15w
SYNTHESIS AND
INTERPRETATIONS
P. V. KIRCH AND T. L. HUNT
PRIOR TO THE MANU'A PROJECIr in 1986, our
knowledge of the archaeology and prehistory
of the most easterly Samoan islands-Ta'u, Olosega,
and Ofu-was rudimentary indeed. Limited recon-
naissance survey had revealed the presence of stone-
and-earth monuments, especially house platfonns,
typical of Samoan settlement pattems on the larger
islands (Kikuchi 1963). Attempts at excavation on
Ta'u Island by a Bishop Museum expedition in 1962
(in one cave site and two open "cooking-house
sites') were disappointing (Emory and Sinoto
1965:40-48), and no stratified materals were
discovered that might be used to outline a cultual
sequence. Although the Bishop Museum team
collected 201 basalt adzes and coconut graters from
Manu'a, these were all from surface contexts (Emory
and Sinoto 1965, table 2). In short, at the com-
mencement of our project, knowledge of Manu'an
archaeology was limited to bdef descriptions of
urface sites and stone tools, with no time depth.
Against this background, our 1986 reconnais-
sance work thrughout the Manu'a Group yielded a
number of significant advances (Hunt and Kirch
1988). The number and range of surface monuments
were extended considerably. Peitaps most impor-
tantly, several stratified sites were discovered, two of
which on test excavation yielded ceramic assem-
blages radiocarbon dated to between 1950-1850 cal
B.P. (Hunt and Kirch 1987). These results confirned
our initial expectations that the Manu'a Group would
prove to have a deep prehistoric sequence extending
back to the Ancestral Polynesian phase, quite
probably in parallel with the sequence defined for
Westem Samoa (Green and Davidson 1969, 1974).
The preceding fourteen chapters have presented
the detailed results of two subsequent seasons of
concentated field and laboratory research at the
most promising of the ceranic-bearing sites discov-
ered during the 1986 reconnaissance: the To'aga site
on Ofu Island. In 1987 and again in 1989 we carried
out a progrwn of systematic subsurface sampling of
te To'aga area, producing an areal and stratigraphic
definition of what is currently the largest and most
deeply stratified early site known for the entire
Samnoan archipelago. Although our research design
was of necessity orented first and forenost to
considerations of culrl resource management (i.e.,
the spatial definifion of the site and assessment of its
significance), we have also been able to use this
research opportunity to expand on certain aspects of
our knowledge of Manu'an-and indeed general
Samoan-prehistory. For example, we have
fonnulated and tested a model of morphodynamic
laape change witfi implications for other coastal
sites dtoughout the archipelago. Similarly, our
various analyses of artifactual and faunal materials
230    The To'aga Site
from the systematic tra   excavations have
enhanced the weconstncdons of early Samoan
material cultu, subience economy, and inter-
island exchange. In this concluding chapter, we
attempt to integrate these significant new results
from the To'aga site with the existing reconstrucdons
and interetations of Samoan prehistory, deriving
primarily from work in Westem Samoa (Green and
Davidson 1969, 1974; Jennings et al. 1976; Jennings
and Holmer 1980) and to a limited extent from
rcent work on Tutila Island (e.g., Claik and
Herdrich 1988; Cark 1989; Leach and Witter 1987;
Best et al. 1989).
In presenting this synthesis, we are acutely
aware that our fieldwork at To'aga has barly begun
to tap te immense archaeological potential of this
large and complex site. Our excavated sample of 31
m2, while sufficient to give some idea of the extent
and range of subsurface deposits and assemblages,
represents a very smaU porton of the estimated
21,000 m2 of buried, ceramic-bearing deposits
present in the To'aga area. It will take a much larger
effort, including the application of time-consuming
and costdy horizontal excavation methods, to begin
to exploit fully the potential of this site to reveal
unknown aspects of the Samoan past.
CHRONOLOGY AND
CULTURAL SEQUENCE
The suite of fourteen radiocarbon age determina-
tions from the To'aga site (see Kirch, chapter 6)
constitutes the largest set of dates from a single
excavation locality anywhere in the Sanoan archi-
pelago. These 14C dates define a two-millennium
long sequence of coastal tenace formation and
occupation beginning ca. 3600 cal B.P. and continu-
ing witout pause up to ca. 1000 cal B.P. Although
no radiocarbon dates younger than about 1000 cal
B.P. were obtained durng our fieldwork, this does
not necessarily imply site abandonment dunng the
last millenium. Rather, the distribution of radiocar-
bon dates from To'aga reflects our emphasis on
testing and dating the earlier, deeply buried occupa-
tion deposits, as opposed to later surface features.
Given the presence of vanous aceramic ocwpation
pavements and mounds ('ili'ili pavements), grinding
sues, bua'i masi breadfruit storage pits, other
surface featues dtoughout the To'aga area, and the
presence of historic artifacts (see Hunt, chapter 3), it
seems likely that To'aga was in fact continuously
occupied by prehistoric Polynesians for a full hee
millennia ndeed, this is the only site ecorded to
date in the archipelago that appears to encapsulate
dre entire prehistoric record of the islands, from
initial settlement to historc contact
The iming of initial human settlement in
Westem Polynesia has been a matter of some
contention over the years and is direcdy relevant to
cunent debates over the rate of dispersal and coloni-
zation of the southwestem Pacific by the makers of
Lapita pottery (Kirch and Hunt 1988a,b; Spriggs
1990). Kirch (1988:244, table 48) summarized the
radiocarbon evidence for initial settlement of Fiji,
Tonga, and Samoa, based on such Lapita sites as
Natunuku, Yanuca, Lakeba (Site 197), Naigani, To.
2, and Mulifanua. "Almost all of these [14C] ages
cluster between about the twelfth and ninth centuies
B.C." (1988:244). The ordy site in Samoa which has
yielded dentate-stanped Early Eastem Lapita pottery
is Mulifanua, which has a single radiocarbon age of
1280-800 Cal B.C. (based on a A-R value of 100 ? 24,
and correcion for the oceanic reservoir effect; see
Leach and Green 1989).
The To'aga site provides additional new evi-
dence for the timing of early, if not iuntial, settle-
ment. (This qualification is necessary, because we
cannot be certain whether our systematic trascts
actually exposed the earliest occupation deposits in
the To'aga area. It is a distinct possibility that earlier
strata are preserved under the deep colluvium and
talus at te inland edge of the site, which could not
be penetrated without the use of heavy mechanical
equipment.) Our oldest 14C sample in direct, unques-
tionable association with ceramics is Beta-35601
from Unit 28, at 1308-930 cal B.C. This age is
essentially identical with that from the Mulifanua
site and entirely consistent with the suite of dates
from other early Westem Polynesian localities. Ihe
radiocarbon sample was associated with thinware
and thickware pottery, although no dentate-stanped
sherds were present. The absence of dentate-
stamping in this early context may simply be a
function of sampling error (only 8 percent of te
Mulifanua cermnics were decorated). Alternatively,
it is possible that a stratum bearing dentate-stamped
pottery lies furter inland, under the impenetrable
Synthesis and Interpretations  231
talus. A third possibility is that e decoraton of
pottery with dentate-stamping had ceased prior to the
colonization of Ofu. Only furter woik at the To'aga
site will be able to discriminate among these altema-
tive hypotheses.
Despite the absence of "clasic" dentate-
stamped pottery, it is clear that Ofu Island and the
Manu'a Group were colonized within the same
general time penod, between ca. 1200-900 cal B.C.,
as were Eariy Eastem Lapita sites in Westem
Samoa, Niuatoputapu, Tongatapu, Futuna, and Fiji.
Given that Manu'a lies at the eastem extreme of the
Westem Polynesia region, this finding is quite
significant. It implies that the Lapita colonization of
the entire Fiji-Westem Polynesian region was
accomplished rapidly, with no appreciable lag
between sites at the westem and eastem boundaries.
The settlement of Manu'a by the close of te second
millennium B.C. also implies that Lapita populations
were poised at the threshold of the vast eastem
Pacific, thus raising again te question of wheher
ftere was tuly a "long pause" between fte setde-
ment of Westem and Eastem Polynesia (Irwin 198 1;
Kirch 1986; Terrell 1986). If highly successful and
rapidly advancing island colonizers had moved as far
to the east as Manu'a by 1000 B.C., it seems strange
that they did not continue eastward into central
Polynesia (dte Cook, Society, and Austral archipela-
goes) within the next two or thee hundred years.
Yet, at present we have no confinned human
habitaion sites in central Polynesia dated to the first
millennium B.C. (The earliest sites are stfill those in
te Marquesas, probably dating to as early as 400-
200 B.C., although this remains controversial, see
Kirch 1986.) In sum, while our radiocarbon dates
from To'aga confirm the pattem of rapid coloniza-
tion of Westem Polynesia by the end of the second
millennium B.C., they also heighten the controversy
surrounding te subsequent phase of human settle-
ment of the eastem Pacific.
Another chronological issue of some concem
within Westem Polynesia has been the timing of the
cessation of pottery manufacture and use. Poulsen's
initial claims for a long sequence of pottery manu-
facte in Tongatapu have now been revised, and
ceranic use appears to have ceased somewhere
between about 400 cal B.C. and cal A.D. 50 (Poulsen
1987:83; see also Groube 1971). Based on a large
number of 14C dates from several pottery-bearing
sites on 'Upolu, Green and Davidson (1974) put the
date of pottery disappearance in Samoa after A.D.
300, somewhat later than the Tongatapu sequence.
On Niuatoputapu Island, situated between Tonga
and Samoa, radiocarbon dates frm Sites NT-93 and
-100, containing plainwares, may indicate the
persistence of ceramic manufacture and use as late as
A.D. 800-900 (Kirch 1988:142, 246). Thus, while
tere is a consistent pattem of pottery decline and
eventual loss throughout Westem Polynesia, the
timing of this process may not be contemporaneous
in all locations.
At To'aga, the youngest radiocarbon date in
direct association with pottery (predominately
coarse, thickware) is Beta-35924, at cal A.D. 319-
473. Sanple Beta-26463, which comes from the
base of an acermnic midden deposit (in Unit 3), dates
tO Cal A.D. 561-663, while Beta-35600 from an
aceramic 'ili'ili pavement, dates to cal A.D. 694-943.
Thus, the radiometric evidence from To'aga indicates
that the cessation of pottery manufacture and use in
the Manu'a Group occurred during te fifth-sixth
centuries A.D. If Green and Davidson's dating of
pottery cessation in 'Upolu to approximately A.D.
