First Radiocarbon Chronology for Mwoakilloa (Mokil) Atoll, Eastern Caroline Islands, Micronesia

Abstract

Given their sheer number and evidence for long-term prehistoric occupation, atolls occupy a unique position in the peopling of the Pacific. However, they have frequently been overlooked in favor of larger islands due to a host of logistical and other issues. Once viewed as marginal environments, current research is now showing that small islands like these may have been more attractive to settlers than once thought. A new research program in Micronesia is dedicated to examining atolls to better develop baseline chronologies and investigate long-term human adaptations. As part of the initial stage of the project, we present the first radiocarbon dates (n=10) from Mwoakilloa (Mokil) atoll, which support a continuous occupation beginning between 1700–1560 cal BP (2σ). When compared to the settlement of other atoll groups in Micronesia such as the Marshall Islands—along with the nearby high volcanic islands of Pohnpei and Kosrae at approximately 2000–1800 yr ago—the dates from Mwoakilloa suggest a nearly contemporaneous or only slightly later occupation. The recovery of faunal material also demonstrates the translocation of at least two animals (Pacific rat and dog) to the island by humans that was coeval with early settlement. Additionally, there is evidence of landscape transformation in the form of a relatively large artificial mound created by debris and platform accumulation unseen elsewhere in central-eastern Micronesia, but common to atolls. These new dates reinforce the notion that Mwoakilloa and other atolls are integral to understanding prehistoric adaptations across the vast Pacific, though many questions still remain such as to the degree of interaction that occurred with nearby islands and whether settlement was continuous or intermittent through time.

A Partial Chronological Sequence of Human Habitation for Pingelap Atoll (Pohnpei State, Federated States of Micronesia)

“…These early dates for settlement on, or at least sustained use of, Pingelap atoll support a growing body of literature (e.g., Dye 1987;Riley 1987;Rosendahl 1987;Weisler 1999aWeisler , 2001aWeisler , 2001bYamaguchi et al 2005;Weisler et al 2012;Thomas 2015;Poteate et al 2016;Lambrides and Weisler 2018;Carson 2018;Harris and Weisler 2018) indicating that atolls were settled quite early in the colonization process of central and eastern Micronesia. Atolls may have played an important role as "stepping stones" in earlier migrations, and people on high islands would have encountered them during long-distance seafaring expeditions as the region became settled, giving them a chance to exploit the available resources and evaluate an atoll's potential for more permanent settlement.…”

“…Project personnel determined the locations of test units based on the intention to construct a preliminary settlement history for Pingelap and to examine land use practices ( Figure 3). Following procedures from previous atoll studies (e.g., Thompson 2010;Poteate et al 2016), which have indicated that points of high elevation on atolls are likely to represent long-term settlement and that central areas have the longest occupation because of a larger freshwater lens (e.g., Riley 1987;Best 1988;Weisler 1999a;Yamaguchi et al 2005;Thomas 2009;Figure 3 Test unit and shovel test locations. Drafted by Joel Butler.…”

“…These monumental sites include Nan Madol (e.g., Athens 1980Athens , 1990Ayres 1993;Ayres and Scheller 2003;Ayres et al 2009Ayres et al , 2015Seikel 2011Seikel , 2016McCoy and Athens 2012;Ayres and Seikel 2014;McCoy et al 2015McCoy et al , 2016 and Lelu on Kosrae (e.g., Cordy 1982Cordy , 1985Cordy , 1993Ueki 1984;Richards et al 2015). However, smaller archaeological sites, representing the lives of non-elites, have also attracted some interest (e.g., Ayres and Mauricio 1999;Haun 1984;Mauricio 1993;Levin 2015Levin , 2016Levin , 2018Poteate et al 2016;. These sites are important to understanding settlement and subsistence patterns and how humans engaged with their environments, as well as how the wider community was integrated into and interacted with highly stratified socio-political regimes.…”

Colonisation and/or Cultural Contacts: A Discussion of the Western Micronesian Case

“…Recently, an archaeological excavation showed that Mwoakilloa (Mokil) atoll in Eastern Micronesia was settled as early as 1700~1500 BP(Poteate et al 2016). This data likewise the data from this paper indicates that the timing of settling small coral islands was slightly later but not considerably later than high islands nearby.…”

Marginalization of the Margins: The Importance of Smaller Islands in Human Prehistory

“…In the Pacific, some of the gaps in our knowledge of small island colonization and adaptations have been filled by work on atolls or small limestone islands in Micronesia, including the Marshall Islands (e.g., Weisler 2001aWeisler , 2001bWeisler , 2002Weisler et al 2012;Yamaguchi et al 2009), Mwoakilloa (Poteate et al 2016), Fais (Intoh 2008;Intoh and Shigehara 2004), Kiribati (e.g., Thomas 2007aThomas , 2007bThomas , 2009Thomas , 2014, and Palau (e.g., Clark 2005;Clark et al 2006;Fitzpatrick 2003;Fitzpatrick et al 2011). There are also many other similar ones in Polynesia such as the Cook Islands (e.g., Allen and Craig 2009; Allen and Steadman 1990; Allen and Wallace 2007; Kirch et al 1995), the Tuamotu archipelago (e.g., Conte and Dennison 1995), the remote islands of Henderson, Pitcairn (Weisler 1995), and Rapa Nui (e.g., Hunt and Lipo 2011), and even the Arawe Islands of Papua New Guinea (Specht et al 2016), all of which have enhanced our understanding of small island adaptations.…”