Polynesia

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.

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.

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.

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 chapter considers the advantages of islands as analytical units and the benefits of multi-proxy approaches to diet reconstructions. An overview of some common historical trends in Pacific Island diets is provided, followed by more detailed examination of two southern Cook Island sequences (Mangaia and Aitutaki Islands) in Polynesia, localities which were settled by closely related peoples but offered different dietary opportunities given their contrastive geographies. Archaeofaunal, archaeobotanical, and stable isotope records are used to explore dietary variability on these two islands over an approximately 750-year period. The analysis emphasizes the relationships between different dietary components (terrestrial foraging, marine exploitation, and evolving agroeconomies) and the dynamic feedback relationships that can shape dietary change.

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.

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

The accumulation of large and small plastic debris is a problem throughout the world's oceans and coastlines. Abundances and types of small plastic debris have only been reported for some isolated beaches in the SE Pacific, but these data are insufficient to evaluate the situation in this region. The citizen science project "National Sampling of Small Plastic Debris" was supported by schoolchildren from all over Chile who documented the distribution and abundance of small plastic debris on Chilean beaches. Thirtynine schools and nearly 1000 students from continental Chile and Easter Island participated in the activity. To validate the data obtained by the students, all samples were recounted in the laboratory. The results of the present study showed that the students were able to follow the instructions and generate reliable data. The average abundance obtained was 27 small plastic pieces per m 2 for the continental coast of Chile, but the samples from Easter Island had extraordinarily higher abundances (>800 items per m 2 ). The abundance of small plastic debris on the continental coast could be associated with coastal urban centers and their economic activities. The high abundance found on Easter Island can be explained mainly by the transport of plastic debris via the surface currents in the South Pacific Subtropical Gyre, resulting in the accumulation of small plastic debris on the beaches of the island. This first report of the widespread distribution and abundance of small plastic debris on Chilean beaches underscores the need to extend plastic debris research to ecological aspects of the problem and to improve waste management.

Abstract
In 1870 a Chilean warship visited Easter Island (Rapa Nui); it was a training expedition for young cadets, but the aim was also to prepare a scientific report about the island, its inhabitants and environment. This important report by Ignacio Luis Gana, underestimated by Easter Island experts, is rich in detail; it contains a wide range of information about hydrology, climate, fauna and flora, local history and current social situation of the island. It is also inspiring from an anthropological and political point of view. Firstly, the author’s frame of mind presents an obsolete worldview characteristic of early discoverers, yet combined with a certain, rather modern clear-headedness. Secondly, the document evidences an obvious interest on the part of Chile in Easter Island as a territory with promising potential, although the Chilean authorities claimed the opposite and annexed Rapa Nui only after a long debate, in 1888. The document is accompanied by a short report by the ship’s surgeon Guillermo Bate, on the physiological and medical aspects of the local community’s life, containing controversial commentaries about their alleged anthropophagous habits.

Resumen
En 1870 un navío chileno visitó Isla de Pascua (Rapa Nui); fue un viaje de instrucción para cadetes jóvenes, pero su objetivo era también preparar un informe científico acerca de la isla, sus habitantes y medio ambiente. Ese documento importante, escrito por Ignacio Luis Gana, subestimado por estudiosos de la problemática rapanui, es muy detallado; contiene un amplio abanico de datos acerca de la hidrología, clima, fauna y flora, historia local, así como situación social actual de la isla. También vale la pena analizarlo desde la perspectiva antropológica y política. En primer lugar la mentalidad del autor expresa una ideología anticuada, típica para los primeros descubridores europeos del Nuevo Mundo, pero con ciertos elementos modernos y juicios lúcidos. Segundo, del documento se desprende el obvio interés de Chile por Isla de Pascua como territorio dotado de un potencial prometedor, aunque las autoridades chilenas lo negaban en aquel momento y anexionaron la isla tan solo tras un largo debate, no antes del 1888. El documento está acompañado por un corto informe del cirujano primero Guillermo Bate, acerca de aspectos fisiológicos y médicos de la vida de la comunidad local. Este informe contiene unos comentarios controvertidos sobre las supuestas costumbres antropófagas de los habitantes.

"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)

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.

