Taking the High Ground: The archaeology of Rapa, a fortified island in remote East Polynesia (Terra Australis 37)

Abstract

terra australis 37Terra Australis reports the results of archaeological and related research within the south and east of Asia, though mainly Australia, New Guinea and island Melanesia -lands that remained terra australis incognita to generations of prehistorians. Its subject is the settlement of the diverse environments in this isolated quarter of the globe by peoples who have maintained their discrete and traditional ways of life into the recent recorded or remembered past and at times into the observable present. Copyright of the text remains with the contributors/authors, 2011. This book is copyright in all countries subscribing to the Berne convention. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Inquiries should be made to the publisher. List of volumes in Terra AustralisVolume IntroductionThis volume describes the results of archaeological and related research on Rapa Island, which lies at the southern extremity of French Polynesia. Notable for its numerous fortified sites atop the peaks of a spectacular volcanic landscape, Rapa has remained nonetheless an enigma in Polynesian prehistory. It has been linked, on the one hand, with its more famous and nearnamesake Rapa Nui (Easter Island), in hypotheses of Amerindian migration and the dire impacts of deforestation and societal isolation, and, on the other hand, with settlement and fort construction in the similarly cool and remote nearest neighbour to the southwest, New Zealand. Our project set out to construct a cultural sequence and palaeoenvironmental context so that consideration of such issues might profit from the existence of a more diverse and comprehensive database. Rapa Island is located in a remote position at 27 0 35S, 144 0 20W, in the subtropical South Pacific Ocean (Figure 1.1). In the form of a horseshoe, which reflects its origin as a breached caldera, Rapa has 38 km 2 of land area and, lacking any barrier or fringing reef, its outer coast rises abruptly out of the sea towards jagged peaks, products of erosion around the caldera rim (Figure 1.2), the highest of which is Mont Perau, at 650 m;Where the steep sides of the jagged peaks reach the coast they form great cliffs falling vertically to the sea. The coast is bold with deep caves worn in it by the sea. Except around the bays in the coast, which have sandy beaches at their heads, the island is inaccessible. (Haslam 1982:83) terra australis 37 Archaeological research on Rapa Island, French Polynesia 9 terra australis 37Topographically, the redeeming feature of Rapa for human habitation is its large, protected harbour with relatively extensive low and fertile ground at its head (Figure 1.3). The harbour was called Aurai in the 1820s (Chapter 2) and it has been called Ha'urei or Ahurei since the 1940s at least (Naval Intelligence Division 1943:253). However, Stokes (n.d.) called it 'Tairirau' and on an early map published by Hall (1...

The evolution of inequality

“…38,121 The former type of study is exemplified by a multi-disciplinary project on the prehistory of Rapa island in southeast Polynesia. 122 Coordinated analyses of plant microfossils, radiocarbon dates, agroecology, remote sensing, and earthwork surveys indicate that introduced taro (Colocasiae sculenta) cultivation began almost immediately after human colonization, circa AD 1200. Within 100 years, fortified villages were constructed overlooking the most productive lands as pondfield agricultural system expansions increased the value of land that was both highly circumscribed and defensible.…”

Geospatial modelling for predicting the ideal free settlement of Rapa

“…In addition to reduced resource diversity, initial colonisers were also faced with environmental conditions that precluded several Polynesian crops. Breadfruit, yams, coconut and most banana varieties are noticeably absent in the archaeological and ethnohistoric record for Rapa (Anderson 2012;Stokes n.d.). Subsequently taro, Colocasia esculenta, was the principal source of carbohydrates on the island capable of supporting a sizable population.…”

Anthropocene Dynamics in the Prehistoric Pacific

“…With burgeoning populations under approximations of r-type growth, this divergence along an axis of heterogeneous-homogeneous distribution quickly led to highly divergent social situations. Rapa, with its substantial evidence for sustained conflict, probably represents the extreme end of the spectrum (Anderson and Kennett 2012;. However, the small islands of the Pacific were intrinsically demographically limited from the perspective of carrying capacity, forestalling the development of demographic concentrations allowing the formation of large-scale hierarchical societies.…”