300 is correct, there was a lag of 100-200 years in
the Manu'a Group. Such chronological differences
are certainly not surprising, especially in light of the
known ethnographic differences between Manu'a
and the rest of Samoa in historic times (Mead 1930,
see Kirch, chapter 2).
The radiometric chronology developed for the
To'aga site now allows the Manu'a Group to be
incorporated into a cultual sequence for the Samoan
archipelago as a whole. The initial settlement of
Manu'a was pene-contemporneous with that at
Mulifanua, suggesting that all islands of the archi-
pelago were settled faidy rapidly at the close of the
second milleMium B.C. Parallel changes in material
culture during the following 1500 years are also
evidenced (see furiher discussion below), with the
cessation of ceramic manufacture in Manu'a possibly
lagging behind 'Upolu by one or two centures. One
chronological issue not addressed at To'aga is the
development of large monumental architecture (such
as star mounds and tombs). (We were not pennitted
by the landowners to excavate in or near the Tui Ofu
monumental complex situated within the To'aga
area.) We suspect, however, that as in Westem
Sanoa, these features will prove to date to the last
232     The To'aga Site
millenniun of Manu'a prehistory.
GEOARCHAEOLOGY AND
LANDSCAPE CHANGE
A major thstof our rsearhprogam at To'aga
has been the application of a geoarchaeological and
geomorphological approach, in order to address
questions of site fomnation prcesses. Given that
most of fte archaeological deposits and features at
To'aga are deeply buried, a geomorphological
approach was essential even for such basic objec-
tives as location and subsurface mapping of archaeo-
logical deposits. Our aim, however, has been to go
furthr and to explore the evidence for both natural
and culatal processes of landscape change at To'aga
over the thee millennia represented in the prhis-
tonc sequence. To this end, a morphodynamic
model for the formation of the To'aga coastal terrace
was developed (see Kirch, chapter 4) and has been
explicitly tested on (1) stratigraphic relationships
(see Kirch and Hunt, chapter 5), (2) radiocarbon
dates (see Kirch, chapter 6), and (3) sedimentologi-
cal analyses (see Kirch, Marning, and Tyler, chapter
7). Here we briefly summarize te major results of
this effort, with particular attention to the broader
implications for Westem Polynesian prehistory.
One specific result of our strategy of systematic
trasect excavations at To'aga was the areal defini-
tion of te extent of subsurface archaeological
deposits dating to the ceramic period. Although our
excavation sample is admitedly small, the highly
consistent distribution of pottery-bearing deposits in
a narrow zone at the base of the talus slope allows us
to predict with considerable accuracy the probable
extent of these subsurface deposits. These early
occupation layers are all associated with former
beach-ridge environments, at a time when the
shoreline was much closer to the cliff and talus, and
when sea level was apparently at a +1-2 m stand.
The infenred distribution of pottery-bearing occupa-
tion deposits (dating to between ca. 3000-1900 cal
B.P.) is plotted in figure 15.1, which also depicts the
probable location of the Ofu shoreline during the
first milleniuM B.C. It is important to stress,
however, that we were unable to determine precisely
the inland boundary of these pottery-bearing depos-
its, as this lies somewhere under the modem talus
slope. Ling heavy mechanical equipmnen, it was
impossible for us to penerate fte compact mass of
colluvium and talus boulders (estimated to be as
thick as 10-15 m in places) which caps the inland
portons of these early layers. Probably these
deposits do not extend any farther inland than 2040
m from our inland-most test units.
Based on the distribution depicted in figure 15.1,
te total area of buried subsurface archaeological
deposits containing ceramics covers a minimum of
21,000 M2, and a maximum of 35,000 M2. By any
Polynesian standards, this is a large site with consid-
erable potential for future horizontal excavations.
As noted earlier in this volume (see Kirch,
chapter 2), the coastal terace nnning along the
southem side of Ofu from To'aga to Fa'ala'aga
comprises an important land use and resource zone
for the island's Polynesian occupants. Given the
island's very steep and rugged topography, this
stretch of flat land is one of the few areas suitable for
intensive arborcultur and for habitation. Yet, our
geoarchaeological studies at To'aga clearly demon-
strate that this coastal tenrace is a highly dynamic
accumulation form which developed into its present
configuration only within the past 2,000 years-well
after initial human colonization of the island. At the
time of initial settlement, the coastal tenrace was very
nanrow, consisting of little more than a beach ridge
situated directly beneath fte steep oveihanging cliffs
and talus. A phase of active progradation of this
shoreline did not commence until about 1.9 kyr B.P.
This prgradation appean to have been initiated by a
rapid fall in sea level (presumably a eustatic fall
which is evidenced over much of fte southwestem
Pacific at this time, see chapter 4) equalling or
slightly exceeding the rate of local subsidence, and
thus exposing fte reef flat to erosion and storm
surges. The littoral, calcareous contribution to the
sediment budget was thereby increased, producing a
sufficient volume of sediment to prograde the
shoreline between 40-100 meters from its location
prior to 1.9 kyr B.P. Following th classification of
"accumulation forms" proposed by Zenkovich
(1971:95-97, fig. 4.1), the To'aga tenrace is an
attached form, specifically type c, a "'tefface formed
by the infiling of a concavity (supplied laterally)."
In this case, the concavity was formed by the marine
cliff inland of the site, which was deepest at the
southwestem end of the coastal stip. The infilling
Synthesis and Interpretations  233
\             C)
*              a
I       4*
/
0
E    0
0
.0
8
*bO
4o
0
H
0
*r
E
[I
C
9o
w
C0
_w
0
Ct
.O
234     The To'aga Site
and progradation of the coastal terrace proceeded
from southwest to norheast This sequence of
infifling is confirmed by our tansect excavations and
conrelates withi the early pottery-bearing deposits
(daing to 3-1.9 ky B.P.) which are confined to th
southwesem part of the To'aga coastal tenre. The
norteastem end of the terrace, in the vicinity of
Fa'ala'aga Cransect 17), remained a high-energy
beach until relatively recently.
The morphodynamic model developed and
tested for the To'aga site has wider implications for
coastal archaeology elsewhere in Samoa and, indeed,
on other volcanic oceanic islands (i.e., ose situated
on te Pacific Plate). In Manu'a, we would predict
that coastl terraces on Olosega and Ta'u islands (for
example, the Faga and Saua aeas on Ta'u Island)
will prove to have similar dynamic geomorphologi-
cal histories to that evidenced at To'aga. lTus, any
effort to discover occupation sites dating to the
period between ca. 3-2 kyr B.P. will rquire the use
of subsurface testing to locate the early beach ridge
environments that are prdictably buried under later
prograded sediments. We believe that it is likely that
such bured sites do exist on Olosega and Ta'u.
Indeed, a ceramic-bearing site in precisely this kind
of bured beach ridge envirnment was identified by
Hunt and Kirch at the base of the marine cliff behind
Ta'u Village during our 1986 rconnaissance survey
(1988:166-67).
The morphodynamic model of the To'aga site is
also likely to apply, pediaps with minor modifica-
tions, to Tutuila Island. (One modification to the
model which may be required is the rate of subsid-
ence. Tutuila is somewhat older than Manu'a, and
thus may already have passed trugh its phase of
rapid subsidence due to point-loading of the thin
oceanic crust.) Claik and Herdrich (1988) demon-
strat that the 'Aoa Valey has been substantially in-
filled since initial human occupation, indicated by a
pottery-bearing site situated along the interior edge
of the modem valley floor and by other geomorpho-
logical signs of a former shoreline now well inland
of the present coast. They listed several hypotheses
to account for this sequence of infilling (1988:173-
75), including "a lowering of sea level" of about 1-2
m. We would suggest that this hypothesis is the
most likely of the alternaives they list, although the
contribution of terrigenous sediment to the 'Aoa
sediment budget (resulting from human-induced
forest clearance and erosion in the interior valley
slopes) was doubdess greater ta at To'aga. In any
event, the failure of early archaeological efforts to
locate ceramic-bearing sites on Tubuila (e.g., Kikuchi
1963; Emory and Sinoto 1965; Frost 1978) was due
to the lack of a geomorphologically informed
approach to site discovery. It is probable that most if
not all of the valley floors as well as the coastal
tenrc  of Tutuila Lsland have undergone significant
infifling and progradation during the past two
millennia Thus, early coastal sites are unlikely to be
exposed on the surface. It will be essential to woik
out local geomorphological sequences of infilling
and progradation as an integral part of archaeological
survey in these cases.
We also predict that similar sequences of
progradation and burial of early archaeological sites
will be found trughout many of the volcanic high
islands of centr Polynesia, particularly in the
southem Cooks, Society Islands, and probably the
Austals. These are all "hot spot" linear volcanic
chains situated on te Pacific Plate, which typically
undergo point-loading induced subsidence (Menard
1986:95-99). Steams (1978:286), for example,
points to geological and geomorphological evidence
for rapid subsidence of the Society Islands during the
late Pleistocene (and probably continuing into the
Holocene). Furtermore, there is now considerable
radiometrically dated evidence for a +1-2 m higher
sea level at ca. 4-2 kyr B.P. throughout French
Polynesia with a rapid fall to modem level after
about 2 kyr B.P. (see Kirch, chapter 4). In short, both
of the major controing processes that resulted in
coastal terrace construcdon on Ofu (subsidence and
sea level change) were probably also operating in
central Polynesia. This suggests that early occupa-
tion sites will not be easy to discover using conven-
tional archaeological surface survey methods.
Indeed, the presence of buried, and even partially
submerged, archaeological deposits is known for
Huahine (Sinoto 1979) and for Mo'orea (Green et al.
1967) in the Society Islands. On Mo'omea, Lepofsky
recently discovered anaerobically prerved coco-
nuts buried under 2 m of recent alluvium in the
interor of the Opunohu Valley (Lepofsky, Haries,
and Kellun 1992).
These problems of site survey and discovery
raise serious issues for Eastem Polynesian prehis-
tory. Specifically, given the probability of deep
Synthesis and Interpretations  235
burial of early coastal sites, te archaeological record
for central Polynesia as curnently defined is likely to
be highly biased toward later prehistoric sites. It is
entirely possible that the early phases of occupation
in the Societies and Cooks have yet to be discovered.
