Zooarchaeology in Oceania: An overview

Abstract

This paper explores several main themes in the zooarchaeology of Oceania, including the question of Pleistocene "overkill" and its relationship to island biogeography, human impacts on the indigenous faunal communities of Remote Oceania, the spread of the Pacific faunal package -pigs, dogs, chickens and the Pacific rat -throughout Oceania, and the impact of European colonialism on traditional hunting, foraging, fishing and animal husbandry regimes. The methodological implications of some of these big-picture questions are also discussed briefly.