Testing the human factor: Radiocarbon dating the first peoples of the South Pacific

Date

2011

Authors

Petchey, Fiona
Spriggs, Matthew
Leach, Foss
Seed, Mike
Sand, Christophe
Pietrusewsky, Michael
Anderson, Katy

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Elsevier

Abstract

Archaeologists have long debated the origins and mode of dispersal of the immediate predecessors of all Polynesians and many populations in Island Melanesia. Such debates are inextricably linked to a chronological framework provided, in part, by radiocarbon dates. Human remains have the greatest potential for providing answers to many questions pertinent to these debates. Unfortunately, bone is one of the most complicated materials to date reliably because of bone degradation, sample pre-treatment and diet. This is of particular concern in the Pacific where humidity contributes to the rapid decay of bone protein, and a combination of marine, reef, C4, C3 and freshwater foods complicate the interpretation of 14C determinations. Independent advances in bone pre-treatment, isotope multivariate modelling and radiocarbon calibration techniques provide us, for the first time, with the tools to obtain reliable calibrated ages for Pacific burials. Here we present research that combines these techniques, enabling us to re-evaluate the age of burials from key archaeological sites in the Pacific.

Description

Keywords

Keywords: archaeological evidence; archaeology; calibration; chronology; diet; human settlement; multivariate analysis; radiocarbon dating; skeletal remains; Melanesia; Polynesia Calibration; Diet; Human bone; Lapita; Oceania; Post-Lapita; Radiocarbon

Citation

Source

Journal of Archaeological Science

Type

Journal article

Book Title

Entity type

Access Statement

License Rights

Restricted until

2037-12-31