Just how far back in time we may be able to extend
these chronologies after a program of geomorpho-
logically informed, systematic subsurface sampling
is launched is impossible to say. It seems conceiv-
able, however, that the "long pause" currently
identified between the settlement of Westem
Polynesia and the movement of people into Eastern
Polynesia (Irwin 1981; Kirch 1986; Terrell 1986)
may prove to be an artifact of archaeological sam-
pling bias. Only a concerted effort to work out the
late Holocene dynamics of coastal landforms in
central Eastem Polynesia, and to search for early
sites in these depositional contexts, will provide a
definitive answer to this problem.
Although the sequence of coastal tenrace
accumulation at To'aga was largely controlled
rough the interaction of sea level change and
subsidence, it would be a mistake to attribute the
entire pattem of landscape change to natural pro-
cesses. At To'aga, as throughout much of te
tropical Pacific, humans have played a major role in
modifying and shaping island environments (see
Kirch 1982, 1983, 1984:123-51). One process
which is probably due largely, if not wholly, to
human interference in the Ofu ecosystem is the
erosion and deposition of substantial volumes of
colluvium. Our wansect excavations revealed a
consistent pattem over most of the To'aga area
(except at Transect 17 which has an almost exclu-
sively boulder talus underlying the narrow nidge) of
increasing rates of colluvial deposition onto the
coastal terrace after about 2 kyr B.P. This deposition
occurred as a series of small, overlapping colluvial
fans emanating out of intermittent watercourses or
small ravines inland of the site. These fans cap the
early calcareous beach-ridge deposits containing
pottery-bearing occupations, and in our inland-most
test units frequently exceeded 1 m in depth. The
fans rapidly pinch out as they extend onto the coastal
tenrace, with the larger angular clastics decreasing in
frequency, and thin "tongues" of fine-grained silt
and clay extending out onto the coastal flat. That
humans played a key role in initiating this incrased
rate of erosion and deposition of colluvium after
about 2 kyr B.P. is suggested by the presence of
charcoal in most of these colluvial sediments.
Natural forest fires are an extremely rare occurrnce
in te humid tropics, and thus the presence of
charcoal flecking in these sediments is almost
certainly a signal of human buming (see Kirch and
Yen 1982:154, 351-52 for a discussion of this
phenomenon on Tikopia Island). This buming most
likely was associated with forest clearance for
agriculture, specifically shifting cultivation of root
and tuber crops on the steep hillsides inland of the
site. Once the native forest was disturbed and
opened up, erosion of the youthfil volcanic soils on
the steep slopes would have increased drnadcally.
The effects of this erosion and deposition of
colluvium on the newly prograded coastal terrace
were by no means negative from the human view-
point of potential land use. Rather, the addition of
highly fertile, young volcanic sediments to the well-
drained calcareous terrace created a mixed edaphic
environment that was more suited to the cultivation
of tuber and tree crops (such as Dioscorea yams,
Alocasia aroids, breadfruit, and coconut), than either
the volcanic or calcareous sediments by themselves.
Hence, as the coastal terrace itself prograded and
expanded in area after about 2 kyr B.P., its potential
as a zone of intensive agricultural production was
significantly enhanced by the human-induced
deposition of volcanic sediments. We can only
speculate that the creation of this coastal zone,
edaphically well-suited to intensive agriculture as a
result of human actions, may have occurred at a time
when the island's population was likely to have been
increasing after a millennium or so of settlement.
Here too, it may not be at all coincidental that the
traditional site of chiefly power on Ofu Island-the
Tui Ofu monument complex-is situated in the
approximate center of this rich resource zone (see
Hunt, chapter 3). The emerging chiefly polity of the
island could be expected to have exercised its hege-
mony by seizing control of this newly created and
highly productive resource zone.
Other indications of human impacts on te Ofu
Island ecosystem in the archaeological record at
To'aga include te extinction or extirpation of bird
populations (see Steadman, chapter 14) and the
intduction of adventive species of terrestrial
molluscs associated with Polynesian horficulture
(see Kirch, chapter 8). Consideration of this evi-
236     The To'aga Site
dence, however, will be deferred to the discussion of
te prehistoric subsistence systen in a later section
of this chapter.
Befoe closing this discussion of the sequence of
landscape change at the To'aga site some brief
comparisons with other documented sequences frm
tropical Polynesia are wamnted. The pattems of
change that dramatically wansformed the lowland
environment of To'aga between 3 kyr B.P. and e
present are not unique to Ofu Island. Similar
sequences have been atested for other islands in the
southwestem Pacific, including Tikopia (Kirch and
Yen 1982), Aneityum (Spriggs 1986), Lakeba
(Hughes et al. 1979; Bayliss-Smith et al. 1988),
Futuna (Kirch 1975, forthcoming), Mangaia (Kirch
et al. 1992) and Niuatoputapu (Kirch 1988). The
specific similarties include: (1) the progradation of
cosal lowlands between ca 3-1.5 kyr B.P., presum-
ably due to sea-level changes in the area; (2) human-
induced forest clearance and erosion resulting from
shifting cultivation; (3) deposition of alluvial and
colluvial sediments in lowland landforms; and (4)
edaphic enhancement of lowland environments as a
consequence of (3). Also attested in these sequences
are human impacts on the endemic and indigenous
biota. In short, the To'aga site adds yet another case
to the growing catalog of significant human modifi-
cations to the island ecosystems of the central
Pacific.
ANCESTRAL POLYNESIAN CULTURE
The derivation of Polynesian cultures from a
Lapita ancestor is now well attested in the archaeo-
logical sequences of Westem Polynesia. Kirch
(1984) and Kirch and Green (1987) have used the
tenn "Ancestral Polynesian Culture" (or "Society,"
depending upon the frame of reference) for the
culture which emerged in the archipelagoes of
Westem Polynesia during the middle of the first
millennium B.C. The reconstruction of Ancestral
Polynesian Culture (which doubtess was not
unifom troughout the region) is arguably a key
task for Polynesian prehistorians, because it provides
the baseline against which subsequent cultural
divergence, evolution, or transformation can be
measured. Such reconstruction may be attempted
from at least three different, but complementary,
sources of evidence: comparative ehnography,
historical linguistics, and archaeology. Green (1986)
has oudined this "tiangulation" approach in gater
detail using the example of Ancestal Polynesian
settlement systans.
The To'aga site is potenially a major source of
archaeological evidence for the reconstruction of
Ancestral Polynesian Culture, because the site's
stratigraphic sequence spans the whole of the first
millennium B.C., the period duMg which tis
Ancestral culue emerged out of its Lapita predeces-
sor. Because our objectives and temporal-fiscal
limitations necessitated a testing stategy of excava-
tion, our present evidence from To'aga is primarily
in the realms of material culure and of faunal
material bearing on dte subsistence economy. In the
fuure, however, expanded horizontal excavations at
To'aga may reveal much new evidence regarding the
structure and spatial organization of Ancestl
Polynesian settlements.
Ceramic studies have been an important part of
understanding prehistory and culure change in
Samoa and West Polynesia. The assemblage from
the To'aga excavations is especially significant as it
is large, excavated from a well-stratified, well-dat
deposit represents the full duration of pottery
manufacture in Samoa, and has been studied in detail
(chapter 15).
Green (1974) perfonned the first detailed
analysis of Samoan ceramics from the SU-Sa-3 site
at Sasoa'a, Upolu. He defined one "type" with two
varieties of plainware: a coarse-tempered thickware,
and a fine-tempered thinware. Green (1974) fol-
lowed a methodology for classification developed in
the culture-historical paradigm of American archae-
ology (i.e., especially in the work of J. Ford, A.
Kreiger, and I. Rouse; see Dunnell 1986a, 1986b).
Contrary to crticisms from proponents of the New
Archaeology (1950s-60s), classification fonnulated
by culture historians is deductive, problem-oriented,
and based largely on a paradigmatic structure
(Dunnell 1971). Culture historians understood the
explanatory meaning of variability-their methodol-
ogy was founded in a materialist ontology (Dunnell
1986b). The debate between Ford and Spaulding in
the mid-1950s is illustrative of the contrasts between
culture history and the aspirations of the New
Archaeology (see Dunnell 1986b).
Following the culture historians' lead, Geen
(1974) defined two classes of pottery by the
Synthesis and Interpretations  237
combination of dimensions in a paradigmatic
structre (see Dunnell 1971) for thickness and
temper size. Thick- and thinware, as vanreties of one
type (in the type-variety system; see Dunnell
1986b: 174), are ideational units or classes. Ide-
ational units "are tools of our construction the
purpose of which is to allow us to recognize and
describe these things about which empirical claims
are made" (Dunnell 1986b: 151). Classes are based
on intentional definitions, where a specific set of
features fonns the necessary and sufficient condi-
tions formembership in a unit (Dunnell 1971:16).
Once Geen (1974) defined classes for analytic
purposes, he described the empirical variability
within them. His descriptions include observations
such as color, paste texture, temper composition, and
surface treatments-attributes that were not part of
the defining criteria. Dunnell (1971) has distin-
guished definitions from descrptions as the contrast
between class and group. Classes comprise lists of
criteria; groups are sets of things (Dunnell
1986b:181). Thus, defining classes and describing
groups (empirical entities), which he called "catego-
ries," characterizes Green's analytic approach.
In his analysis, Green (1974) attempted to use
the vessel, rather an sherds, as the basic counting
unit comprising the archaeological assemblage. This
innovative approach to establish a minimum number
of vessels based on similarity in sherd color, temper,
and other attributes has been attempted by others
(e.g., Brose 1970, Sullivan 1983). However, as
Feathers (1990:139) explains, attempts to transfonn
sherds into vessels are met with some problems.
And, such attempts are not always necessary, since
variability between assemblages will be reflected in
attributes of sherds as well as vessels. As Feathers
(1990:13940) puts it, "sherd information is not
inferior to vessel infornation. It is just different
And because of the problematic representation of
vessels archaeologically, sherd data is [sic.] te best
source of assemblage infonnation." Green's (1974)
minimum number of vessels approach does not
lessen the usefulness of his analysis. While later
statistical analyses (e.g., Clark and Herdrich 1988;
Hunt and Eikelens, chapter 9) revealed problems in
the intuitive definition of thick- and thinware,
Green's rich descriptions provide data suitable for
comparative analysis.
In a subsequent study, Smith (1976) took
assemblages from the Mulifanua Lapita site, Jane's
Canp, and the Paradise site for ceramic analysis.
