Wilmshurst, Janet MAnderson, AthollHigham, Thomas F. G.Worthy, Trevor H2015-12-100027-8424http://hdl.handle.net/1885/50242The pristine island ecosystems of East Polynesia were among the last places on Earth settled by prehistoric people, and their colonization triggered a devastating transformation. Overhunting contributed to widespread faunal extinctions and the decline ofKeywords: carbon 14; accuracy; animal tissue; archeology; article; biodiversity; chronology; controlled study; deforestation; ecosystem; experimental rat; fauna; fossil animal; gnawing; New Zealand; nonhuman; organism colony; Pacific islands; pacific rat; paleoecol Archaeological visibility; Colonization; East Polynesia; Radiocarbon; Rattus exulans200810.1073/pnas.08015071052015-12-09