The Marquesas Islands have figured prominently in discussions of East Polynesian colonization, being seen both as an early settlement locality and as a source area for subsequent dispersals (e.g., Sinoto 1970). Recently, however, the antiquity of Marquesan settlement has been seriously questioned. This has resulted from systematic reappraisal of the regional radiocarbon database (Spriggs and Anderson 1993), re-dating of early sites elsewhere in the region (Anderson 2000), and renewed excavations at a key Marquesan locality, Ha`atuatua on Nuku Hiva Island (Rolett and Conte 1995; Suggs 1961). Resolving the chronology of Marquesan prehistory, however, ultimately requires further work at new sites within the archipelago. To this end, we propose an archaeological and ecological study of a prime locality for early settlement, Anaho Bay, NE Nuku Hiva Island and palynological coring in the island's interior. Determining the chronology of Marquesan settlement, with settlement dates currently varying from 1000 to 2000 BP, is important not only to regional cultural histories but also to understanding processes of adaptation, rates of human impact, and cultural differentiation.

Further to issues of chronology, the archipelago also has played a key role in theoretical discussions of sociopolitical process and the emergence of Polynesian chiefdoms (e.g., Kirch 1991; Sahlins 1958; Thomas 1990). At western contact, population densities were high and inter-valley competition fierce, the latter apparently fueled in part by an unstable resource base. Despite, or some might argue because of (e.g., Graves and Ladefoged 1995), this instability the arts and architecture of late prehistoric Marquesan society were greatly elaborated. Unfortunately the historical conditions leading to, and emergence of, classic Marquesan traits are poorly known (but see Rolett 1998). Our study also aims to track the availability and use of economic resources within the Anaho catchment, and the development of varied forms of residential and religious architecture.

At present, our knowledge of early Nuku Hivan settlement comes largely from excavations at Ha'atuatua, an exposed beach and dune field directly south of Anaho. Here Suggs (1962), and more recently Rolett and Conte (1995), identified an occupation dating to 1000 AD. Contrasting with Ha'atuatua, and indeed most Marquesan localities, the protected and well-watered bay of Anaho has an extensive coral reef. This feature supports a variety of tropical inshore reef fish (of economic importance to colonists from the west) and pearlshell, a raw material preferred for fishhook manufacture throughout the region (Allen 1996). Judging from the copious surface debitage, adze quality basalt also is readily available in this catchment. Preliminary testing by Allen (Allen and Addison in press) at Teavau'ua (AHO-1) on the northwestern side of the bay identified a ca. mid-15th century occupation with earth ovens, architectural features, and varied occupational debris. The associated fauna, however, lacked vulnerable taxa, such as turtles and birds, which usually signal initial use of virgin territories (Steadman 1995). The foregoing conditions, proximity to a known early settlement area, the unique nature of the local resource base, and indications that initial settlement sites within Anaho are as yet unidentified, all point to the potential of this catchment to inform on the early period of Marquesan prehistory. To further consider early settlement, Allen will systematically investigate the coastal flats of Anaho Bay using a combination of standard survey and mapping techniques and subsurface coring. Surface sites will be described and GPS-located for future study. Deposits located through coring will be further sampled through test pitting for datable and chronologically diagnostic materials (e.g., artifacts and fauna).

Palynological coring has also proven a useful tool in identifying the timing of human arrival and subsequent impact. To investigate these issues and the Late Quaternary vegetation history generally, Flenley will core the island's sole marsh at ca. 820 m elevation on the To'ovi'i plateau. The To'ovi'i marsh is said to offer the best opportunity for palynological study in the archipelago (Rolett, pers. com. to Flenley, 1997). This preliminary testing will be aimed at: 1) evaluating the suitability of the To'ovi'i marsh for more intensive study; 2) outlining prehuman vegetation patterns; 3) identifying the timing of human arrival through charcoal particle records and evidence for forest clearance; and 4) tracking other post-settlement changes in land use, such as intensification of agricultural activities. The Nuku Hiva work will be facilitated by the extensive reference collections that Flenley and his students have developed during prior studies elsewhere in the region (e.g., Flenley 1993; Flenley and Butler 2001; Kirch et al. 1992). The pollen, charcoal particle content, and lithology of the core(s) will be analyzed.