Smith used principal components analysis, a multi-
variate grouping procedure, to (1) evaluate Green's
conclusions, (2) compare Lapita with later Samoan
cermnics, and (3) in his words, "attempt a meaning-
ful and useful classification of the pesent Samoan
ceramic material using a wide range of both stylistic
and techological variables" (1976:83-84). Focus-
ing on attributes that appeared to vary temporally,
Smith (1976:86) initially soiled sherds into three
kinds based on thickness and paste texture: a thick
coarse-textured (tempered?) ware; a thinner, finer-
textured ware; and an extremely fine textured ware.
The distinctions of thickness and paste texture
(temper size?) appear identical to those made by
Green (1974), with the addition of a finer ware (no
doubt due to earlier ceramics in te sample).
Smith's (1976) principal component analysis,
like Green's pottery descriptions, is a means to
delineate the empirical varability of groups.
Smith's principal components analysis is not a
classificatory tool, however, but a method that
analyzes the grouping tendency of the sherds
studied. His results show that pottery from these
assemblages is relatively homogeneous with respect
to the attributes of paste and color. The variables of
paste and color are represented in components I and
n of his analysis. A third component includes
thickness, exterior and interior evenness (variance in
thickness?), "filler type" (temper composition?), and
"filler size" (temper size?) (Smith 1976:90). While
Smith (1976:90) states that "it does not appear
possible to interpret this combination of variables in
any meaningful fashion," these variables clearly
relate to the criteria used to define thick- and
thinwares (e.g., Green 1974; Hunt and Erkelens,
chapter 9).
In analytic terms, Smith (1976) conflates the
distinction of group and clas (Dumell 1971). He
has not created a classification, but has only shown
the grouping tendency of sherds from three assem-
blages. Urdike paradigmatic classes, groups (as
statistical summaries) change with the addition of
every new case (sherd or assemblage). Smith
(1976:92) proposes that his groups forn the basis for
a new "typology" of Samoan ceramics. He points
out, however, that his "types" would serve as
descriptive categories only as they do not correspond
238     The To'aga Site
to either chronology or spatial distribution. Smith
(1976: 93) implicitly recognizes the problem of
confladng class and group as he notes that the
discreteness of "'types" will disappear with additonal
analyses of Samnoan ceramics (see Dunnell 1971,
especially pp. 87-110, figure 8). Clearly, analysis of
groups does not provide the basis for a useful
classification. Istead statisdcal grouping techniques
allow one to examine variability among defined
classes.
Holmer (1980) re-analyzed sherds from
Mulifanua, Jane's Camp, and te Paradise site with
sherds from two new sites, Potusa and Falemoa, both
on Manono Lsland. He attempted factor analysis on
unspecified variables-apparently similar or identi-
cal to those used by Smith (1976). When factor
analysis failed to produce groups (clusters), a new
strategy was attempted. Holmer subjectively
(implicitly) classified sherds into seven "types."
Varables were then selected for observation/
measurement, and data from the analysis of sherds
was used in discriminant funcdon analysis. In this
analytic procedure, Holmer (1980) simply confirms
(statistically) his "subjective" sorting criteria (im-
plicit a priori class definitions). As with Smith's
(1976) analysis, the ideational (classes) and empiri-
cal entities (groups) are confused. Holmer (1980) is
thus left with 'lypes" that will constantly change
with every new case analyzed.
These problems with confusing group and class,
evident in Smith (1976) and Holmer's (1980) work,
are not merely an academic issue. The conflation of
these observational and analydc steps is the reason
why Smith and Holmer did not succeed in producing
classificatory systems, contrary to their stated
objectives. This is because: (1) Analysis of objects
is necessarily based on an a priori (most often
implicit) classificatory system (i.e., to observe "x" is
to observe "x" as a case of something). Grouping
procedures are data manipulations performed on
unanalyzed and implicit classifications; they are
inductive and often formulated as "problem-free."
(2) Groups are based on empirical sets (e.g., statisti-
cal summaries) that change with every case added,
thus an object cannot be assigned to a pre-existing
group without altering the "definition" of the unit
(3) Grouping provides descriptions of phenomena,
but not definitions stipulating necessary and suffi-
cient conditions for membership (althoughpost hoc
definitions might be extracted). Group membership
is based on similarity which vanes in degree. This
means that individual objects in a group may share
many, some, or in extreme cases, no traits in com-
mon (see Dunnell 1971:fig. 8).
Clark and Herdrich (1988) recently called
attention to the problem of Green's (1974) original
formulation of coarse-tempered thickware and fine-
tempered thinware. They point to the lack of explicit
crteria for what is thick and thin, fine or coarse.
Clark and Herdrich (1988) illustrate the variability of
these dimensions in an assemblage from 'Aoa,
eastem Tutuila. While preliminary in nature, their
examination of ceramics points to the importance of
classification as a means to document change in te
Sanoan sequence.
The To'aga ceramic study reported in this
volume is the most intensive analysis of assemblage
from Samoa to date. The analytic protocol was
designed to support the definition of numerous
classes (i.e., from two or more of the dimensions)
deduced to address particular research questions of
the assemblage. While the To'aga assemblage is
especially well-studied, much wor remains to
answer the larger questions posed by Hunt and
Erkelens (chapter 9) for ceramic evolution. Results
from To'aga show tha thickware is present in the
earliest deposits, and its abundance (in actual
numbers) over time is relatively stable. Thinware is
never clearly dominant at To'aga. Thinware declines
in real and relative abundance over time but persists
perhaps as long as pottery production itself. At
To'aga, as elsewhere in Samoa, pottery declines in
abundance early in the Christian era and then
disappears entirely.
Results from ceramic compositional analyses
show that the bulk of pottery, including both thick-
and thinwares, and some carved paddle-impressed
ceramics, was produced locally with colluvial "self-
tempered" clay source(s) from Leolo Ridge on Ofu.
Red-slipped pottery from To'aga does not match the
local colluvial clays presently known. Based on this,
the red-slipped ware may have an exotic provenance,
amving on Ofu through inter-island exchange.
Finally, results also suggest that the diversity of raw
materials declined over time. Such a pattem if
substantiated with furher work, suggests changes in
availability and/or procurement of raw material. A
decline and eventual end to inter-island exchange of
Synthesis and Interpretations  239
ceramics might also be hypothesized.
The To'aga assemblage, like most others from
Sanoa, is simple in foni and includes very little
decoration. Only bowls are represented. Decoration
is restricted to impressing and notching on te lip,
and on body sherds, red-slip, carved paddle-impres-
sion, and incision. This simplicity stands in marked
contrast to Lapita assemblages of comparable age
from Mulifanua, 'Upolu, and assemblages known
from Fuuna, Tonga, and Fiji. Isolation of Manu'a
from communities beyond Samoa might account for
this stylistic divergence.
The To'aga excavations also yielded a small but
important set of stone adzes in association with the
ceramics just discussed. Significantly, these are all
variants of the plano-convex sectioned Type V adz
described by Green and Davidson (1969). A
dominance of Type V adzes in ceramic-bearing
contexts in Westem Samoa was noted by Green
(1974:257-58). The Manu'a results confirm this
pattem for the eastem part of the Samoan archi-
pelago. Indeed, Type V appears to have been a
widespread and common form throughout the
Ancestral Polynesian region, given the presence of
this form in sites in Futuna (Kirch 1981),
Niutoputapu (Kirch 1988:192), and Tongatapu
(Poulsen 1987:170). Type V was dropped frm the
Samoan adz inventory early in the first millennium
A.D., and our surface collections from Manu'a are
dominated by adzes with quadrangular or trapezoidal
cross sections. One of these trapezoidal forms was
recovered from a late, aceramic depositional context
in Unit 3; this particular specimen appears to have
been manufactured at the Tatagamatau quarry on
Tutila Island (see Weisler, chapter 12).
Pottery and stone adzes are the best documented
classes of Ancestral Polynesian portable artifacts.
For both of these artifacts, the development of
uniquely Ancestral Polynesian forms out of Lapita
prototypes has been archaeologically demonstrated
(e.g., Green 1971, 1974). This is not the case,
however, with another important Polynesian artifact
class: the one-piece fishhook. When archaeologists
first commenced stratigraphic excavations in the
Eastern Polynesian archipelagoes of Hawaii, the
Marquesas, Societies, and New Zealand in the 1950s
and 60s, fishhooks proved to be among tX most
ubiquitous arfifacts. Indeed, in the absence of
pottery, Polynesian archaeologists applied their skills
at classification and seriation to fishing gear, in an
effort to establish chronological sequences (e.g.,
Emory, Bonk, and Sinoto 1959; Suggs 1961). Thlus,
when efforts were directed at the Westem
Polynesian islands of Tonga and Samoa, the initial
expectation was that similarly rich assemblages of
fishing gear would be recovered. These expecations
were quickly thwarted by an almost complete
absence of fishhooks in Westem Polynesian sites.
Poulsen recovered only one "certain specimen" of
one-piece hook in his excavations of six sites on
Tongatapu (1987:186), while the major Samoan
archaeological programme of Green and Davidson
(1969, 1974) recovered but a single fragment of a
Turbo-shell hook from the Lotofaga midden (Green
and Davidson 1969, pl. 23). Kirch's excavations on
Niutaputapu fared only slightly better, with four one-
piece hooks out of thirteen sites sampled (1988:204,
fig. 124).
The extreme paucity of fishing gear in Westem
Polynesian sites-in contrast with the typically high
density of fishhooks in Eastem Polynesian sites-
raised a number of questions. Given the extensive
scope of Westem Polynesian excavations, sampling
enfor alone can be ruled out. Rather, it appears that
te rarity of hooks in early Westem Polynesian sites
(i.e., those dating to the Ancestral Polynesian period)
is an accurate reflection of the relative unimportance
of angling gear (Green 1986:131). The faunal
assemblages from these sites, however, clearly
indicate that inshore fishing was a major component
of the subsistence economy. Were hooks being
made of pershable materials (such as wood) and
hence not preserved in the archaeological record?
Were other fishing strategies, such as netting,
spearing, or poisoning, prefened over angling by
Ancestal Polynesian fishermen?
To'aga is the first Ancestral Polynesian site to
produce a large assemblage of one-piece fishing
gear, and thus demonstrates anoter kind of variabil-
ity in eady Polynesian culture. As described in
chapter 11, a total of twenty-eight whole or partial
Turbo-shell hooks were recovered from our excava-
tions, along with another thirty-one prefonns or tabs.
