The question of Early Lapita settlements in Remote Oceania and reliance on horticulture revisited: new evidence from plant microfossil studies at Reef/Santa Cruz, south-east Solomon Islands. In From Field to Museum—Studies from Melanesia in Honour of Robin Torrence, ed. Jim Specht, Val Attenbrow, and Jim Allen

Lentfer, Carol; Crowther, Alison; Green, Roger C.

doi:10.3853/j.1835-4211.34.2021.1745

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Phytoliths are microscopic bodies of silica that develop within living plants from the uptake of groundwater 8 – 11 . In the last two decades, phytolith research has evolved quickly and is used in a wide range of scientific disciplines including archaeobotany, palaeobotany, geology and plant physiology, among others 12 – 19 .…”

Section: Background and Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

A dataset for assessing phytolith data for implementation of the FAIR data principles

et al. 2023

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Phytolith research contributes to our understanding of plant-related studies such as plant use in archaeological contexts and past landscapes in palaeoecology. This multi-disciplinarity combined with the specificities of phytoliths themselves (multiplicity, redundancy, naming issues) produces a wide variety of methodologies. Combined with a lack of data sharing and transparency in published studies, it means data are hard to find and understand, and therefore difficult to reuse. This situation is challenging for phytolith researchers to collaborate from the same and different disciplines for improving methodologies and conducting meta-analyses. Implementing The FAIR Data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) would improve transparency and accessibility for greater research data sustainability and reuse. This paper sets out the method used to conduct a FAIR assessment of existing phytolith data. We sampled and assessed 100 articles of phytolith research (2016–2020) in terms of the FAIR principles. The end goal of this project is to use the findings from this dataset to propose FAIR guidance for more sustainable publishing of data and research in phytolith studies.

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Section: Background and Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

A dataset for assessing phytolith data for implementation of the FAIR data principles

et al. 2023

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“…In addition, despite significant improvements in radiocarbon techniques, these dates can still have large uncertainties, challenging a clear timeline of human settlement in the region 22,24 . Similarly, while there is evidence of early agricultural practices in Vanuatu, such as terraced gardens 25 and introduced crops [26][27][28] , identifying the precise timing and extent of horticultural practices has been hindered by uncertainties in stratigraphy, dating, and biological proxies 29 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wetter climate favouring early Lapita horticulture in Remote Oceania

Camperio,

Ladd,

Prebble

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The islands of Remote Oceania were among the last places on Earth colonised by humans. Lapita seafarers carrying with them an extensive root-tuber-tree crop complex and domestic animals, rapidly transformed nearly all of these previously unoccupied islands. However, the timing of initial Lapita settlements and the early introduction of horticulture remain a matter of debate as significant changes in climate coincided with human oceanic explorations in the mid-late Holocene. Here we show that fossil biomarkers preserved in sedimentary archives located near Teouma, the earliest dated Lapita cemetery in Remote Oceania, trace human presence and horticultural practices while providing the climatic context for the initial settlement. Using fossil faecal molecules, the hydrogen isotopic composition of leaf waxes, and palmitone, a molecular marker for the staple crop taro (Colocasia esculenta Schott), we identified signatures of human activity spanning the period of occupation recorded at the Teouma site. The temporal precision provided by our high-resolution radiocarbon chronology refines the settlement timing with a first unequivocal human trace appearing at 2739-2879 BP. The presence of taro in the initial settlement period attests to the early introduction and likely rapid expansion of horticulture by the first settlers. Lower leaf wax hydrogen isotope ratios starting approximately 2900 years ago further reveal that the initial settlement coincided with a transition to a wetter period, possibly driven by shifts of the South Pacific Convergence Zone. Our findings provide evidence of early horticulture in Remote Oceania and reveal the climatic context that favoured first human settlements in the islands.

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The history of phytolith research in Australasian archaeology and palaeoecology

Turnbull

Parker

Jankowski

2023

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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Although phytolith research has come of age in archaeology and palaeoecology internationally, it has remained relatively marginalised from mainstream practice in Australasia. The region’s initial isolation from international scientific communities and uniqueness of its vegetation communities, has led to an exclusive set of challenges and interruptions in phytolith research. Examining a history of Australasian phytolith research presents the opportunity to recognise developments that have made phytoliths a powerful tool in reconstructing past environments and human uses of plants. Phytolith research arrived early in Australia (1903), after a convoluted journey from Germany (1835–1895) and Europe (1895–1943), but phytoliths were initially misidentified as sponge spicules (1931–1959). Formal understanding of phytoliths and their applications began in Australasia during the late 1950s, continuing throughout the 1960s and 1970s (1959–1980). After a brief hiatus, the modern period of phytolith analyses in Australasian archaeological and palaeoenvironmental research began in the 1980s (1984–1992), focusing on investigating the deep past. Advancements continued into the 1990s and early 2000s. Wallis and Hart declared in 2003 that Australian phytolith research had finally come of age, but more a fitting description would be that it had peaked. Since then phytolith research in Australasia slowed down considerably (2005-present). Local phytolith reference collections for Australasian flora, critical for identifying ancient phytoliths, are essentially no longer produced.

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Cited by 5 publications

References 26 publications

A dataset for assessing phytolith data for implementation of the FAIR data principles

A dataset for assessing phytolith data for implementation of the FAIR data principles

Wetter climate favouring early Lapita horticulture in Remote Oceania

The history of phytolith research in Australasian archaeology and palaeoecology

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