213. Nana Madol Pohnpei, Micronesia. Saudeleur Dynasty C. 700-1600

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

213. Nana Madol Pohnpei, Micronesia. Saudeleur Dynasty C. 700-1600 213. Nana Madol Pohnpei, Micronesia. Saudeleur Dynasty c. 700-1600 C.E. Basalt boulders and prismatic columns (2 images) ruined city adjacent to the eastern shore of the island of Pohnpei that was the capital of the Saudeleur Dynasty until about 1628 constructed in a lagoon, consists of a series of small artificial islands linked by a network of canals.[3] The site core with its stone walls encloses an area approximately 1.5 km long by 0.5 km wide and it contains nearly 100 artificial islets—stone and coral fill platforms—bordered by tidal canals Nan Madol means "spaces between" and is a reference to the canals that crisscross the ruins o original name was Soun Nan-leng (Reef of Heaven) o often called the “Venice of the pacific” Little can be verified about the megalithic construction o Legends are told of construction involving sorcery and dragons o None of the proposed quarry sites exist in Madolenihmw, meaning that the stones must have been transported to their current location. It has been suggested that they might have been floated via raft from the quarry, and a short dive between the island and the quarries shows a trail of dropped stones. However, no one has successfully demonstrated or explained the process. Some modern Pohnpeians believe the stones were flown to the island by use of black magic major purpose of constructing a separate city was to insulate the nobility from the common people o elite centre was a special place of residence for the nobility and of mortuary activities presided over by priests. Its population almost certainly did not exceed 1,000, (about 24000 outside of the city walls) and may have been less than half that. Although many of the residents were chiefs, the majority were commoners. Nan Madol served, in part, as a way for the ruling Saudeleur chiefs to organize and control potential rivals by requiring them to live in the city rather than in their home districts, where their activities were difficult to monitor no fresh water or food; water must be collected and food grown inland – then brought in by boat o later (conquerors) abandoned the site – possible because they could not get fresh food and water to the site .
Recommended publications
  • Survey Report on the Present State of Nan Madol, Federated States of Micronesia
    2010 Survey for International Cooperation Japan Consortium for International Cooperarion in Cultual Heritage Survey Report on the Present State of Nan Madol, Federated States of Micronesia March 2012 Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultual Heritage Foreword 1. This is a report on the fiscal 2010 survey conducted by the Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cul- tural Heritage in regard to the archaeological site of Nan Madol in the Federated States of Micronesia. 2. The following members were responsible for writing each of the chapters of this report. Writers: Chapters 1, 4, 6 – Tomomi Haramoto Chapters 2, 3 – Osamu Kataoka Chapter 5 – Tomo Ishimura Editor: Tomomi Haramoto, Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage i ii Preface The Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage (JCIC-Heritage) collects information in various forms to promote Japan’s international cooperation on cultural heritage. Under this scheme of information collection, a cooperation partner country survey was conducted in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in fiscal 2010, as presented in this report. It was conducted in response to a request from the UNESCO Apia Office, to provide a foundation of information that would facilitate the first steps toward protecting Nan Madol, the largest cultural heritage site in FSM. Cooperation partner country surveys are one of the primary activities of JCIC-Heritage’s initiatives for interna- tional cooperation. They particularly focus on collecting basic information to identify fields of cooperation and their feasibility in a relevant partner country. As of fiscal 2011, cooperation surveys have been conducted in Laos, Mongo- lia, Yemen, Bhutan, Armenia, Bahrain, and Myanmar, and have effectively assisted Japan’s role in international coop- eration.