This is a fishhook density level much more in
keeping with Eastem Polynesian sites. Why should
To'aga produce such an assemblage of one-piece
hooks when other Samoan and Westem Polynesian
sites are devoid of these aftifacts? We suggest that
240    The To'aga Site
the answer lies in the differenidal marine environ-
ments of the vanous islands. The Westem Samoan
islands of 'Upolu and Savai'i, as well as
Niuatoputapu and Tongatapu, are all characterized
by extensive barrier reef and lagoon ecosystens. In
these kinds of coastal environments, the most
effective fishing stategies are usually those involv-
ing nets (seines, dip nets, nets used with weirs, and
other techniques). This was well documented, for
example, in ethoarchaeological studies of conten-
porary fishing on Niuatoputapu Island (Kirch and
Dye 1979; Dye 1980). In contastL the marine
environment of Ofu is that of a relatively nanow
fringing reef, lacking a broad protected lagoon. In
such fringing reef environments, angling becomes a
far more significant fishing stategy, to exploit the
dominant fish populations of the reef crest and outer
slope.
The hypothesis that a greater emphasis on
angling gear is conrelated with frnging mef (as
opposed to barrier reef-lagoon) environments
receives some support from fte general Oceanic
picre of archaeological fishing gear distribution.
For exanple, both Tikopia (Kirch and Yen 1982)
and Anuta (Kirch and Rosendahl 1973)-small high
islands with narrow fringing reefs-yielded high
frquencies of one-piece fishhooks in teir archaeo-
logical sites. The same is true of Hawai'i and the
Marquesas, where reefs are finging or even lacking
altogether. On the other hand, the Society Islands
which have extensive lagoons have produced
relatively low densities of fishing gear in comparison
with other Eastem Polynesian sites. Consequently,
we would argue that the Manu'a Group is one area
within Westem Polynesia where the marne ecologi-
cal conditions favored the use of angling gear.
The Turbo-shell fishhook assemblage from
To'aga is of some interest from a morphological-
stylistic perspective, in addition to its ecological-
funcdonal implications. As noted in chapter 11,
several of the hooks exhibit morphological features
similar to those in eatly Eastem Polynesian fish-
hooks. These include the strongly incurved or
"bent" shank and the single-notched, line-lashing
devices. Thus, the To'aga hooks can madily be
identified as a "prototype" stage from which the
greater diversity of Eastem Polynesian forms was
subsequently developed.
THE SUBSISTENCE
ECONOMY OF EARLY SAMOA
The To'aga excavations produced one of te
largest and best preserved faunal assemblages ever
recovered from a Westem Polynesian site: 10,209
vertebrate bones and approximately 166.5 kg of
invertebrate materials. Largely due to poor prsrva-
tion, most previously excavated Samoan sites
yielded very poor faunal collections. In Westem
Samnoa, only the late prehistoric Lotofaga midden
reported by Davidson (1969) and the three coastal
sites analyzed by Janetski (1976, 1980)-ceramic-
bearing Potusa, Falemoa, and Jane's Camp-have
well-preserved vertebrate and invertebrate faunal
materials. lTus, the To'aga materials provide the
first extensive sample of fauna frm well-stratified
and dated contexts spanning the first half of the
Samoan sequence. The faunal data have been
presented and analyzed by Nagaoka and Steadman
in chapters 13 and 14, respectively. Here we expand
on their analyses with several general observations
and with comparisons to other Samoan and Westem
Polynesian sites.
One problem that has concerned archaeologists
in Westem Polynesia is whether the Polynesian triad
of domestic animals-pig, dog, and chicken-was
introduced at the time of initial settlement and
colonization (Groube 1971; Hunt 1981; Best 1984;
Kirch 1979, 1988). At To'aga, only the chicken
(Gallus galus) is well represented in our faunal
suites. Chicken is actually the most frequent bird
species represented in the avifaunal material, with 16
NISP (see Steadman, chapter 14). Chicken bones
were especially well represented in the Layer III
deposits in Units 20123, dating to ca. 2800-2300 cal
B.P. Pig, however, is unambiguously represented
only in later contexts (in Layer I of Unit 17). Some
of the unidentifiable mammal bone from eadier
strata may indeed be of pig or dog-or both-so that
the absence of pig and dog in early contexts is not
certain. Nonetheless, given the large vertebrate
faunal sample and excellent preservation, it is cerain
that neither of these domestic animals was ever
present in large numbers at the To'aga site.
Another adventive species introduced (presum-
ably as an inadvertent "stowaway" on voyaging
canoes) at the time of initial colonization is the
Synthesis and Interpretations  241
Polynesian or Pacific rat, Rattus exulans. This
species is ubiquitous in the To'aga strata and occurs
in the earliest dated depositional context (Layer HID
in Units l5129/30). Tate (1951) discusses the very
widespread dispersal of this synanthropic species.
Another group of human-intrduced organisms
appearing in the early To'aga deposits is the set of
five synantrpic terrestrial molluscs discussed in
detail in chapter 8: Assiminea cf. nitda, Lanellidea
pusilla, Gastrocopta pediculus, Liardetia samoensis,
and Lauellaxis gracilis. These species are closely
commensal with humans, their preferred habitats
being gardens and disurbed environments adjacent
to habitation sites. The species are all minute-
visible to the human eye only on close inspection-
and can only have been tansported inadvertently.
Many of these species have also been identified from
early, Lapita-associated archaeological contexts on
Niuatoputapu Island (Kirch 1988:233-35) and on
Tikopia (Kirch and Yen 1982:308-309). As dis-
cussed in chapter 8, the most likely mechanism for
their inter-island transfer, and intrduction to the
Manu'a Islands, was with economic plants and
adhering soil media. In this regard, these snails
provide indirect evidence for early plant introduc-
tions to the island. Indeed, in the absence of direct
ethnobotanical evidence for cultigens, the suite of
synanthDpic snails is the best clue that the early
Polynesian colonists intrduced a complex of
economic plants to the island, along with the domes-
tic chicken (and possibly also pigs or dogs). Future
excavations at To'aga should test this hypothesis
through identification of charcoal, carbonized
parenchyma, and other carbonized plant materials
from earth ovens, hearths, and other stratigraphic
contexts. Recent developments in the identification
of such carbonized materals by J. Hather (Institute
of Archaeology, London; pers. comm., 1991) and
others, not available to us at the time the To'aga
excavations were undertaken, now make the possi-
bilities for such paleoethnobotanical studies possible.
Two kinds of larger marine animals are repre-
sented in the vertebrate faunal collections: sea
urtes and unidentified marine mammal. The sea
trtles probably consist mostly (if not exclusively) of
the Green Sea Turtle, Chelonia mydas, but definite
identifications on the post-cranial skeleton are
virtually impossible. Turtle bones were fairly
common and were especially frequent in Layer IIIB
of Units 20123 and Layer IIB of Unit 19. The
marine mammal bone is most likely from one or
more species of porpoise. A relatively high fre-
quency (18 NISP) of marine mammal bone was
found in the early Layer IIIC deposit in Units 15/29/
30.
The bird bones are of particular interest, for they
reveal exinctions and extirpations consistent with a
pattem of avifaunal change from early sites though-
out Polynesia (Steadman 1989; Steadman, Pahlavan,
and Kirch 1990, Steadman and Kirch 1990). An
unexpected discovery was the presence of two
Megapodius sp. bones from Layer IIID of Units 15/
29/30, the oldest dated layer at the site. Megapodes
were not fonnerly known to have been present in
Samoa, and this find thus represents an eastern
extension of the prehistoric range of this taxon.
Given the restriction of this taxon to the earliest
stratum, it is likely that the species was rapidly
overexploited-to the point of extinction-by the
early colonizers of Ofu. Also striking is the presence
of bones of six species of seabirds which no longer
occur on Ofu Island, including Puwinus pacificus,
Puinus lherninieri, Puffinus griseus, Pterodroma
rostrata, Pterodroma sp., and Sula sula. The loss of
these species from the island within the span of
human occupation most likely reflects both direct
predation by humans and habitat disturbance.
Ninety-four percent of the vertebrate fauna from
To'aga consists of fishbone, of which 2,229 NISP
were identifiable to family-level taxa (see Nagaoka,
chapter 13). Although there are frequency differ-
ences in taxa witiin different excavation units, there
is remarkable consistency overall in the rank-order
dominance of particular fishes. Four families
dominate the faunal assemblages: Diodontidae,
Serranidae, Acanthuridae, and Holocentridae. These
families include numerous species, most of which
occur on the reef flat or immediately off the reef
edge. They may be taken with a variety of fishing
strategies including netting, spearing, poisoning, and
angling. The acanthurids, holocentrids, and ser-
ranids especially, can be taken with hook-and-line,
and it is very likely that the small one-piece Turbo-
shell fishhooks recovered from the To'aga site were
used to capture these taxa. Of considerable interest
is the high frequency of Diodontidae (primarly
Diodon hystrix), the porcupinefish. These fishes are
known to carry tetradontoxin which can cause severe
242    The To'aga Site
illness or even death when ingested by humans.
That such a dangerous fish should dominate the
To'aga faunal assemblages is cunous, although not
inconsistent with pattems in other early Pacific sites
(see Green 1986:132). InTikopia, Diodon hystrix
was extremely plentiful in the early middens (Kirch
and Yen 1982: 292, table 42), as it was also in the
Early Eastem Lapita site of NT-90 on Niuatoputapu
Island (Kirch 1988:223, table 29).
A second tier of fish taxa, in terms of fteir rank-
order abundances, comprses the following families:
Scaiidae (parrotfish), Carangidae (jacks), Labridae
(wrsses), Lutjanidae (snappers), Muraenidae
(moray eels), Balistidae (triggerfish), and Osaciidae
(boxfish). Again, these are all inshore, reef or reef
edge fishes, represented by a large number of
species. A varety of fishing strategies were doubt-
less employed to take these fishes. A number of
other taxa are less commonly represented among te
fish fauna assemblages from various excavation
units. These are again prmarily inshore fishes, but
several exanples from the family Scombridae (nas
and mackerels) are present. This is significant, for it
does indicate the prctice of pelagic fishing, prob-
ably with pearl-shell trolling lures. Trolling for tuna,
however, was clearly a minor fishing strategy in
terms of its contribution to the total fish catch.
