Prehistoric Birds and Bats from the Atiahara Site, Tubuai, Austral Islands, East Polynesia

Worthy, Trevor H.; Bollt, Robert

doi:10.2984/65.1.069

Cited by 12 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Therefore, it is highly likely that the Austral Islands were colonized prior to Easter Island. Preliminary radiocarbon dating on Tubuai suggests that it had been occupied earlier than Easter Island (Worthy and Bollt, 2011) and was contemporaneous with sites in the southern Cooks (Walter, 1998). This is the first commensal study to specify a potential immediate origin for the Easter Island population, providing support for the colonization of Easter Island through a south-eastern voyaging corridor, originating from the Austral Islands and potentially moving through the Gambier, Pitcairn and Henderson Island regions.…”

Section: Implications For Pacific Rat and Associated Human Dispersalmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Pacific Rat Race to Easter Island: Tracking the Prehistoric Dispersal of Rattus exulans Using Ancient Mitochondrial Genomes

et al. 2017

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The location of the immediate eastern Polynesian origin for the settlement of Easter Island (Rapa Nui), remains unclear with conflicting archeological and linguistic evidence. Previous genetic commensal research using the Pacific rat, Rattus exulans; a species transported by humans across Remote Oceania and throughout the Polynesian Triangle, has identified broad interaction spheres across the region. However, there has been limited success in distinguishing finer-scale movements between Remote Oceanic islands as the same mitochondrial control region haplotype has been identified in the majority of ancient rat specimens. To improve molecular resolution and identify a pattern of prehistoric dispersal to Easter Island, we sequenced complete mitochondrial genomes from ancient Pacific rat specimens obtained from early archeological contexts across West and East Polynesia. Ancient Polynesian rat haplotypes are closely related and reflect the widely supported scenario of a central East Polynesian homeland region from which eastern expansion occurred. An Easter Island and Tubuai (Austral Islands) grouping of related haplotypes suggests that both islands were established by the same colonization wave, proposed to have originated in the central homeland region before dispersing through the south-eastern corridor of East Polynesia.

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Section: Implications For Pacific Rat and Associated Human Dispersalmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Pacific Rat Race to Easter Island: Tracking the Prehistoric Dispersal of Rattus exulans Using Ancient Mitochondrial Genomes

et al. 2017

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“…Two studies regarding Atiahara avifauna material were published (Steadman ; Worthy & Bollt ). T. Worthy reports 109 identifiable bird bones from 23 individuals in the faunal assemblage from Bollt's 2007 excavation, with the flightless Tubuai rail ( Gallirallus steadmani ) largely dominating the assemblage (61 bones from ten individuals).…”

Section: The Atiahara Site: Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…T. Worthy reports 109 identifiable bird bones from 23 individuals in the faunal assemblage from Bollt's 2007 excavation, with the flightless Tubuai rail ( Gallirallus steadmani ) largely dominating the assemblage (61 bones from ten individuals). Worthy asserts that other endemic rails might have been present on other islands in the Austral group, as is the case in different regions of Oceania (Worthy & Bollt : 82). The other species identified are the Tongan fruit bat Pteropus tonganus tonganus (which is threatened by overhunting in many Pacific islands and is now extinct in the Austral Islands), petrels (Procellariidae), the white‐tailed tropicbird ( Phaethon lepturus ) and chicken ( Gallus gallus ).…”

Section: The Atiahara Site: Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Steadman : 225‐9). No bones of the red feather lorikeet Vini were found at the Atiahara site, although the genus is known elsewhere in the archipelago and almost certainly had populations on Tubuai (Worthy and Bollt : 83). The heterogeneous distribution of this bird within archaeological sites could be related to the social value of its red feathers, exchanged through inter‐island networks extending from the western Australs to the southern Cook Islands.…”