The human colonization of Remote Oceania, the vast Pacific region including Micronesia, Polynesia, and Melanesia beyond the northern Solomon Islands, ranks as one of the greatest achievements of prehistory. Many aspects of human diversity have been examined in an effort to reconstruct this late Holocene expansion. Archaeolinguistic analyses describe a rapid expansion of Austronesian-speaking "Lapita people" from Taiwan out into the Pacific. Analyses of biological markers, however, indicate genetic contributions from Pleistocene-settled Near Oceania into Micronesia and Polynesia, and genetic continuity across Melanesia. Thus, conflicts between archaeolinguistic and biological patterns suggest either linguistic diffusion or gene flow across linguistic barriers throughout Melanesia. To evaluate these hypotheses and the general utility of linguistic patterns for conceptualizing Pacific prehistory, we analyzed 14 neutral, biparental genetic (short tandem repeat) loci from 965 individuals representing 27 island Southeast Asian, Melanesian, Micronesian, and Polynesian populations. Population bottlenecks during the colonization of Remote Oceania are indicated by a statistically significant regression of loss of heterozygosity on migration distance from island Southeast Asia ( r = 0.78, p < 0.001). Genetic and geographic distances were consistently correlated ( r > 0.35, p < 0.006), indicating extensive gene flow primarily focused among neighboring populations. Significant correlations between linguistic and geographic patterns and between genetic and linguistic patterns depended upon the inclusion of Papuan speakers in the analyses. These results are consistent with an expansion of Austronesianspeaking populations out of island Southeast Asia and into Remote Oceania, followed by substantial gene flow from Near Oceanic populations. Although linguistic and genetic distinctions correspond at times, particularly between Western and Central-Eastern Micronesia, gene flow has reduced the utility of linguistic data within Melanesia. Overall, geographic proximity is a better predictor of biparental genetic relationships than linguistic affinities.

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.

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.

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.

Background: The human history of Oceania comprises two extremes: the initial colonizations of Near Oceania, one of the oldest out-of-Africa migrations, and of Remote Oceania, the most recent expansion into unoccupied territories. Genetic studies, mostly using uniparentally inherited DNA, have shed some light on human origins in Oceania, particularly indicating that Polynesians are of mixed East Asian and Near Oceanian ancestry. Here, we use w1 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to investigate the demographic history of Oceania in a more detailed manner. Results: We developed a new approach to account for SNP ascertainment bias, used approximate Bayesian computation simulations to choose the best-fitting model of population history, and estimated demographic parameters. We find that the ancestors of Near Oceanians diverged from ancestral Eurasians w27 thousand years ago (kya), suggesting separate initial occupations of both territories. The genetic admixture in Polynesian history between East Asians (w87%) and Near Oceanians (w13%) occurred w3 kya, prior to the colonization of Polynesia. Fijians are of Polynesian (w65%) and additional Near Oceanian (w35%) ancestry not found in Polynesians, with this admixture occurring considerably after the initial settlement of Remote Oceania. Our data support a greater contribution of East Asian women than men in the admixture history of Remote Oceania and highlight population substructure in Polynesia and New Guinea. Conclusions: Despite the inherent ascertainment bias, genome-wide SNP data provide new insights into the genetic history of Oceana. Our approach to correct for ascertainment bias and obtain reliable inferences concerning demographic history should prove useful in other such studies.

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.

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.

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.

Fiji was colonised approximately 3000 BP by populations with intricately decorated Lapita pottery. At nearly the same time, culturally related populations also colonised nearby Tonga and Samoa and the archaeology of each archipelago indicates continued contact, but also cultural divergence over time. Previous research in the far western islands of Fiji has also identified late Lapita colonisation deposits and subsequent cultural changes that have raised further questions about regional variation in the Fijian archaeological record. Here we present results of the first survey, excavation, and archaeological analyses from the islands of southwestern Fiji and interpret these findings relative to current research on the colonisation of Fiji-West Polynesia, changes in the spatial scale of cultural transmission in the region, and changes in foraging practices and environments. Survey and test excavations identified eleven sites and pushes back the colonisation of the far western islands to 2900 BP. Preliminary analyses of cultural materials from these sites indicate a complexly structured colonising population in Fiji-West Polynesia, variation over time in the frequency of contact between populations in Fiji, and subsistence practices likely influenced by environmental change and human competition.