In terms of sheer bulk, invertebrates (and
especially molluscs) comprise the majority of the
faual materials from the To'aga site. (Nonetheless,
their contribution of meat to the prehistoric Samoan
diet was probably less than that of fish.) In tenns of
rank-order abundances based on weighLt a few taxa
dominate the assemblages. Consistently the most
abundant species is the reef gastropod Turbo setosus;
the closely related species T. crassus is also quite
common. Only slightly less common is the bivalve
Tridacna maxima, which occupies the reef platform.
Turbo spp. gastropods comprise on average about 62
percent of the invertebrate faunal suite from the
To'aga midden deposits, while Tridacna bivalves
constitute anodter 7 percent Other commonly
represented taxa include: Trochus maculus, Tectus
pyramis, Cypraea spp., Conus spp., Vasum
ceramicwn, Cerithium noduloswn, Strombus
maculatu, Thais armigera, Asaphis violaseus, and
Nerita spp. All of these molluscs occur on the reef
platform and reef crest fronting the To'aga site.
Sea urchins of several species are also repre-
sented in the To'aga middens. The smaller-spined
taxa are doubdess underrepresented in our samples,
because the spines usually are not retained in the
0.25-inch mesh sieves that we employed. Some
indication of their presence was provided by the bulk
samples and micro-aftifact analyses of selected
sediments (see Kirch, Manning, and Tyler, chapter
7; Nagaoka, chapter 13). The Layer IIIA/IhB
occupation in Units 20/23 was noteworthy for an
unusually dense concentration of the large slate-
pencil sea urchin (Heterocentrotus mamllatus).
More an 6 kg of these spines and test fragments
were overed from these strata, pardy in associa-
don with an earth oven feature.
In sum, the To'aga excavations have provided
significant new information on which to base
reconstnuctions of Ancestral Polynesian subsistence
economy, and of the impacts of these early island
colonists to the biota of remote Pacific islands. An
economic strategy integrating brad-spectrum
exploitation of natural faunal resources (marine and
tenrestrial) with agricultural producdon is indicated
by the To'aga evidence, reinforcing reconstmctions
based on other early Fijian and Westem Polynesian
sites (Kirch 1984; Kirch and Green 1987). The
presence of an extinct or extirpated species of
megapode, of six species of extirpated seabirds, and
of marine twutle, all in the earliest deposits at To'aga
(especially in Layer IhB of Units 20/23), suggest
that iniidal exploitation of the island's larger faunal
resources may have exceeded te capacity of these
naural populations to survive or reproduce under the
pressures of intensive human predation. In addition
to these early impacts on fte naltura biota, however,
te Polynesians radically altered the To'aga area,
transforming te coastal environment in particular
into a ftoroughly anthropogenic landscape. The
purposive inroduction of domestic animals and
economic plants, and dte inadvertent introduction of
rats, terrestrial snails, and other organisms were the
first stages in the conversion of the Ofu ecosystem
into a cultumal landscape capable of supporting a
dense human population. Following progradation of
fte coastal plain after about 1900 B.P., te To'aga
area was developed into a highly intensive
arboricultural production zone, dominated by
economic plants of Polynesian inroduction (coco-
nut, breadfruit, aroids, yams, arrowroot, and othes).
Even the steep volcanic slopes inland were cleared
Synthesis and Interprdatios  243
of native forest and converted to zones of shifting
cultivation. Such interior slope modification resulted
as well in incrased rates of soil erosion and deposi-
tion onto the coastal flats, enhancing the edaphic
condition of e latter zone for cmp production. In
this regard, the To'aga data add another instance in
the rapidly accumulating repertoire of archaeological
evidence for prehistoric human transfonnation of
Pacific island environments (Bayliss-Smith et al.
1988; Kirch 1983; Steadman 1989).
INTER-ISLAND CONTACTS
AND EXCHANGE
Archaeological research in fte Fiji-Westem
Polynesia region has produced some evidence for
inter-island contacts and exchange (e.g., Best 1984;
Davidson 1977; Kirch 1988). While inter-archi-
pelago contacts and exchange are known etho-
historically, extensive exchange of ceramics and
other materials appears to have occurred in the
earliest perod of the region's history. Best (1984),
for example, shows that a substantial propordon of
early ceramics on Lakeba was imported to the island.
While te Tatagamatau basalt quany site on Tutuila
(Leach and Witter 1987; Best et al. 1989) is a likely
center for adz export, little is known about potential
pattems of exchange in Sanoa and the quany's
place in a regional system.
Excavations at To'aga produced a range of
materials for which provenance can be deduced or
inferred. Compositional analysis of volcanic rock
lithics and adzes, temper and clay of ceramics, and
raw materials from potential sources offer a means to
explore questions of prehistoric exchange.
Weisler (chapter 12) used non-destmctive XRF
analysis on ardfacts and potential source rocks from
Manu'a and Tatagamatau. His results show that the
composition of rock in finished adzes (and in flakes
from adzes showing polish) of fine-grained basalt
cluster with those from Tatagamatau on Tutuila. In
contrast, a relatively coarse-grained dike stone from
Fa'ala'aga on Ofu Island is represented only in
debitage and simple flake tools. These results
suggest that perhaps much, or all local stone was not
suitable for adz producdon. Exchange, at least with
Tutuila some 100 kn to the west, brought adzes and
probably other materials to Manu'a.
Hunt and Eikelens (chapter 15) conclude that
red-slipped ware, and perhaps other pottery made of
clay distinctive from the locally Ikown colluvial
sources on Ofu, may reflect imports to the island.
The decline in compositional diversity hypothesized
for the ceramic assemblage might also indicate that
exchange diminished in importance over time.
Additional research on sherds from Manu'a and
elsewhere in the region is necessary, however, to
fully test hypotheses for inter-island ceramic ex-
change.
THE TO'AGA SITE:
CULTURAL RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
As he initial objective of the Manu'a Project
was the identification of archaeological sites for
purposes of cultural resource management-under
contract to the Historc Preservation Office of the
Government of American Samoa-it is appropriate
to conclude this monograph with a discussion of the
significance of the To'aga site, the current status of
the site, and the potential impacts which may
hreaten its integrity in future years.
Site AS-13-1 is unquestionably one of the most
significant archaeological sites yet discovered in
American Samoa, and indeed, in the Samoan
archipelago as a whole. Within American Samoa, it
certainly ranks with the extensive Tatagamatau adz
quanry complex on Tutuila in tenns of its potential to
yield infonnation on the prehistory of the archi-
pelago. Some specific aspects of the To'aga site that
collectively contribute to its archaeological signifi-
cance are enumerated below:
1. Site AS-13-1 incorporates the largest continu-
ous area of subsurface archaeological deposits dating
to the ceramic phase of Samoan prehistory of any
site yet discovered in the archipelago. These
deposits are estimated to cover between 21,000 and
35,000 m2 and appear to represent a seres of
domestic household units.
2. Site AS-13-1 is well statified, and thus has
the potential to yield a finely-detailed chronological
sequence of cultral change for the Manu'a Islands.
The remarkably deep stratification in parts of the
To'aga site contains three or more meters of culural
deposits. Because of this stratigraphic record, the
244     The Toaga Site
To'aga site presens excellent opporunities for
recovering a detailed sequence of artifacal, faunal,
and settlement information.
3. Site AS-13-1 spans virully the entire
prehistoric sequence of the Samoan archipelago.
Initial occupation of the site began around the close
of the second millennium B.C., contemporaneous
with Xt Mulifanua Lapita site on 'Upolu Island. The
stigraphic wecord from ca. 3000 B.C. tO A.D. 800
has been well documerned by our systematic transect
excavations, detailed in this monograph. Other
archaeological feaus dating to the last one thou-
sand years are also present in the area, altough they
have not yet been intensively investigated or radio-
cartbon dated. No other single site locality in
American Samoa has yet produced such a continu-
ous occupation sequence spanning the whole of
regional prehistory.
4. The preservation of both ardfacts and faunal
materals in Site AS-13-1 is excellent, especially in
the deeper stratigraphic units, where calcareous
(alkaline) sedimentary conditions prevail. The
majodty of Sanoan archaeological sites are charac-
terzed by acidic soil conditions which do not favor
the preservation of such organic materals as bone,
shell, or sea urchin spines. In such acidic contexts,
cultal materials are usually limited to pottery and
stone artifacts. At To'aga, the excellent preservation
conditions yield not only ceramic and stone artifacts,
but extensive assemblages of bone and shell faunal
materials, as well as arfifacts of shell, bone, and sea
urchin spine. As a result, our knowledge of early
Samoan materal culture and economy has been
significantly expanded by te materials from Site
AS-13-1. A particular example is the complex of
Turbo-shell fishing gear, which for te first time has
given us some in-depth information on Samoan
angling strategies in the first millennium B.C.
Similarly, the faunal assemblages from the To'aga
site are the largest-in terms of both numbers and
taxonomic richness-from any site yet excavated in
the archipelago.
5. Site AS-13-1 also incorporates a number of
features of considerable cultural significance to te
people of Ofu Island. In particular, To'aga is the
taditional seat of the Tui Ofu chiefship, represented
by the Tui Ofu well and burial mound (see Hunt,
chapter 3). These monuments are held in consider-
able awe by the people of Ofu Island and are directly
conected to a body of oral tradions (see Mead
1930).
Togefter, all of te aspects of Site AS-13-1
enumerated above combine to make this archaeo-
logical complex one of the most significant cultural
resources in American Samoa, and indeed, in the
Samoan Lslands as a whole. The site has already
yielded much imporant new infonnation on te
prehistory of the Manu'a Group and the Samoan
archipelago, and its potential has hardly been tapped.
Because of its outsanding significance, we have
nominated Site AS-13-1 to the National Register of
Historic Places, in conjunction with the Historic
Preservation Office of the Govenunent of American
Samoa.
From te culurl resource management view-
point, it is important to assess any potential hreats to
te To'aga site. As described in chapter 2, the
present mode of land use over most of the site is
subsistence gardening in a more-or-less traditional
manner (arboriculture and Alocasia aroid
swiddening). This relatively low intensity land use
does not seriously heaten the integrity of the site,
other than for minor impacts to surface archaeologi-
cal features such as 'ili'il pavements or lua'i masi
pits.
