Subsistence intensification in the late prehistory of Manus
Date
1995
Authors
McEldowney, Phyllis H
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Abstract
This thesis explores possible evidence of intensified production in the prehistory of
Manus Province (Admiralty Islands), Papua New Guinea. This research aim draws on
broader archaeological assumptions that changes in past subsistence are traceable
through durable modifications of the landscape and often signal attempts to intensify
production. To address this issue two examples of walled complexes, both constructed
for subsistence production, are compared. On the small volcanic island of Baluan,
walled garden enclosures cover the landscape while in the other, inhabitants of Andra
constructed a nearly continuous barrier of walled fish traps along the reef edge.
Three approaches were used to address these issues. The first is descriptive in that it
documents through ethnographic interviews and field observations the physical
structure, function and customary use of both walled complexes. Particular attention is
given factors influencing yields, labor requirements and the consequences of capital
investments, all considered significant in measuring intensified production. For Baluan,
agricultural procedures and cycles are reconstructed as are the island's once pronounced
and diverse assemblages of fruit and nut trees. For Andra, the walled trap complexes
were one of 28 fishing methods known to be used by a specialized fishing community to
exploit highly differentiated reef environments and their diverse fish populations. While
the function of the walled traps are examined in detail, all 28 methods are also described.
The second approach attempts to isolate and deduce phases of chronological and spatial
development in these complexes, focusing primarily on their establishment, expansion
and the possible intensification of their structural capacities. On Baluan analyses
examine a sample of 736 walled enclosures while, for Andra, the sample included 221
walled fish traps visible on aerial photographs and 47 mapped examples. The third
approach emphasizes the environmental and social context of these developments as
they can provide the impetus for production increases or present limitation to these
efforts.
Several common elements emerged from comparisons between these two, almost
contrasting, walled complexes. Customary use and the structural histories of the
complexes suggest that competition over the allocation of resources was of greater
significance in their development than attempts to increase production. Underscored is
the value, in similar circumstances, of considering the organizational aspects of
production in explaining these developments instead of focusing solely or primarily on
issues of production increases or labor requirements. In both cases, pressures on
production were expressed most strongly at the level of the household, a trend reflected
in the replication of individual forms that constitute the complexes. Although neither
complex appears to strongly and directly express the process of intensification, evidence
suggests that both were components in a larger trend in which production as a whole
was intensifying and becoming more concentrated. These results serve as reminders that
the most archaeologically visible components of subsistence may not represent
production prominence or precisely mark significant phases of intensification.
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