From Dune Stratigraphy to a Model-Based Cultural Sequence for the Marquesas Islands of East Polynesia

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Constructing Chronologies I: Stratification and Correlation" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Marquesas Islands comprise part of East Polynesia, a culture area that also includes Hawai'i, New Zealand, and Tahiti. Calcareous sand dunes are rare in the Marquesas but play an outsized role in Polynesian archaeology. Dune sites yield remarkably rich evidence of human settlement and the preservation of organic remains is unparalleled. Yet the stratigraphy of these sites is complex. Drawing on results from the excavation of key Marquesan dune sites (Hanamiai, Ha'atuatua, and Hane), this presentation examines the value of biomarkers and chronologically diagnostic artifacts in constructing chronological models. Prominent markers, such as the remains of extinct fauna, allow the correlation of stratigraphic sequences within and among sites. A two-phase cultural sequence is defined, consisting of the Archaic and Classic eras. The Archaic era, representing initial human colonization and a period during which distant communities were linked by systematic long-distance voyaging, is particularly significant because its defining traits are widely distributed across East Polynesia. A model-based approach incorporating both stratigraphic and artifact sequences lays the foundation for resolving questions concerning human colonization of the Marquesas and other East Polynesian archipelagoes.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• Constructing Chronologies I: Stratification and Correlation

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32484