Eating Pingelap: Archaeobotanical and Zooarchaeological Perspectives on the Settlement of a Micronesian Atoll

Summary

This is an abstract from the "When the Wild Winds Blow: Micronesia Colonization in Pacific Context" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Pingelap Atoll, located in central-eastern Micronesia, was colonized by 1550–1700 cal BP. Although these settlement dates are only a few hundred years later than those of nearby high islands such as Pohnpei and Kosrae, the environment presents notably different challenges and opportunities for subsistence. In this paper, we engage with archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological data to examine human-mediated landscapes and seascapes of the Pingelapese past, and the subsistence patterns that developed in the local human community. Ethnoarchaeological interviews and observation focusing on both farming and fishing inform the interpretation of this research, as horticulture and fishing continue to be an important part of subsistence for the modern Pingelapese population. Subsistence datasets show evidence for usage of a variety of local fish and shellfish over a long period of time, as well as sea birds, turtles, and introduced chickens. Coconut, pandanus, and several introduced plant taxa constitute important crops, and phytolith data demonstrate, long-term anthropogenic fertilization of soils.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• When the Wild Winds Blow: Micronesia Colonization in Pacific Context   •
• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 31974