Pitcairn before the Mutineers: Revisiting the Isolation of a Polynesian Island

Hermann, Aymeric; Molle, Guillaume

doi:10.22459/bb.10.2018.02

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Two adzes are Duff Types 2‐A and 2‐B (Table ), and two adzes were not classified with a Duff type: BM Oc1925.1019.69 a heavily used or broken fragment, and BM Oc1925.1019.85 that appears to be a Type 3 triangular form, perhaps an unfinished Type 3‐A or 3‐E. While none of these adzes are the large prestige adzes discussed by Molle and Hermann (), they were nonetheless important enough to have accompanied people on the voyage of some 400 kilometres from Pitcairn Island to the Gambier Islands. This result is evidence that such voyages were an embedded behaviour and it is also possible that these adzes were part of an exchange that was important for creating and maintaining Polynesian social networks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…These results indicate that there was a movement of adzes from Pitcairn Island, likely from the Tautama source, to the Gambier Islands but not the other way around. Pitcairn Island is considered to have some of the finest quality basalt that was used for adzes in Central Eastern Polynesia (Molle & Hermann ). Molle and Hermann (: 77) have argued that Pitcairn was likely a place of specialist adze manufacture, where large adzes >30 cm (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pitcairn Island is considered to have some of the finest quality basalt that was used for adzes in Central Eastern Polynesia (Molle & Hermann ). Molle and Hermann (: 77) have argued that Pitcairn was likely a place of specialist adze manufacture, where large adzes >30 cm (e.g. Type 3‐E and 4‐A) were produced and may have served as prestige goods in Polynesian exchange networks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Pitcairn group is one of the most isolated island chains on the globe; the nearest Gambier chain is 400 kilometres to the west and Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is 1700 kilometres to the east (Figure ) (Molle and Hermann ). Previous studies by Kirch et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Duff's adze typology versus Polynesian adze exchanges

Richards

2019

Archaeology in Oceania

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The inter-archipelago exchange of adzes after colonisation was not considered in the widely referred to culture historical Polynesian adze typology developed by New Zealand archaeologist, Roger Duff. This portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF) geochemical study re-examined the assemblage of the adzes in museum collections that were classified into Duff Types by archaeologists Gonzalo Figueroa and Eduardo Sanchez. This paper investigates the geochemical patterning of the Polynesian basalt adze types found on the Pitcairn and Gambier Islands by (1) identifying volcanic rock type of the artefact (2) matching the geological sources used to make the artefacts using a Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) and, (3) comparing an artefact's identified source to its recorded find spot. The results of the analyses conducted in this paper identified that 16 (8%) adzes had originated from different island groups than where they were collected from in the twentieth century. These adze exchanges provide more evidence of long-distance Polynesian connections that occurred after people initially colonised central east Polynesia and thus further refutes the idea that these islands were occupied in isolation -a critical re-evaluation of Duff's typology is therefore required. (1) l'identification du type de roche volcanique, (2) la recherche de correspondance avec les sources géologiques par une analyse de la fonction discriminante (AFD) et (3) la comparaison entre la source identifiée d'un artefact et son lieu de collecte. Les résultats indiquent que 16 (8%) herminettes ont une origine géologique différente des iles ou elles furent collectées au vingtième siècle. Ceséchanges d'herminettes constituent une preuve supplémentaire des relations longue-distance qui se mirent en place après la colonisation de la Polynésie centre-orientale, tout en réfutant l'idée que les communautés installées sur ces iles vécurent isolées. Une réévaluation critique de la typologie de Duff apparait désormais nécessaire. RÉSUMÉ Dans sa typologie des herminettes, l'archéologue néo-zélandais Roger Duff ne tenait pas compte deséchanges interinsulaires d'artefacts faisant suiteà la colonisation Polynésienne. La présenteétude de provenance basée sur la méthode pXRF offre un retour sur les collections muséales d'herminettes initialement classées par Gonzalo Figueroa et Eduardo Sanchez dans la typologie de Duff. Cet article examine les caractéristiques géochimiques de plusieurs types d'herminettes de basalte de Pitcairn et des Iles Gambier par

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Duff's adze typology versus Polynesian adze exchanges

