Hunting and/or Gathering: Gender and Fishing Practices in Polynesia

Summary

Fish and fishing occupy an intersection between meat and not-meat, hunting and gathering. As such, it does not fall into a clean division of labor by gender. Fish were acquired, processed, and distributed according to distinct sociocultural and sociopolitical codes of conduct that could result in death if not properly carried out: either accidental death from ciguatera toxicity or execution as punishment for breaking kapu/taboo. Tuna is well-known to be one of the most prized animals in Polynesian culture, and as such, is often studied in attempts to add political, economic, and ritual nuance to understanding foodways patterns. However, other fish should be given analytical consideration beyond being lumped together as reef fish. The pufferfish is one of the most commonly recovered fish specimens in archaeological contexts due to the exceptionally durable nature of its mouth bones. It has also ethnographically been noted as a fish that can be "gathered" by women and children due to the ease in collection once stunned, which is a stark contrast to the tuna hunts that men embarked on. This paper seeks to engage in a discussion about gender and fishing in Polyneisa via the archaeological evidence from a site on Mo’orea, Society Islands.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Constructing Archaeology: Moving Sex/Gender and Sexuality Research from the Periphery to the Center

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16117