4a1a were 13.2 ± 3.8 thousand years (or 9.3 ± 2.5 thousand years in Papuans and Polynesians). Considering the lack of a common specific Y chromosomal element shared by the Taiwanese aboriginals and Polynesians, the mtDNA evidence provided here is also consistent with the suggestion that the proto-Oceanic societies would have been mainly matrilocal.

During field work in 2005 our attention was drawn to an interesting prehistoric remain at the Malaefono organicplantation close to Salei’moa village on ’Upolu. Several stone platforms/stone heaps and remains have been reported removed due to farming activities during the last century, which indicated that the plantation area previously housed habitations. During 2006 we carried out archaeological investigations on a remaining stone platform in the area. This“star/cog” shaped platform, with eight protrusions was mapped and test excavated. The investigations showed its internal structure and its relation to other features and the surrounding landscape. The excavation also gave indications of settlement activities prior to the construction of the platform at this site. This paper presents the results of the investigationand discusses the star mound concept in general.

This paper uses an osteological approach and applies the study of entanglement in an attempt to understand the crematoria on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), which represent a unique tradition within the ceremonial spheres of the Polynesian area. Skeletal remains from the crematorium of ahu Hanga Hahave, which consist of both cremated - and unburned remains, have been analysed to reveal the different practices that took part in the cremation process and to identify the individuals that were deposited in such structure. Ethnohistorical records were applied to interpret the osteological evidence and to discuss the circumstances surrounding the possible use of the crematorium, as either a site for sacrificial offerings or a site for burials.  This paper aims at creating an underlying basis for the study of crematoria on Rapa Nui and provides an overview of the processes central to the disposal of the dead and the usage and significance of this structure. The results of this study showed that the ancient Rapanui through the practice of cremation, followed an internalised structure within their society to complete each cultural act that constituted the crematorium, and these were divided in the construction of the crematorium, the making of fire, and the treatment of the dead. The complexity of each cultural act presents the possibility that an organised society, with at least one designated head, may have been in charge of the practice of cremation physically and spiritually. The skeletal remains could not be applied to determine whether the crematorium of Hanga Hahave was used for sacrificial offering or for burial since the analysed remains only represented one-fifth of the entire bone collection from the crematorium. However, the findings in this study have pointed towards a burial practice rather than a sacrificial one.