Richards

2019

Archaeology in Oceania

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“…On the other hand, the Polynesian exchange partners thought of the objects as appropriate offerings to the person in front of them. Some pounders and adzes of premium material and workmanship were specifically made for high-ranking members of the society and became symbols of (their) power and prestige, preserved over generations (Mu-Liepmann and Milledrogues 2008: 113;Hermann 2016: 206;Molle and Hermann 2018). Sometimes it was decided to give these objects away to create or strengthen bonds with other chiefs; both materials and finished products were part of inter-island exchanges and could have been found far from the places of their extraction or making.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Past, Present and Future Values of the Polynesian Stone Adzes and Pounders Collected on the Pandora

Richards

Günther

2019

Bulletin of the History of Archaeology

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After the Pandora's partly unsuccessful pursuit of the Bounty mutineers through the Pacific islands in 1791, the ship ran aground on a submerged reef and sank 140km east of Cape York, Queensland. Archaeological excavations revealed that the Pandora crew, in addition to their primary objective, made ethnographic material collections during their voyage, including 25 stone adzes and 5 stone pounders. These collected objects are of particular interest because they have escaped the past processes that might have impacted them had they made the journey back to Europe. In archaeological studies, for instance, these adzes were not included in 20 th century typological analyses concerned with understanding the initial human migrations into Oceania, or in more recent geoarchaeological research that seeks to understand Polynesian voyaging, social networks and exchanges. Our paper contextualises the adzes and pounders found on the Pandora to understand the engagement between the European crewmembers and the local people they encountered during their journey through the Pacific Islands. The Pandora crew had participated in the early colonial collecting practices that were foundational to European museum collections and the beginnings of anthropological and archaeological enquiry in the Pacific. On the other hand, the Polynesian participants likely benefited from the engagement in ways that suited their own agendas. We argue that the Pandora objects and similar museum collections as a broader assemblage are important not only for archaeological research, but also because they potentially continue to hold contemporary significance for Polynesian people today and are a legacy that can benefit future generations. Richards and Günther: The Past, Present and Future Values of the Polynesian Stone Adzes and Pounders Collected on the Pandora Art. 4, page 2 of 15 objects on the Pandora wreck might seem unexpected, however given the historical context, it might have been more surprising not to have found evidence of curio collecting aboard the ship as this was undoubtedly becoming a common colonial practice. Method This paper challenges the perceived divide between disciplines identified as limited archaeological approaches for understanding social processes versus anthropological approaches for examining longer-term transformations (Thomas 1991, 1996). We argue that examining the continuity and change in values attached to the Pandora collection is important not only for archaeological research, but also, because these objects are part of broader assemblages that continue to hold contemporary significance for Polynesian people today and are a legacy that can benefit future generations. That is, these objects or 'things' are not simply ' art' as opposed to ' artefacts' but can be studied comparatively to understand indigenous social values and agency in different temporal contexts (Harrison 2013). Our assemblage-based approach (see Flexner 2016; Harrison 2013) combines anthropological and archaeological methods to investigate the tangi...

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The Archaeology of East Polynesia

Kirch,

Molle

2024

The Oxford Handbook of Island and Coastal Archaeology

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This chapter provides an overview of the archaeology of East Polynesia (with the exception of Aotearoa, which is treated in a separate chapter). Whereas the island cultures of West Polynesia were settled ca. 800-900 BC, the East Polynesian islands were not discovered and settled until much later, between AD 950-1250. This final stage of Polynesian expansion included contact with South America, and introduction of the sweet potato to East Polynesia. Today, every major island in East Polynesia has seen at least some archaeological investigation and some islands have had extensive research. Major themes of current research include: continued voyaging, interaction, and exchanges between islands following initial settlement; the impact of human activities on island biota and landscapes, resulting in the development of socioecosystems; the intensification of agricultural and other means of production; and, the rise of complex socio-political systems, as evidenced in particular through household archaeology and the study of monumentality. A holistic, multidisciplinary approach that combines archaeology with natural sciences, linguistics, cultural anthropology, and oral traditions has proven critical to refining our understanding of long-term dynamics and cultural changes in East Polynesia.

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Pitcairn before the Mutineers: Revisiting the Isolation of a Polynesian Island

Cited by 3 publications

References 11 publications

Duff's adze typology versus Polynesian adze exchanges

Duff's adze typology versus Polynesian adze exchanges

The Past, Present and Future Values of the Polynesian Stone Adzes and Pounders Collected on the Pandora

The Archaeology of East Polynesia

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