Papers by Marshall Weisler
From Colonization to Increasing Social Complexity
Oxford University Press eBooks, Feb 22, 2024
Sacred offerings and secular foods on Reao Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago, East Polynesia
Archaeology in Oceania, Jan 9, 2024
In 1976, Yosihiko H. Sinoto conducted extensive archaeological survey and excavations on Reao Ato... more In 1976, Yosihiko H. Sinoto conducted extensive archaeological survey and excavations on Reao Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago as part of a Japanese, multidisciplinary expedition led by Prof. Sachiko Hatanaka. Primarily excavating three marae and four habitation sites totalling ∼180 m 2 , more than 25000 vertebrate remains were recovered. We report the identification and analysis of the fauna and contrast the inventories from secular and sacred contexts inferring the ritual use of pig, dog, turtle and tuna (Scombridae), as well as identifying relatively larger parrotfish (Scaridae), groupers (Serranidae), snappers (Lutjanidae), the Humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) and sharks/rays (Elasmobranchii) on marae. With a suite of 11 new AMS age determinations, we report the first directly dated precontact records for pig and dog and anchor the marae chronology possibly beginning in the thirteenth century. The 800 calBP dates imply that at least one of the Tuamotu atolls may have emerged nearly two centuries prior to the hypothesised 'cross-over' date of 600 BP. Consequently, the earliest chronology of atoll emergence along the 1000 km length of the Tuamotus might vary, thus providing landscapes for human colonisation at slightly different times which has implications for the speed and tempo of colonisation.
East Polynesian connectivity
Prehistoric East Polynesia was never part of the truly global community, but many of the processe... more Prehistoric East Polynesia was never part of the truly global community, but many of the processes that underpin and drive globalization were incorporated into the region’s social fabric from the beginning. These processes are concerned with connectedness, as globalization has been dened simply as a form of connectivity (Robertson 2014; see also Feinman this volume, Jennings this volume, Knappett this volume). Connectedness is about the establishment and maintenance of social and economic ties between communities and, in most parts of the world, it is described as emerging out of social, demographic and technological processes. East Polynesia is fundamentally dierent, as connectivity was introduced in nished form by the rst settlers. This distinction is important because the East Polynesian case highlights the pivotal role of connectivity as a colonization strategy, as a condition of geography and as a process contributing to long-term sustainability. Furthermore, determining the spatial, temporal and diverse nature of connectedness between island societies at the scale of island, archipelago and broader region is essential for understanding prehistoric East Polynesian culture change. Indeed, the hallmark of East Polynesian societies was the expansive and diverse nature of community inter-connections, a trait inherited from Austronesian forebears.
Notes on economic plants
Economic Botany, Apr 1, 1991
Rocker Jaws from the Marshall Islands : Evidence for Interaction Between Eastern Micronesia and West Polynesia
skip nav. ...
Sourcing Studies are Best Done in Collaboration with Geochemists. Comment on Atholl Anderson's ‘Traditionalism, Interaction and Long-Distance Seafaring in Polynesia’
The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, Oct 27, 2008
... Similar stones, encased in tree roots, have washed ashore on Caroline Atoll in the southern L... more ... Similar stones, encased in tree roots, have washed ashore on Caroline Atoll in the southern Line Islands (M. Weisler, personal observation 2008). ... Both specimens were analyzed for oxides and trace elements (see Fankhauser 20027. Fankhauser, B. 2002. ...
Archaeological Survey and Test Excavations on Ebon Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands
skip nav. ...
Contraction of the southeast Polynesian interaction sphere and resource depression on Temoe Atoll
A Technological, Petrographic, and Geochemical Analysis of the Kapohaku Adze Quarry, Lana'i, Hawai'ian Islands
The well known Polynesian ethnographer and archaeologist, Kenneth Pike Emory, surveyed the island... more The well known Polynesian ethnographer and archaeologist, Kenneth Pike Emory, surveyed the island of Lana'i, Hawai'ian Islands, in 1921 and conducted one of the first extensive seuJement pattern studies in Polynesia. More than 65 years after he visited the largest adze quarry on the island al Kapohaku, this important adze production cenire was relocated, and a surface collection of flakes, adze blanks and preforms was made. The assemblage is described and a reduction sequence is proposed for the production of adzes from flakes. Technological comparisons with other adze quarries in Polynesia suggest Polynesian-wide similarities in the production of flake adzes. Peirographic descriptions and geochemical characterisation of quarry rock are presented.
Kurturniaiwak (Badu) and the Archaeology of Villages in Torres Strait
Australian Archaeology, Dec 1, 2006
Prehistoric long-distance interaction in Oceania : an interdisciplinary approach
New Zealand Archaeological Association eBooks, 1997
ABSTRACT Prehistoric Long-Distance Interaction in Oceania: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Marshal... more ABSTRACT Prehistoric Long-Distance Interaction in Oceania: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Marshall I. Weisler. ed. Monograph 21. Auckland, New Zealand: New Zealand Archaeological Association, 1997. 238 pp.
Radiocarbon, 1989
All wood charcoal samples except Beta-11172 (marine shell) and-20906 (marine fishbone).
Adze Quarries on Molokai and Oahu, Hawaiian Islands
Asian Perspectives, 2005
From our first days as students of Pacific prehistory we are told that the Neolithic colonization... more From our first days as students of Pacific prehistory we are told that the Neolithic colonization and settlement of Oceania ranks as one of the great achievements of asian perspectives. 44(2). fall 2005
Determining the Chronology of Reef Island Development for Constraining Initial Human Colonization of Pacific Atolls
The 86th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2021
Investigating resource sustainability during two millennia of occupation on Ebon Atoll, Marshall Islands: the ichthyoarchaeological evidence
The 80th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2015
On the Margins of Sustainability is a wellproduced and important addition to the growing literatu... more On the Margins of Sustainability is a wellproduced and important addition to the growing literature on the archaeology of small tropical coral islands. The new facts,
Intertidal Foraging on Atolls: Prehistoric Forager Decision-Making at Ebon Atoll, Marshall Islands
The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, Apr 14, 2016
ABSTRACT Prehistoric molluscan assemblages provide insights into long-term patterns of human land... more ABSTRACT Prehistoric molluscan assemblages provide insights into long-term patterns of human landscape use, environmental change, and human impacts to marine resources. The investigation of forager decision-making regarding the selection of certain mollusc taxa and/or the exploitation of particular habitats is fundamental to understanding human-environment interactions in the past, and is relevant for understanding trajectories of human impacts to the intertidal zone in coastal settings. We document variability in the collection of molluscs at two archaeological sites on Ebon Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands: one on a windward, intermittently occupied islet, and the other on a permanently inhabited leeward islet. All molluscan taxa were assigned to a range of habitats within a hierarchical classification scheme for intertidal marine environments. The relative abundance of taxa from each habitat was used as a proxy for forager decision-making. We report a generalized, non-selective, foraging strategy focused on gastropod taxa from the high intertidal and supratidal. These results indicate that rather than focusing intensively on select taxa, intertidal foragers targeted particular marine habitats, taking advantage of the predictable behaviors of the molluscs that inhabit them.
Uploads
Papers by Marshall Weisler