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/

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.

A number of alternative hypotheses seek to explain the origins of the three groups of Pacific populations-Melanesians, Micronesians, and Polynesians-who speak languages belonging to the Oceanic subfamily of Austronesian languages. To test these various hypotheses at the genetic level, we assayed diversity within the nonrecombining portion of the Y chromosome, which contains within it a relatively simple record of the human past and represents the most informative haplotypic system in the human genome. High-resolution haplotypes combining binary, microsatellite, and minisatellite markers were generated for 390 Y chromosomes from 17 Austronesian-speaking populations in southeast Asia and the Pacific. Nineteen paternal lineages were defined and a Bayesian analysis of coalescent simulations was performed upon the microsatellite diversity within lineages to provide a temporal aspect to their geographical distribution. The ages and distributions of these lineages provide little support for the dominant archeo-linguistic model of the origins of Oceanic populations that suggests that these peoples represent the Eastern fringe of an agriculturally driven expansion initiated in southeast China and Taiwan. Rather, most Micronesian and Polynesian Y chromosomes appear to originate from different source populations within Melanesia and Eastern Indonesia. The Polynesian outlier, Kapingamarangi, is demonstrated to be an admixed Micronesian/ Polynesian population. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that a geographical rather than linguistic classification of Oceanic populations best accounts for their extant Y chromosomal diversity.

A major factor in the aetiology of illness is the behaviour of individuals with regard to certain risks and hazards of the environment. The Maori of New Zealand have been shown to be at greater risk of illness and death than their non-Maori counterparts. It is estimated that a significant proportion of this excess morbidity and mortality can be attributed to at least four behavioural factors: smoking, obesity, alcohol use and accidents. This paper examines the inter-cultural differences in these factors, both from a contemporary and an historical perspective. Some of the reasons for the continuation of these adverse patterns of behaviour are explored, in particular the role of psycho-cultural stress. Some possible mechanisms of effecting behavioural change in modern Maori society are discussed.

Ecological and environmental evidence suggests that Rapa Nui was among the most marginally habitable islands in Eastern Polynesia, with only a fraction of the biotic diversity found on archipelagos to the west, and capable of sustaining many fewer cultigens traditionally transported by Polynesian colonizers. However, archaeological evidence for human dietary adaptations under such restrictions is limited. Little is known about the particulars of the subsistence base and dietary changes on Rapa Nui that may be associated with a hypothesized late prehistoric decline in the quality and diversity of food sources. To better understand prehistoric Rapa Nui diet we examined stable carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions of human teeth along with archaeological faunal material thought to comprise the Rapa Nui food web. Our results indicate that contrary to previous zooarchaeological studies diet was predominantly terrestrial throughout the entire sequence of occupation, with reliance on rats, chickens and C3 plants. While a few individuals may have had access to higher trophic level marine resources, this is evident only later in time (generally post-AD 1600). A decline in (15)N through time was observed, and may be attributed to declines in available terrestrial proteins; however, presently we cannot rule out the effect of changing soil and plant baseline δ(15)N. Our results also suggest differential access to higher trophic level marine resources among contemporaneous populations, but more research is required to clarify this observation.

The 15 archipelagos of East Polynesia, including New Zealand, Hawaii, and Rapa Nui, were the last habitable places on earth colonized by prehistoric humans. The timing and pattern of this colonization event has been poorly resolved, with chronologies varying by >1000 y, precluding understanding of cultural change and ecological impacts on these pristine ecosystems. In a metaanalysis of 1,434 radiocarbon dates from the region, reliable short-lived samples reveal that the colonization of East Polynesia occurred in two distinct phases: earliest in the Society Islands A.D. ∼1025-1120, four centuries later than previously assumed; then after 70-265 y, dispersal continued in one major pulse to all remaining islands A.D. ∼1190-1290. We show that previously supported longer chronologies have relied upon radiocarbon-dated materials with large sources of error, making them unsuitable for precise dating of recent events. Our empirically based and dramatically shortened chronology for the colonization of East Polynesia resolves longstanding paradoxes and offers a robust explanation for the remarkable uniformity of East Polynesian culture, human biology, and language. Models of human colonization, ecological change and historical linguistics for the region now require substantial revision.