Anaho Bay also stands to inform on late prehistoric developments. Within the Anaho catchment there are several large residential and religious structures, many with associated oral histories, and excavations at AHO-1 have revealed an extensive occupation area occupied from ca. the mid-15th century onward. To investigate late prehistoric conditions and the development of distinctly Marquesan forms of architecture and material culture, we propose to open a limited number of areal excavations at Teavau'ua (AHO-1). This coastal flat was previously tested at regular intervals along two ca. 100m transects, one ca. 70 m inland from and parallel to the coast, and a second inland-seaward trending transect. Controlled excavations in six 1m2 units revealed a rich artifact record of fishhooks, basalt tools, and other items, marine and terrestrial fauna, and buried (and in some cases superimposed) architectural features. Expanded areal excavations in two to three key areas acquuire information on resource use, architectural developments, and by extension, evolving sociopolitical conditions. All sediments will be processed with 1/4 inch mesh, with 1/8 inch and bulk sub-samples being taken from select localities. Artifacts will be analyzed in the field, as the French Polynesian government does not allow them to be exported; faunal, radiocarbon, and other samples will be analyzed at the University of Auckland.

As the foregoing emphasizes, the coral reef of Anaho was an important resource in the past. To better understand this geographic feature and its economic resources, Aswani will carry out dive surveys along multiple transects across the reef platform. Local fishers will be interviewed to gather information on marine resources along the north-to-eastern coast generally and to collect data on traditional fishing practices. Comparison of this baseline information with the archaeological data will allow for reconstruction of the reef's biotic history and for an evaluation of human impact on reef resources. Aswani brings to this study over a decade of research into traditional marine fisheries in the Solomon Islands, including aspects of technology, marine tenure and conservation (e.g., Aswani 1998, 1999).

References Cited

Allen, M.S. 1996. Style and Function in East Polynesian Fishhooks. Antiquity 70:97-116.

Allen, M.S. and D. Addison. In press. Prehistoric Settlement at Anaho Bay, Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands: Preliminary Observations. Archaeology in Oceania.

Anderson, A. 2000. Colonization chronology of French Polynesia. Paper presented at the "Archaeology of Eastern Polynesia" conference, Moorea, French Polynesia, November 27-December 2, 2000.

Aswani, S. 1999. Common property models of sea tenure: A case study from Roviana and Vonavona Lagoons, New Georgia, Solomon Islands. Human Ecology 27 (3): 417-453.

Aswani, S. 1998. Patterns of Marine Harvest Effort in SW New Georgia, Solomon Islands: Resource Management or Optimal Foraging? In Kenneth Ruddle (ed.), Special edition on Pacific marine tenure systems, Ocean and Coastal Management Journal 40: 207-235.

Flenley, J.R. 1993. The palaeoecology of Easter Island and its Ecological Disaster. In S.R. Fischer (ed.), Easter Island Studies. Contributions to the History of Rapanui in Memory of William T. Mulloy, pp. 27-45. Oxford, Oxbow.

Flenley, J.R., and K. Butler. 2001. Evidence for continued disturbance of upland rain forest in Sumatra for the last 7,000 years of an 11,000 year record. Palaeogeography, Paleoclimatology, Palaeoecology 171: 289-305.

Kirch, P.V., J. R. Flenley, D.W. Steadman, F. Lamont, and S. Dawson. 1992. Ancient environmental degradation. National Geographic Research & Exploration 8(2): 166-179.

Kirch, P.V. 1991. Chiefship and competitive involution: The Marquesas Islands of eastern Polynesia. In Chiefdoms, Power, Economy, and Ideology, edited by T. Earle, 119-45. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

Graves, M., and T.N. Ladefoged. 1995. The evolutionary significance of ceremonial architecture in Polynesia. In P.A. Teltser (ed.), Evolutionary Archaeology, pp. 149-174. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.

Rolett, B.V. 1998. Hanamiai: Prehistoric Colonization and Cultural Change in the Marquesas Islands (East Polynesia). Yale University Publications in Anthropology 81. New Haven: Department of Anthropology and The Peabody Museum, Yale University.

Rolett, B.V., and E. Conte. 1995. Renewed investigation of the Ha'atuatua Dune (Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands): A key site in Polynesian prehistory. Journal of the Polynesian Society 104:195-228.

Sahlins, M. 1958. Social Stratification in Polynesia. American Ethnological Society, Seattle.

Sinoto, Y. 1970. An archaeologically based assessment of the Marquesas Islands as a dispersal center in East Polynesia. In Studies in Oceanic Culture History, edited by R.C. Green and M. Kelly, pp. 105-132. Pacific Anthropological Records 11. B.P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu.

Spriggs, M., & A. Anderson. 1993. Late colonization of East Polynesia. Antiquity 67:200-17.

Steadman, D.S. 1995. Prehistoric extinctions of Pacific Island birds: biodiversity meets zooarchaeology. Science 267:1123-31.

Suggs, R.C. 1961. The Archaeology of Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History 49, Part 1. New York.

Thomas, N. 1990. Marquesan Societies: Inequality and Political Transformation in Eastern Polynesia. Clarendon Press, Oxford.

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