Section: The Atiahara Site: Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Atiahara site has been partially known for more than 20 years through the publications of Eddowes (, ) and Worthy and Bollt (), yet an adequate account of the site's general characteristics has been lacking. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to bring together the results from several previous excavation seasons in order to provide a synthesis of the site's stratigraphy, chronology and spatial patterns.…”

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confidence: 99%

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The Atiahara site revisited: An early coastal settlement in Tubuai (Austral Islands, French Polynesia)

Hermann

Bollt

Conte

2015

Archaeology in Oceania

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The Atiahara site is the first and only excavated site on Tubuai Island (Austral archipelago, French Polynesia). It was accidently discovered in 1994 and has been excavated on several occasions since then, over a surface of 197 m 2 . This paper aims to present a compilation of the data available from the excavations, with a specific focus on stratigraphy, a spatial analysis of preserved occupations and new radiocarbon dates. We report a short dating sequence running from 1215 to 1390 CE, which makes the Atiahara site one of the earliest settlements in the Austral Islands. Finally, we mention the potential for tackling important topics in Polynesian archaeology through this key site, including the evolution of material culture and fishing strategies, socio-economic dynamics within a central Polynesian domestic context and possible climate variability in the region. RÈSUMÈLe site d'Atiahara est le premier, età ce jour le seul, fouillé sur l'île de Tubuai (Archipel des Australes, Polynésie française). Découvert fortuitement en 1994, il a fait l'objet de plusieurs opérations archéologiques, et ce sur 197 m 2 . L'objectif de cet article est de présenter une synthèse des données spatiales et stratigraphiques récoltées au cours des différents terrains, ainsi que les datations radiocarbones effectuées sur des charbons issus des différents niveaux archéologiques. La séquence chronostratigraphique mise enévidence est relativement courte, avec des occupations domestiques datant entre 1215 et 1390 CE, ce qui fait d'Atiahara l'un des plus anciens sites de peuplement connu dans l'archipel des Australes. Nousévoquons les différents aspects qui devrontêtre abordés prochainementà travers l'étude de cet habitat côtier, et notamment les activités artisanales, les stratégies de subsistance, etéventuellement les perturbations du climat au cours de la première moitié du second millénaire de notreère.

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Late Quaternary hominin–bat (Chiroptera) interactions in the Asia‐Pacific

Hawkins

O’Connor

Kealy

2016

Archaeology in Oceania

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This paper reviews the zooarchaeological and historical evidence of insular bat hunting in the Asia-Pacific, spanning the late Pleistocene to the ethnographic present. A sample of archaeofauna assemblages (n = 18) examined from both cave and open beach archaeological sites reveal a number of issues, which may have obscured archaeological interpretations. These include variability in identification protocols and taphonomic assessment of assemblages between sites and regions. Based on current evidence, it appears that bats were optimal dietary resources in areas where their abundance was concentrated on faunally depauperate islands. Islanders targeted large fruit bats and opportunistically exploited smaller bats either in caves or forest environments using simple technologies, and possibly as early as 74 kya by Homo floresiensis on Flores. Later Neolithic migrations into Remote Oceania during the late Holocene appear to have resulted in the greatest impacts on bat diversity due to hunting and landscape degradation. This pattern of rapid human impact is also likely to reflect differences in biogeography and higher archaeological visibility of colonising sites in Remote Oceania.

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Prehistoric Birds and Bats from the Atiahara Site, Tubuai, Austral Islands, East Polynesia

Cited by 12 publications

References 21 publications

The Pacific Rat Race to Easter Island: Tracking the Prehistoric Dispersal of Rattus exulans Using Ancient Mitochondrial Genomes

The Pacific Rat Race to Easter Island: Tracking the Prehistoric Dispersal of Rattus exulans Using Ancient Mitochondrial Genomes

The Atiahara site revisited: An early coastal settlement in Tubuai (Austral Islands, French Polynesia)

Late Quaternary hominin–bat (Chiroptera) interactions in the Asia‐Pacific

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