Central And East Polynesian Archaeology And Society Pt 3

Question 1

Marquesas Islands Prehistory

Answer 1

1. Colonized ca. 900 BP
   1.1 Narrow coasts, limited reefs (Because of this had to create different fishing styles; Fishhooks made of shells)
   1.2 Birds decline (Flightless birds; Rats ate eggs and birds)
2. Archaeological Sites
   2.1 Hanamiai (Tahuata island) (Coastal dune)

Question 2

Marquesan subsistence

Answer 2

1. Emphasis on breadfruit
   1.1 Sweet potatoes need/like water, yams need/like sunlight, in Marquesas not a lot of sunlight or space for taro but breadfruits grows on trees and can grow up
2. Pounded, fermented (ma)
   2.1 Roast them first
   2.2 Make into soft paste
   2.3 Put in pit and let it go bad (ferment) and bacteria to make it pickle makes it last for awhile
   2.4 Ma is made from pounded and fermented breadfruit and can be stored in a pit for a long time (Only real way to store carbohydrates there)
3. Stored in pits - could last for months
   3.1 Pit features appear regularly
   3.2 Around house units

Question 3

Archaeological Features

Answer 3

1. Stone house platforms
   1.1 Thatch roof houses with stone foundations
   1.2 Overlapping layers of stone and pick them to make platform
   1.3 Circular stones around area means that it is a special place
2. Fortifications
3. Temples
4. Ceremonial dance courts

Question 4

Marquesan Tiki

Answer 4

1. Ancestor figure
   1.1 Stone, wood
2. Typically male forms (little genitals and missionaries whacked them with hammer)
3. Tikis watch the people and represent the ancestors presence over an area
4. Circular eye shape

Question 5

Marquesan Islands Prehistory

Answer 5

1. 500-600 BP
   1.1 Population growth
   1.2 Social differentiation (Valleys high so easiest way to get to others is by canoe and going around island)
2. Warfare common
   2.1 Because so isolated
   2.2 Occurs more often than other places
3. Cannibalism
   3.1 Spanish believed this occurred as part of warfare
   3.2 Only from written history
   3.3 Enemies called “long pigs”
   3.4 Only true evidence is tools and weapons made from human bones but not totally indicative of cannibalism
4. Chiefs, priests, and warriors
   4.1 Shared power
   4.2 Flip flopping between different chiefs
   4.3 Oral history

Question 6

The Society Islands

Answer 6

1. Tahiti
   1.1 Gloss for entire archipelago
2. Mo’orea
   2.1 Two above windward (winds first strike them)
3. Huahine
4. Raitea
5. Bora Bora
6. Maupiti
   6.1 Leeward above
   6.2 Still a lot of rain even though they call them leeward

Question 7

Complex geography

Answer 7

1. Volcanic high islands (hotspots)
   1.1 Slowly eroded and sinking
   1.2 Picturesque
2. Lagoons
   2.1 High island in center with lagoon
3. Deep valleys and wide alluvial plains
   3.1 Craggy mountains and slopes with alluvial
4. Ads of bungalows on pylons
   4.1 Bora Bora
5. Tourism engine for economy

Question 8

Bonito Fishing in Tahiti

Answer 8

1. Tina Pana Pana
   1.1 Man’s affair
   1.2 Follow the birds to smaller fish to find bonito fish (bigger ones aka tuna)
   1.3 Stiff steel wire with knuckle (round when comes out of water and trim and tie on)
   1.4 How well it works depends on color
   1.5 Knuckle look like human because bonito seen as feminine and need to be seduced
   1.6 Need to be fast (strike and get on boat ASAP)
   1.7 Bamboo poles
   1.8 Fish until have enough to have and sell by harbor

Question 9

Modern Fishing, Ancient Methods

Answer 9

1. Locally made lures, poles
2. Use of birds to find fish
   2.1 Different birds indicate different fish
3. Fish eaten that day
4. Entrails dumped near shore
5. Artifacts
   5.1 Bamboo poles
   5.2 Fish bones (Thick for some fish)
   5.3 Burnt bones roasted on shore
   5.4 Pearl shell lures leftovers

Question 10

Tahitian Dance

Answer 10

1. Traditionally for welcome, rituals
2. Today important part of cultural expression
   2.1 Male/Female groups/solo
   2.2 Fast hips and legs! (Men slap knees together; Women move hips fast)
3. Heiva I Tahiti
   3.1 Yearly dance festival and competition

Question 11

Wide Valleys

Answer 11

1. Used for living and farming

Question 12

Tahiti and Mo’orea

Answer 12

1. Colonized ca. 1000 BP
2. Early erosion in interior
   2.1 Farming, residences scattered across landscape
3. Sites everywhere but not very large

Question 13

Residential Landscape: Kahn and Kirch 2013

Answer 13

1. Residences
   1.1 House shape residential (3)
2. Ritual areas
   2.1 Everyone in line and walk across/through valley to see what was there
   2.2 Ritual sites near each house
3. Agricultural areas
   3.1 Agricultural features scattered all around
4. Everyone had own area

Question 14

Households in the Society Islands

Answer 14

1. Round-ended houses and associated complex of smaller houses
   1.1 Not socially stratified
   1.2 Activities, not architecture, indicate house function
   1.3 Some specialization (adze production) may be associated with elites

Question 15

Houses with Pavements

Answer 15

1. Stone pavements
2. Make smooth spot for it

Question 16

Temple

Answer 16

1. Platform for ritual activity
2. Stacked stone cobble center

Question 17

Stratified Society: Society Islands

Answer 17

1. Stone floor houses and Marae prior to 500 BP
2. Marae forms became more complex
3. Dated with coral (U/Th) dating
   3.1 Evidence of local chiefdom development
4. Picture
   4.1 Captain Cook
   4.2 Sacrificed pigs on roof
   4.3 Sacrificed person
   4.4 Skulls on platform in background (Thought cannibalism (Cook) but probably ritual ancestor spot where ancestors contained and souls are placed there

Question 18

Stratified Society: Society Islands Pt 2

Answer 18

1. See Previous flash card
2. Background see human skulls
   2.1 Cooks interpretation cannibalism but for Tahiti not a lot of evidence for this
3. Temple Marae become more complicated over time and if structure changes with chiefs
   3.1 Chiefs fund temples so determine what they look like
4. Marae Haupoto
   4.1 Limestone on side for panels
5. Marae Manunu
   5.1 Platforms

Question 19

Cult of ‘Oro

Answer 19

1. War cult
2. 1750s-1770s
3. Temples used for sacrifices
   3.1 Humans and animals (usually)
4. Island of Raiatea
   4.1 Leeward group in the north
5. ‘Oro is a god of life and death

Question 20

War God ‘Oro

Answer 20

1. Fiber representation of him
   1.1 Made of yam
   1.2 Physical manifestation is a yam
2. Son of Ta’aroa, the sea god
3. Born at Taputapuatea Marae
   3.1 A yam who comes back to life every year
   3.2 Tapu Tapu = very sacred
   3.3 Atea = white; for white stones
4. Secret priest society
5. Corner stone with ancestor at corner
   5.1 White stone is the seat of ‘Oro

Question 21

Map of Tupaia, 1769

Answer 21

1. Tupaia navigator and priest of Ta’aroa and ‘Oro
2. On map names of islands
   2.1 Majority never been to but knew existed
3. Long time a puzzle because not North or South based
   3.1 Western style
4. This map has Raiatea the center of map because center of their universe and things placed based on it
5. Reconstructed for our western way
   5.1 Lines for connections between places
   5.2 Put in pathway of how to get there