A multidisciplinary approach for dating human colonization of Pacific atolls
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Date
2012-03-29
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Taylor & Francis
Abstract
The timing of reef platform emergence and the detailed chronology of reef island development provides a powerful backdrop for constraining the earliest period possible for prehistoric human colonization of low-lying atolls. Since Pacific atolls consist of biogenetic sediments, we dated foraminifera sands composed of well-preserved shallow-water species that are reliable indicators of facies formation. From transect excavations across the largest islet of Utrōk Atoll (11°13’N, 169°50’E) and Maloelap Atoll (8°47’N, 171°05’E), Marshall Islands, we selected nine foraminifera dating samples and five charcoal samples from prehistoric ovens in well-defined cultural layers and charcoal from buried A horizons. We document that: 1) the largest islets of Utrōk and Maloelap atolls expanded towards the lagoon shore at a rate of ∼70 m/kyr and ∼200m/kyr, respectively; 2) foraminifera sands immediately below buried A horizons in the islet's “core” areas represents the timing of islet development at ∼2750 and ∼2400 cal BP, respectively; and 3) the oldest cultural dates (1850 and 1790 cal BP, ∼900–600 years younger than islet development) indicates that occupation much older than 2000 cal BP is unlikely, which is supported by sea level falling from its high stands to the present levels around 2000 cal BP for the northwestern Pacific. © 2012 Informa UK Limited
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Keywords
Pacific Ocean, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Human populations, Foraminifera, Mass spectroscopy
Citation
Weisler, M. I., Yamano, H., & Hua, Q. (2012). A multidisciplinary approach for dating human colonization of Pacific atolls. The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 7(1), 102-125. doi:10.1080/15564894.2011.616923