    [Show full text]
  • Pohnpei, Micronesia) Identified Using 230Th/U Coral Dating and Geochemical Sourcing of Megalithic Architectural Stone
    Quaternary Research 86 (2016) 295e303 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Quaternary Research journal homepage: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/quaternary-research Earliest direct evidence of monument building at the archaeological site of Nan Madol (Pohnpei, Micronesia) identified using 230Th/U coral dating and geochemical sourcing of megalithic architectural stone * Mark D. McCoy a, , Helen A. Alderson b, Richard Hemi c, Hai Cheng d, e, R. Lawrence Edwards e a Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275, USA b Division of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3DZ, UK c School of Surveying, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand d Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China e Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA article info abstract Article history: Archaeologists commonly use the onset of the construction of large burial monuments as a material Received 18 April 2016 indicator of a fundamental shift in authority in prehistoric human societies during the Holocene. High- Available online 5 October 2016 quality direct evidence of this transition is rare. We report new interdisciplinary research at the archaeological site of Nan Madol that allows us to specify where and when people began to construct Keywords: monumental architecture in the remote islands of the Pacific. Nan Madol is an ancient administrative and Geoarchaeology mortuary center and the former capital
    [Show full text]
  • Underwater Survey at the Ruins of Nan Madol, Pohnpei State, Federated States of Micronesia
    Underwater Survey at the Ruins of Nan Madol, Pohnpei State, Federated States of Micronesia Tomo Ishimura Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Nara 630-8577, Japan Email: [email protected] Kyushu Institute for Technology, Fukuoka 804-8550, Japan E-mail: [email protected] Akira Asada University of Tokyo, Tokyo 153-8505, Japan Email: [email protected] Fumitaka Maeda Toyo Corporation, Tokyo 103-8284, Japan Email: [email protected] Ken’ichi Sugimoto Windy Network, Tokyo 108-0073, Japan Email: [email protected] Toshihiro Ogawa, Akio Hikoyama, Yoshinori Matsumoto, Yusuke Sugimoto Windy Network, Tokyo 108-0073, Japan Email: [email protected]; Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]; Email: [email protected] Charles Brennan R2 SONIC, Austin, Texas 78735, USA Email: [email protected] Tomomi Haramoto TokyoNational Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo 110-8713, Japan Email: [email protected] Augustine Kohler Office of the National Archive, Culture, and Historic Preservation, FSM National Government, Pohnpei, The Federated States of Micronesia, FM 96941 Email: [email protected] Abstract In this paper we demonstrate the results of underwater survey at Nan Madol, Federated States of Micronesia. Nan Madol are the ruins of a megalithic civilization composed of 95 small to large artificial islets made mostly of basalt, situated on a shallow water of Pohnpei Island. The site is now on the Tentative List of the UNESCO World Heritage Site submitted by Federated States of Micronesia. Protection of the site is comprised of both these basaltic islets and the water surrounding them.
    [Show full text]
  • Find Your PLACE ASIAN AMERICANS + PACIFIC ISLANDERS
    National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Cultural Resources, Partnerships, and Science Find Your PLACE ASIAN AMERICANS + PACIFIC ISLANDERS U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Cultural Resources, Partnerships, and Science Developed by Paloma Bolasny. Written by Paloma Bolasny and Joe Flanagan with contributions by David Andrews, Theodora Chang, Barbara Little, and Franklin Odo. Designed by David Andrews and Beth Pruitt. 3rd Edition April 2016 COVER: Fumiko Hayashida waits on the Bainbridge Island ferry dock while holding her sleeping daughter in 1942. Photograph taken by a Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter. Dorothea Lange/National Archives. TELLING ALL AMERICANS’ STORIES North America’s earliest chapters are peopled by immigrants from Asia and the Pacific. Their presence has been both enduring and influential. They were a part of the early settlement of the country and the economic development of the West. They influenced the desegregation of public schools in the 20th century and the politics of the 21st. They have made a mark in industry, architecture, technology, civil rights, and other aspects of the American experience. They are accomplished citizens in science, academia, business, and the arts. They have enriched this nation and defended its ideals with patriotism and valor. This many-faceted heritage is present in one form or another across the entire nation. Old western mining camps, Chinatowns, Koreatowns, and Little Manilas connect to this heritage. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders find legacies in the labor movement in Hawai’i. They find their heritage in the Asian architectural details that inspired Frank Lloyd Wright. Their numbers as the nation’s fastest growing “racial” group make them influential.
