Refining the Society Islands cultural sequence: colonization phase and developmental phase coastal occupation on Moʻorea Island

Kahn, Jennifer G.; Sinoto, Yosihiko H.

doi:10.15286/jps.126.1.33-60

Cited by 14 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Despite the scarcity of dog remains in Lapita archaeological sites in the western Pacific, there is considerable archaeological evidence for people taking dogs with them during the colonisation of East Polynesia that began around 1,000 years ago 45 . Linguistic evidence, in addition to being used to model human migrations, is also informative about the nature of interactions between people and dogs during the colonisation of the Pacific 46 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complex history of dog (Canis familiaris) origins and translocations in the Pacific revealed by ancient mitogenomes

Greig

Gosling

Collins

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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Archaeological evidence suggests that dogs were introduced to the islands of Oceania via Island Southeast Asia around 3,300 years ago, and reached the eastern islands of Polynesia by the fourteenth century AD. This dispersal is intimately tied to human expansion, but the involvement of dogs in Pacific migrations is not well understood. Our analyses of seven new complete ancient mitogenomes and five partial mtDNA sequences from archaeological dog specimens from Mainland and Island Southeast Asia and the Pacific suggests at least three dog dispersal events into the region, in addition to the introduction of dingoes to Australia. We see an early introduction of dogs to Island Southeast Asia, which does not appear to extend into the islands of Oceania. A shared haplogroup identified between Iron Age Taiwanese dogs, terminal-Lapita and post-Lapita dogs suggests that at least one dog lineage was introduced to Near Oceania by or as the result of interactions with Austronesian language speakers associated with the Lapita Cultural Complex. We did not find any evidence that these dogs were successfully transported beyond New Guinea. Finally, we identify a widespread dog clade found across the Pacific, including the islands of Polynesia, which likely suggests a post-Lapita dog introduction from southern Island Southeast Asia.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complex history of dog (Canis familiaris) origins and translocations in the Pacific revealed by ancient mitogenomes

Greig

Gosling

Collins

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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“…Kahn and Sinoto (2017), based on a review of radiocarbon dates from the earliest known occupation sites in the Society Islands, argue that initial Polynesian settlement occurred around 1000 cal. yr BP.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…yr BP. Finally, Kahn and Sinoto’s re-analysis of other Mo’orea coastal sites (2017), including ScMf-5, originally excavated by Green et al in the 1960s, yielded early colonization dates. A short-lived sample from an earth oven in the deepest cultural deposit yielded a date of 890–690 cal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2017

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

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“…Recent research has generally supported a short and rapid colonization of eastern Polynesia in the early second millennium A.D (after 950 B.P. ; Hunt and Lipo, 2006;Petchey et al, 2010;Molle and Conte, 2011;Rieth et al, 2011;Wilmshurst et al, 2011;Kahn, 2012;Mulrooney, 2013;Commendador et al, 2014;Kahn et al, 2015;Kahn and Sinoto, 2017). A two-phase sequence of settlement has been proposed-establishment in the Society Islands ∼925-830 B.P.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2017

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

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Refining the Society Islands cultural sequence: colonization phase and developmental phase coastal occupation on Moʻorea Island

Cited by 14 publications

References 26 publications

Complex history of dog (Canis familiaris) origins and translocations in the Pacific revealed by ancient mitogenomes

Complex history of dog (Canis familiaris) origins and translocations in the Pacific revealed by ancient mitogenomes

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

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

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