There has already been some significant damage
to the site, however, trugh the construction of the
Public Woiks Department landfill at the southwest-
em edge of the site. (Ironically, it was this landfill
that led to the original discovery of surface pottery-
bearing deposits during the 1986 reconnaissance
survey.) It appears that most of the bulldozed landfill
pit lay outside of the area of deeply stratified ar-
chaeological deposits, but these were disturbed along
the inner edge of te bulldozer cut. While the 1986
bulldozing probably did not greatly impact the total
site area, it is extremely important that no furxer
expansion of this landfill operation occur without
prior consultation with the Historic Preservation
Office. It should be possible to plan for future
landfill needs by situating such landfill pits in the
seaward portions of the To'aga coastal fiat tiat do
not contain subsurface archaeological deposits. We
strongly recommend ta prior to any future landfill
operations, the Public Woiks Deparument consult
with the Historc Preservation Officer and arrange
for limited test excavations to assure that landfill
bulldozing take place outside of the zone of buried
Synthesis and Interpretations  245
archaeological features.
We are unaware, at present, of any other planned
developments or constuction in the To'aga area, but
if such projects arise, ftey could also have te
potential to threaten the integrity of the site. For this
reason, it is important that AS-13-1 be placed on the
National Register of Historic Places, and that the
American Sanoa Historic Preservation Officer
attempt to monitor any proposed land use actions in
the vicinity of the site.
Over the longer tern, te entire archaeological
complex at To'aga could be serously thratened by
natural coastal erosion. According to the
morphodynamic model developed in chapter 4, and
tested through various field and laboratory observa-
tions, it would appear tha the southem Ofu coastline
may have entered a phase of sea level rnsgression.
This appears to be reflected along the modem
coasdine by active erosion of the beach ridge and
associated vegetation line, and by exposure of beach
rock. Given that the subsurface archaeological
deposits are situated well inland of the present
shoreline (between about 40 to 60 m, depending
upon the particular locality), such erosion is not at
present a serious concem. However, should this
transgression phase continue or intensify, for
example as a result of global wanming and conse-
quent sea level rise (Geophysics Study Committee
1990), the integrity of Site AS-13-1 would ultimately
be affected. Continued tectonic subsidence of Ofu
Island may itself eventually result in the natural
erosion and destruction of the site, but this pocess
could be seriously intensified and quickened by
rapid sea level rise. Obviously, these are not prob-
lems requiring immediate attention, but they should
not be wholly ignored either.
Fnally, we wish to conclude by briefly drawing
attention to some further research possibilities at the
To'aga site. While we have been able to use the
opporunity of subsurface testing and site survey at
AS-13-1 to addess a number of research problems
in Samoan archaeology, our investigation of the
To'aga site in 1987 and 1989 must be regarded as no
more than a pioneering phase. This site has enor-
mous potential to add to our knowledge and under-
sanding of the prehistoiy not only of Samoa, but of
the Westem Polynesian region as a whole. The site
is also of sufficient size, with an estimated 21,000-
35,000 m2 of stratified deposits dating to the ceramic
phase of Samoan prehistory, that even a large scale
excavation program would not remove more than a
small percentage of the total area, leaving the
majority of the site as an "archaeological bank" for
future research.
We suggest that the next logical phase of
archaeological research at To'aga might be to
employ a horizontal excavation strategy to expose
one or more larger areas (on the order of 100- 150
m2) within the zone of subsurface deposits dating to
the ceramic phase of Samoan prehistory. Our
systematic transect sampling suggests that this zone
is made up of clusters of domesfic or household
residential units, probably consisting of series of
dwelling, cookhouse, and possibly other special
purpose activity areas. Horizontal exposure of one
or more of xse residential units could provide the
first clear picture of the setflement layout and spatial
anangement of an early, Ancestral Polynesian
community. Such a project would be of consider-
able interest not only for Samoan prehistory, but for
expanding our knowledge of Ancestral Polynesian
culture, which is a critical baseline for the develop-
ment of later variants of Polynesian culture ough-
out the whole Polynesian triangle (Kirch and Green
1987).
Obviously, such an expanded excavation
program would also need to be combined with oher
kinds of rsearch objectives and methods. For
example, Weisler's trial application of the non-
destructive XRF method of chaacterizing and
sourcing basalt artifacts (see chapter 12) could be
followed up with a more intensive study, with much
potential to reveal patterns of long-distance ex-
change at all periods of Manu'an prehistory. Simi-
larly, the varation in ceramnics noted at To'aga, such
as the distinction between fine thinware and coarse
thickware, could be explored along avenues other
than just chronological changes in frequency. It may
be that these ceramic wares reflect functional, or
social, pattems in early Samoan society. These can
only be explored through the use of horizontal
excavation strategies in which the distribution of
ceramics can be closely mapped in comparison to
the spatial layout of households.
These suggestions are not meant to be an
exhaustive catalog of research problems that might
be addressed at the To'aga site but simply some
possible research directions that we feel would
246     The To'aga Site
contnbute significantly to cunrent issues in Polyne-
sian archaeology and prehistory. We are pleased
that our pioneering phase of research at AS-13-1 has
already been able to yield inporant new insights on
Sanoan prehistory and look forward to the contribu-
tions dt future work in the deeply stratified sands
of To'aga will doubtless bring.
REFERENCES CITED
Bayliss-Smith, T., R. Bedford, H. Bookfield, and M.
Latham 1988. Islands, Isainders and the World.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Best, S. B. 1984 Lakeba: The prehistory of a Fijian
island. Unpublished PhD. dissertation,
University of Auckland.
Best, S., H. Leach, and D. Witter 1989. Report on
the second phase of fieldwork at the Tataga-
matau site, American Samoa, July-August
1988. Department of Anthropology, University
of Otago.
Brose, D. S. 1970. The Archaeology of Summer
Island: Changing Settlement Pattern Systems in
Northern Lake Michigan. Anthropological
Papers No. 41, University of Michigan Mu-
seum of Anthropology, Ann Arbor.
Clark, J. T. 1989. The Eastem Tutuila archaeological
project: 1988 final report Report prepared for
the Government of American Samoa. Depart-
ment of Sociology-Anthropology, North
Dakota State University, Fargo.
Clark, J. T., and D. J. Herdrich 1988. The Eastem
Tutuila archaeological project, 1986 final
report Report prepared for the Government of
Amencan Samoa. Department of Sociology-
Anthrpology, North Dakota State University,
Fargo.
Davidson, J. M. 1977. Westem Polynesia and Fiji:
Prehistoric contact, diffusion and differentiation
in adjacent archipelagos. WorldArchaeology
9:82-94.
Dunnell, R C. 1971. Systatics in Prehistory.
New York: The Free Press.
1986a. Five decades of American archaeology.
IN D. J. Meltzer, D. D. Fowler, and J. A.
Sabloff, eds., American Archaeology Past and
Future. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian
istitution Press.
1986b. Medtodological issues in Americanist
artifact classification. Advances in Archaeo-
logical Method and Theory 9:149-297.
Dye, T. S. 1983. Fish and fishing on Niuatoputapu,
Tonga. Oceania 53:242-71.
Emory, K. P., W. Bonk Jr., and Y. H. Sinoto 1959.
Hawaiian Archaeology: Fishhooks. Bemice P.
Bishop Museum Special Publication 47.
Honolulu.
Emory, K. P., and Y. H. Sinoto 1965. Prliminary
report on the archaeological investigations in
Polynesia. Report prepared for the National
Science Foundation. Department of Anthrpol-
ogy, Bemice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu.
Feathers, J. K. 1990. Explaining the evolution of
prehistoric ceramics in southeastern Missouri.
Ph.D. dissertation, University of Washington,
University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.
Frost, J. 1978. Archaeological investigations on
Tutuila Island, American Samoa. Unpublished
PhD. dissertation, University of Oregon.
Geophysics Study Committee, 1990. Sea-Level
Change. Studies in Geophysics. Washington
D.C.: National Academy Press.
Green, R. C. 1971. Evidence for the development of
te early Polynesian adz kit. New Zealnd
Archaeological Association Newsletter 14:12-
44.
1974. Excavation of the prehistoric occupations
of Su-Sa-3. IN R. C. Green and J. Davidson,
eds., Archaeology in Western Samoa, Volume
II. Bulletin of the Auckland Institute and
Museum.
1986a. Lapita fishing: The evidence of site SE-
RF-2 from the Main Reef Islands, Santa Cruz
Group, Solomons. IN A. Anderson, ed.,
Traditional Fishing in the Pacific, pp. 119-35.
Pacific Anthropological Records 37. Honolulu:
Benice P. Bishop Museum.
1986b. Some basic components of the ancestral
Polynesian settlement system: Building blocks
for more complex Polynesian societies. IN P.
V. Kirch, ed., Island Sociedes: Archaeological
Approaches to Evolution and Transformation,
pp. 50-54. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Green, R. C., and J. M. Davidson, eds., 1969.
Archaeology in Western Samoa, Vol. 1. Bulletin
of the Auckland Institute and Museum.
1974. Archaeology in Western Samoa, Vol. 11.
Synthesis and Interpretations  247
Bulletin of the Auckland Institute and Museum.
Gren, R. C., K. Gren, K Rappapoit, A. Rappaport,
and J. Davidson 1967. Archaeology on the
Island ofMo'orea, French Polynesia. Antro-
pological Papers of the Amedcan Museum of
Natual History 51(2). New Yor.
Groube, L. 1971. Tonga, Lapita potery, and Polyne-
sian oiigins. Journal of the Polynesian Society
80:278-316.
Holmer, R 1980. Samoan ceramic analysis. IN J.
Jennings and R. Holmer, eds., Archaeological
Excavations in Western Samoa, pp. 104-116.
Pacific Anthropological Records 32. Honolulu:
Bemice P. Bishop Museum.
Hughes, P., G. Hope, M. Latham, and M. Brookfield
1979. Prehistoric man-induced degradation of
te Lakeba landscape: Evidence from two
inland swanps. IN H. Brookfield, ed., Lakeba:
Environmental Change, Population Dynamics,
and Resource Use, pp. 93-110. Paris:
UNESCO.
Hunt, T. L. 1981. New evidence for early horticul-
hur in Fiji. Journal of the Polynesian Society
90:259-69.
Hunt, T. L., and P. V. Kirch 1987. Radiocaftn
dates from two coastal sites in the Manu'a
Group, American Samoa. Radiocarbon 29:417-
19.
-. 1988. An archaeological survey of the Manu'a
Islands, American Samoa. Journal of the
Polynesian Society 97:153-83.
Irwin G. 1981. How Lapita lost its pots: The
question of continuity in the colonisation of
Oceania. Journal of the Polynesian Society
90:481-94.
