New Evidence from the East Polynesian Gateway: Substantive and Methodological Results from Aitutaki, Southern Cook Islands

Abstract

East Polynesia was the geographic terminus of prehistoric human expansion across the globe and the southern Cook Islands, the first archipelago west of Samoa, a gateway to this region. Fourteen new radiocarbon dates from one of the oldest human settlements in this archipelago, the Ureia site (AIT-10) on Aitutaki Island, now indicate occupation from cal AD 1225–1430 (1σ), nearly 300 yr later than previously suggested. Although now among the most securely dated central East Polynesian sites, the new age estimate for Ureia places it outside the settlement period of either the long or short chronology models. The new dates have, however, led to a comfortable fit with the Ureia biological evidence, which suggests not a virgin landscape, but a highly a modified fauna and flora. The results also provide the first systematic demonstration of inbuilt age in tropical Pacific trees, a finding that may explain widely divergent 14C results from several early East Polynesian sites and has implications for the dating of both island colonization and subsequent intra-island dispersals.

Dynamics of Polynesian Subsistence: Insights from Archaeofauna and Stable Isotope Studies, Aitutaki, Southern Cook Islands

“…Although broad patterns of change are apparent, the isotopic record in particular highlights variability within all three populations at all time periods, also an important finding. Most generally, both records are consistent with the idea developed elsewhere (Allen 1992, Allen andWallace 2007) that the currently known Aitutaki archaeological records do not represent initial settlement on this island. Throughout the sequence, agricultural food sources dominate and humans occupy a central position within this largely anthropogenic food web.…”

“…A.D. 1000 (Bellwood 1978, Allen 1994. Further analyses, however, along with 14 new radiocarbon determinations, now place settlement here in the period A.D. 1225-1430 (1s age range [ Table 1]) (Allen and Wallace 2007). Basal occupation strata at other Aitutaki sites also fall within or after the thirteenth century A.D. (Table 2).…”

“…Contrasting with the mainland sites, the Moturakau assemblage has a more diverse bird assemblage, which is not surprising in light of the islet's more temporary usage and its better access to other uninhabited islets where birds might nest. These patterns aside, the vertebrate fauna as a whole suggests a landscape that had already experienced substantial human modification, a view supported by wood charcoal and land snail evidence as well (Allen 1992, Allen andWallace 2007).…”

“…Although the timing of human settlement in the southern Cook Islands is much debated (i.e., Anderson 1994, Kirch andEllison 1994), direct archaeological evidence is no earlier than the eleventh century A.D. (see Allen and Wallace 2007). The Ureia (AIT-10) site in particular was once considered an early occupation locality, with an initial age estimate of ca.…”

Na Koronivalu ni Bā: Upland Settlement during the Last Millennium in the Bā River Valley and Vatia Peninsula, Northern Viti Levu Island, Fiji

“…There are other issues of concern regarding certain materials used for dating. Many tropical Pacific trees are long-lived, so give radiocarbon ages that can be 100 -200 years earlier than the event horizon in which they occur (Allen and Wallace 2007). The dates provided by charcoal alone, as for Koroikewa and Neivilavila, do not engender much confidence since there are no comparative dates from other types of material.…”