    [Show full text]
  • Nan Madol (Federated States of Micronesia) No 1503
    Technical Evaluation Mission An ICOMOS technical evaluation mission visited the Nan Madol property from 17 to 24 August 2015. (Federated States of Micronesia) Additional information received by ICOMOS No 1503 A copy of the proposed Bill adding to the Pohnpei Code to establish the Nan Madol Historic Preservation Trust together with a copy of the Pohnpei Code were provided to the mission expert, together with the brochure on the Nan Madol Archaeological Site and a research report on Official name as proposed by the State Party the Shoreline Change Phase 1 for Federated States of Nan Madol: Ceremonial Center of Eastern Micronesia Micronesia (FSM). Location A letter was sent by ICOMOS to the State Party on 23 Madolenihmw Municipality, Pohnpei Island September 2015 requesting an updated map showing all Pohnpei State numbered sites; clarification on protection of the buffer Federated States of Micronesia zone; a time schedule for passing the new Bill, and for the completion of the management plan. A response Brief description from the State Party was received on 18 November 2015 Created on a series of 99 artificial islets off the shore of and the information has been incorporated below. An Pohnpei Island, the remains of stone palaces, temples, interim report including a request for additional mortuaries and residential domains known as Nan Madol information was sent by ICOMOS to the State Party on represent the ceremonial centre of the Saudeleur 21 December 2015 following discussions with the State Dynasty. Reflecting an era of vibrant and intact Pacific Party by Skype on 2 December 2015 regarding the state Island culture the complex saw dramatic changes of of conservation of the property and a possible approach settlement and social organisation 1200-1500 CE.
    [Show full text]
  • 213. Nan Madol. Pohnpei, Micronesia. Saudeleur Dynasty
    Unit 9: The Pacific AP AH Image Set Osborn 213. Nan Madol. Pohnpei, Micronesia. Saudeleur Dynasty. c. 700–1600 C.E. Basalt boulders and prismatic columns. (2 images) Nan Madol Nan Madol © Jack Fields/Corbis © Jack Fields/Corbis Unit 9: The Pacific AP AH Image Set Osborn 214. Moai on platform (ahu). Rapa Nui (Easter Island). c. 1100–1600 C.E. Volcanic tuff figures on basalt base. Moai © Peter Langer/Design Pics/Corbis Unit 9: The Pacific AP AH Image Set Osborn 215. ‘Ahu ‘ula (feather cape). Hawaiian. Late 18th century C.E. Feathers and fiber. ‘Ahu ‘ula © The Trustees of the British Museum/Art Resource, NY Unit 9: The Pacific AP AH Image Set Osborn 216. Staff god. Rarotonga, Cook Islands, central Polynesia. Late 18th to early 19th century C.E. Wood, tapa, fiber, and feathers. (3 images) Staff god © The Trustees of the British Museum Detail © The Trustees of the British Museum Unit 9: The Pacific AP AH Image Set Osborn Contextual image: staff god © The Trustees of the British Museum Unit 9: The Pacific AP AH Image Set Osborn 217. Female deity. Nukuoro, Micronesia. c. 18th to 19th century C.E. Wood. Female deity © Werner Forman Archive/The Bridgeman Art Library Unit 9: The Pacific AP AH Image Set Osborn 218. Buk (mask). Torres Strait. Mid- to late 19th century C.E. Turtle shell, wood, fiber, feathers, and shell. Buk Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Image source © Art Resource, NY Unit 9: The Pacific AP AH Image Set Osborn 220. Tamati Waka Nene. Gottfried Lindauer. 1890 C.E.