Janetski, J. C. 1976. Dietary remains from Jane's
Camp-a midden site. IN Jesse Jennings, ed.,
Excavations on 'Upolu Western Samoa, pp. 75-
82. Pacific Antrpological Records 25,
Department of Antrpology, Honolulu:
Bernice P. Bishop Museum.
1980. Analysis of dietary remains from Potusa
and Falemoa. IN J. Jennings and R Holmer,
eds., Archaeological Excavations in Western
Samoa, pp. 117-22. Pacific Anthrpological
Records 32, Deparument of Antropology,
Honolulu: Bemice P. Bishop Museum.
Jennings, J. D., and R. N. Holmer, eds., 1980.
Archaeological Excavations in Western Samoa.
Pacific Anthropological Records 32. B. P.
Bishop Museum, Honolulu.
Jennings, J. D., R. N. Holmer, J. C. Janetski, and H.
L. Smith 1976. Excavations on 'Upolu, Western
Samo. Pacific Anthropological Records 25.
Dept of Anthropology, Honolulu: Benice P.
Bishop Museum.
Kikuchi, W. K. 1963. Archaeological surface ruins
in American Samo. Unpublished M.A. thesis,
University of Hawaii, Honolulu.
Kirch, P. V. 1975. Cultural adation and ecology
in Western Polynesia. Unpublished Ph.D.
disseration, Yale University, New Haven.
1979. Ecology and subsistence. IN J. Jennings,
ed., The Prehistory of Polynesia, pp. 286-307.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
1981. Lapitoid settlements of Futuna and Alofi,
Westem Polynesia. Archaeology in Oceania
16:127-43.
1982. The impact of the prehistoric Polynesians
on the Hawaiian ecosystem. Pacific Science
36:1-14.
1983. Man's role in modifying tropical and
subtropical Polynesian ecosystems. Archaeol-
ogy in Oceania 18:26-31.
1984. The Evolution of the Polynesian
Chiefdoms. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
. 1986. Retirning East Polynesian prehistory.
Journal of the Polynesian Society 95:940.
1988. Niuatoputapu: The Prehistory of a
Polynesian Chiefdom. Burke Museum Mono-
graph No. 5, Seattle.
. forthcoming, The Wet and the Dry: Irrigation
and Agricultural Intensilcation in Polynesia.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Kirch, P. V., and T. S. Dye 1979. Etnarchaeology
and the development of Polynesian fishing
strategies. Journal of the Polynesian Society
88:53-76.
Kirch, P. V., J. Flenley, D. W. Steadman, F. Lainont,
and S. Dawson 1992. Prehistoric human
impacts on an island ecosystem: Mangaia,
Central Polynesia. National Geographic
Research and Exploration 8:166-79.
Kirch, P. V., and R. C. Green 1987. History, phylog-
eny, and evolution in Polynesia. Current
Anthropology 28:431-56.
Kirch, P. V., and T. L. Hunt 1988a. Radiocarbon
248    The Toaga Site
dates from the Mussau Islands and the Lapita
colonization of the southwestem Pacific.
Radiocarbon 30:161-69.
1988b. The spadal and temporal boundaries of
Lapita IN P. V. Kirch and T. L. Hunt eds.,
Archaeology of the Lapita Cultural Complex: A
Critical Review, pp. 9-32. Burke Memorial
Museum Research Report No. 5. Seattle.
Kirch, P. V., and P. Rosendahl 1973. Archaeological
investigation of Anuta. IN D. E. Yen and J.
Gordon, eds., Anuta: A Polynesian Outlier in
the Solomn Islands, pp. 25-108. Pacific
Antropological Records 21. Honolulu:
Benice P. Bishop Museum.
Kirch, P. V., and D. E. Yen 1982. Tikopia: The
Prehistory and Ecology of a Polynesian
Outlier. Benice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin
238. Honolulu.
Leach, H., and R. C. Green 1989. New information
for the Ferry Berth Site, Mulifanua, Westem
Samoa. Journal of the Polynesian Society
98:319-29.
Leach, H. M., and D. Witter 1987. Tataga-matau
"'ediscovered."' NewZealandJournalof
Archaeology 9:33-54.
Lepofsky, D., H. C. Harries, and M. Kellum 1992.
Early coconuts on Mo'orea Island, French
Polynesia Journal of the Polynesian Society
101:299-308.
Mead, M. 1930. Social Organization ofManua.
Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 76.
Honolulu.
Menard, H. W. 1986. Islands. New Yori: Scientific
American Library.
Poulsen, J. 1987. Early Tongan Prehistory: The
Lapita Period on Tongatapu and its Relaion-
ships, Vols. 1 and 2. Terra Austalis 12.
Department of Prehistory, Research School of
Pacific Studies, Australia National University,
Canberra.
Sinoto, Y. H. 1979. Excavations on Huahine, French
Polynesia Pacific Studies 3:1-40.
Smith, H. L. 1976. Jane's Camp (SUF1-1). IN J.
Jennings, ed., Excavations on 'Upolu, Western
Samoa, pp. 61-74. Pacific Anthropological
Records 25. Department of Anthropology,
Honolulu: Bernice P. Bishop Museum.
Spriggs, M. 1986. Landscape, land use, and political
transformation in southeem Melanesia. IN P. V.
Kirch, ed., Island Societies: Archaeological
Approaches to Evolution and Transformaon,
pp. 6-19. Camnbridge: Cambridge University
Press.
-. 1990. Dating Lapita: Another view. IN M.
Spniggs, ed., Lapita Design, Form and Compo-
sition, pp. 6-27. Occasional Papers in Prehis-
tory No. 19. Departnent of Prehistory, Austra-
lian National University, Canberm
Steadman, D. W. 1989. Exinction of birds in eastem
Polynesia: A review of the record, and com-
parsons with other Pacific island groups.
Journal of Archaeological Science 16:177-205.
Steadman, D. W., and P. V. Kirch 1990. Prehistoric
extinction of birds on Mangaia, Cook Islands,
Polynesia Proceedings of the U. S. National
Academy of Sciences 87:9605-9609.
Steadman, D. W., D. S. Pahlavan, and P. V. Kirch
1990. Exdtion, biogeography, and human
exploitation of birds on Tikopia and Anuta,
Polynesian outliers in the Solomon Islands.
Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 30:118-53.
Honolulu.
Steams, H. T. 1978. Comparison of the geology of
the Society and the Hawaiian islands. Bernice
P. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers
24(14):275-90.
Suggs, R C. 1961. Archaeology of Nuku Hiva,
Marquesas Islanus, French Polynesia. Antr-
pological Papers of te American Museum of
Natal History 49(1). New Yoik.
Sullivan, A P., III 1893. Storage, non-edible resource
processing, and the interpretaton of sherd and
lithic scatters in Sonoran Desert lowlands.
Journal of Field Archaeology 21:101-114.
Tate, G. H. H. 1951. The Rodents ofAustralia and
New Guinea. American Museum of Natural
History Bulletin 97:187-430.
Terrell, J. 1986. Prehistory in the Pacific Islands.
Camnbridge: Cambridge University Press.
Zenkovich V. P. 1971. A theory of the development
of accumulation fonms in the coastal zone. IN J.
A. Steers, ed., Introduction to Coastline
Development, pp. 94-116. Cambridge: M. I. T.
Press.
Exploradons on the Makran Coast, Pakistan: A Search for Paradise George F. Dales and Carl P. Lipo. Drawing
upon the diary of his 1960 expedition to the remote Makran coast, Dales recounts the search for evidence of
commercial and cultural contacts between the ancient Indus civilization (2500 to 1900 B.C.) and the Near
East. 1992. paper, 288 pp., 96 plates, 68 figures, 11 tables, and 1 foldout map, No. 50  24.00
The Archaeology and Ethnohistory of Fort Ross, Cal#fornia Vol. 1. K. G. Lightfoot, T. A. Wake, and A. M.
Schiff. This new series on the archaeology and ethnohistory of Fort Ross examines the responses of
Native Americans to Russian mercantile adctivities in northern California. This volume focuses on
the interactions of Native Californians with the Russians and the Native Alaskans.
1991. paper, 250 pp., 33 maps, 12 appendices, 6 pp. of illustrations, No. 49   $18.00
Current Directons in Calfornia Obsidian Studies. Editor Richard E. Hughes, with contributions by Jonathon
E. Ericson, Christopher M. Stevenson and Barry E. Scheetz, M. C. Hall and R. J. Jackson,
Robert L. Bettinger, Thomas M. Origer, David A. Fredrickson and Mark E. Basgall. State-of-the-
art research on sourcing and hydration rate studies in California. 1990. 126 pp., No. 48  $14.00
Prehistoric Hawaiuan Occupation in the Anahulu Valky, O'Ahu Island: Excavations in Three Inland
Rockshelters. Editor Patrick Kirch, with contributions by Terry L. Hunt, Sara Collins, Melinda S.
Allen and Gail M. Murakami. Impact of Hawaiian occupation, circa A.D. 1300, on the local
environment of the Anahulu Valley. Detailed studies of rockshelter sediments, archaeobotanical
remains, charcoal, and landsnails. 1989. 130 pp., 30 plates, No.47              $12.00
Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers of Shelter Island, New York: An Archaeological Study of the Mashomack
Preserve. Authors Kent G. Lightfoot, Robert Kalin and James Moore. Case study of prehistoric
subsistence and settlement patterns of Shelter Island, New York. The authors evaluate whether or
not horticulture and sedentary lifeways were adopted widely by coastal hunter-gatherers.
1987. 224 pp., No.46                                                           $9.00
Methods in Artfact Analysis: A Study of Upper Paleolithic Burins.
Author Richard N. Dreiman. 1979. 79 pp., No.42                                 $5.00
Studks in Ancknt Mesoamerica, IV. Editor John A. Graham, with contributions by M. Johnson, E.M.
Shook, M.P. Hatch, J.K. Donaldson, P. Mathews, D.M. Pendergast, D.C. Pring, D.S. Rice and
P.M. Rice. Collection of papers on the archaeology, architecture and epigraphy of the
Maya and the Olmec. 1979. 277 pp., 14 plates, No. 41                           $8.00
An Archaeological Assay on Dry Creek, Sonoma County, California.
Authors M.A. Baumhoff and Robert I. Orlins. 1979. 244 pp., No. 40              $8.00
For a complete list of titles and ordering information, please write to: Administrator, Archaeological Research
Facility, Anthropology Department, University of Califomia, Berkeley, CA 94720.
Il

z
0                                                    Ing
am             M
w
A