The Birth of Polynesia: An Archaeological Journey Through the Kingdom of Tonga

Abstract

The “Birth of Polynesia” provides an archaeological narrative of the first people to settle in Polynesia in the Kingdom of Tonga, and the ensuing expansion from the founder settlement on Tongatapu northward through a myriad of islands to Sāmoa and beyond. It presents a comprehensive synthesis of the author’s three-decade-long research program tracking this settlement through a distinctive type of decorated pottery referred to as Lapita. The impact of the first Polynesians on pristine tropical environments, their subsistence practices as inferred through archaeological data, their material culture and art, the chronology and motivations behind the expansion, and the reflections of this past in the Tongan present are addressed in different chapters. Insights into the individuals, events and decisions influencing such a lengthy research endeavour are integrated throughout.

An update on Late Lapita: Its manifestations and associated implications

“…Zone markers, a defining feature of Middle Lapita designs, particularly on carinated vessels, become rare. Overall, Late Lapita is thought to have undergone a simplification in both form and decoration that involved diminished input of labour and a shift away from stricter social rules relating to vessel form and design use in association with pottery function (Bedford 2015(Bedford , 2019Bedford and Galipaud 2010;Burley et al 2002;Burley and Dickinson 2004;Clark 2007;Clark and Anderson 2009;David et al 2011;Sand 2015;Specht 1968:131-132;Summerhayes 2000;Wu 2016). It is difficult to be definitive regarding the timing of the end of Lapita due to the flat section of the calibration curve at this crucial period, but most archaeologists would agree that dentate stamping continuing anywhere much beyond 2700 BP seems highly unlikely (Burley et al 2018;Kirch 2021:163;Sand 2010b:233).…”

“…95). Source: Derived from Burley et al (2002); Connaughton (2014); Kirch (1988) and Poulsen (1987). Late Lapita decoration in Tonga is characterised by expanded and simplified dentate-stamped designs that are consistently applied across the range of vessel forms (Burley et al 2002:220, 223;Connaughton 2014:166).…”

“…However, there are inherent pitfalls in placing too much emphasis on the quantitative comparison of motif suites as attributes, as the complexity of dentate-stamped application or the position on a vessel can be equally suggestive of different periods, regional connections or divergence (Burley and Leblanc 2015:181;Sand 2015). Equally problematic is whether motifs are in fact being shared or are simply derived from earlier more complex designs, friezes or bands (Burley et al 2002;Sand 2015).…”