    [Show full text]
  • Temple Architecture in the Sacred Site of Menka, Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia
    Beardsley: Studies in Global Archaeology no. 20 TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE IN THE SACRED SITE OF MENKA, KOSRAE, FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA Felicia Beardsley Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of La Verne, USA [email protected] Abstract: At the ancient sacred site of Menka, Kosrae, the architectural ensemble of the temples dedicated to Sinlaka, the goddess of breadfruit and principle deity of the island, has shifted and transformed over time. The older temple represents a small, intimate setting that fully reflected the key elements of the oral histories, including clan symbols, an altar oriented to Mt. Finkol, the highest peak on the island, and a colonnaded promenade. The younger temple is a larger, more expansive complex, reflects a more theatrical setting, sheds the key features of the older temple complex, and represents a shift in engagement with a spatial arrangement that accommodates greater numbers of spectators and participants. INTRODUCTION The architectural remnants of ancient Micronesia are most frequently described by the monumental sites of Leluh on Kosrae and Nan Madol on Pohnpei, the sculpted hills of Palau, the stone money of Yap, and the latte sets in the Marianas. Each of these sites is the very embodiment of the term monumental: they are larger than life productions of grandeur in style and expanse that is both imposing and altogether awe-inspiring to those viewing these sites. The complexity of their architectural expression transforms them into something so enigmatic that they continue to draw viewers of all stripes with magnetic force; even the early days of scientific expeditions of exploration saw these sites attract the almost exclusive attention of archaeologists in the region (Ritter and Ritter 1982; Rainbird 2004; Sarfert 1919).
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Landscapes of the Pacific Islands Anita Smith 17
    Contents Part 1: Foreword Susan Denyer 3 Part 2: Context for the Thematic Study Anita Smith 5 - Purpose of the thematic study 5 - Background to the thematic study 6 - ICOMOS 2005 “Filling the Gaps - An Action Plan for the Future” 10 - Pacific Island Cultural Landscapes: making use of this study 13 Part 3: Thematic Essay: The Cultural Landscapes of the Pacific Islands Anita Smith 17 The Pacific Islands: a Geo-Cultural Region 17 - The environments and sub-regions of the Pacific 18 - Colonization of the Pacific Islands and the development of Pacific Island societies 22 - European contact, the colonial era and decolonisation 25 - The “transported landscapes” of the Pacific 28 - Principle factors contributing to the diversity of cultural Landscapes in the Pacific Islands 30 Organically Evolved Cultural Landscapes of the Pacific 31 - Pacific systems of horticulture – continuing cultural landscapes 32 - Change through time in horticultural systems - relict horticultural and agricultural cultural landscapes 37 - Arboriculture in the Pacific Islands 40 - Land tenure and settlement patterns 40 - Social systems and village structures 45 - Social, ceremonial and burial places 47 - Relict landscapes of war in the Pacific Islands 51 - Organically evolved cultural landscapes in the Pacific Islands: in conclusion 54 Cultural Landscapes of the Colonial Era 54 Associative Cultural Landscapes and Seascapes 57 - Storied landscapes and seascapes 58 - Traditional knowledge: associations with the land and sea 60 1 Part 4: Cultural Landscape Portfolio Kevin L. Jones 63 Part 5: The Way Forward Susan Denyer, Kevin L. Jones and Anita Smith 117 - Findings of the study 117 - Protection, conservation and management 119 - Recording and documentation 121 - Recommendations for future work 121 Annexes Annex I - References 123 Annex II - Illustrations 131 2 PART 1: Foreword Cultural landscapes have the capacity to be read as living records of the way societies have interacted with their environment over time.
    [Show full text]
  • 006, When I Arrived Jet Lagged and Unprepared for a Field Director Position with a Teaching Non-Profit Called Worldteach
    EATING EMPIRE, GOING LOCAL: FOOD, HEALTH, AND SOVEREIGNTY ON POHNPEI, 1899-1986 BY JOSH LEVY DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2018 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor Frederick Hoxie, Chair Professor Vicente Diaz Professor David Hanlon Professor Kristin Hoganson Associate Professor Martin Manalansan ABSTRACT Eating Empire, Going Local centers the island of Pohnpei, Micronesia in a global story of colonial encounter and dietary change. It follows Pohnpeians and Pohnpei’s outer Islanders in their encounters with Spain, Germany, Japan, and the United States, negotiating, adapting to, and resisting empire through food and food production. In the process, Pohnpei extended food’s traditional role as locus of political influence and used it to navigate deceptively transformative interventions in ecology, consumption, the market, and the body. Food became Pohnpei’s middle ground, one that ultimately fostered a sharp rise in rates of non-communicable diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. The chapters draw on global commodity histories that converge on the island, of coconuts, rice, imported foods, and breadfruit. These foods illuminate the local and global forces that have delivered public health impacts and new political entanglements to the island. Eating Empire uses food and the analytic lenses it enables – from ecology and race to domesticity and sovereignty – as a tool to reimagine Pohnpei’s historical inter-imperial and contemporary political relationships from the bottom up. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The first time I saw Pohnpei was in the summer of 2006, when I arrived jet lagged and unprepared for a field director position with a teaching non-profit called WorldTeach.
    [Show full text]
  • Preliminary Archaeological Investigations on Ponape and Other Eastern Caroline Islands
    Preliminary Archaeological Investigations on Ponape and other Eastern Caroline Islands Janet M. DAVIDSON Auckland Institute and Museum, New Zealand Introduction As archaeological inv estigations are undertaken in more areas of Oceania, and results begin to be made available, the lack of resear ch in Eastern Microne sia becomes more noticeable and more regrettable. In this paper, I shall desc ribe briefly some of the less spectacular and little known archaeo logical ev idence from Ponape and neighbouring islands, and attempt to indicate the potential of this area for future archaeo logical researc h as it is increasingly necessary to add to our knowledge of the area itself, and its relationships with other parts of Oceani a, particularly Western Polynesia and Eastern Melanesia. The opportunity to make a preliminary surv ey of archaeological sites on Ponape presented itself when I spent three weeks on the island in Marc h 1965 awaiting transportation to the ato ll of Nukuoro. After leaving Nukuoro I was able to visit briefly severa l other islands in the Ponape Administrative District. 1 As the total tim e spent on the survey comprised two weeks on Ponape, a few hou rs each on the atolls of Mokil, Pingelap, and Ngatik, barely one hour on Pakihn, and two days on Kusaie, it is obvious that the wor k involved was very preliminar y. The results are pre sente d here in the hope that they may serve as a guide for future research. The area here defined as Eastern Micronesia is divided tod ay into three Adm inistrativ e Districts, Truk, the Marshalls, and Ponape.
    [Show full text]
  • A New Archaeological Field Survey of the Site of Nan Madol, Pohnpei
    A new archaeological field survey of the site of Nan Madol, Pohnpei Mark D. McCoy, Helen A. Alderson, and Adam Thompson Nan Madol, sometimes called the ‘Venice of the Pacific,’ is a mortuary and administrative site built from columnar basalt, boulders, and coral. It is made up of artificial islets that stretch over 83 hectares of lagoon on the volcanic high island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia and is pivotal to our understanding of ancient Pohnpeian society. Nan Madol was first mapped in its entirety in 1910 by the German explorer Paul Hambruch and in the century since then the site has been re-surveyed and maps of varying levels of detail have been published. Here we report on the first full coverage field survey of the site’s artificial islets employing high precision GPS. The survey dataset has been made available for download as a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) layer at the data clearinghouse website: The Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR). We also report a matching annotated list of variant place names used in the literature and some brief information on the function of islets from oral traditions. This report, the digital map, and the annotated list of islets are aimed to provide future researchers with a baseline database. Nan Madol, a veces llamada “La Venecia del Pacífico”, es un sitio mortuorio y administrativo construido a partir de un basalto columnar, rocas y coral. Está compuesto de islotes artificiales que se extienden a lo largo de 83 hectáreas de laguna en la isla volcánica de Pohnpei, en los Estados Federados de Micronesia y es esencial para nuestro entendimiento de la antigua sociedad pohnpeiana.
    [Show full text]
  • Lessons from the Field
    Lessons from the Field The Traditional Monarch of Kitti in Pohnpei Addresses the High Rates of Non-Communicable Diseases through Local Policy Johnny Hadley, Jr. BA and Evonne Sablan MPA Abstract Pohnpeian high school students used cigarettes daily and 50.1% used smokeless tobacco.3 These unhealthy lifestyle practices Almost a quarter of Pohnpei’s population is overweight or obese, a major have led to high non-communicable disease (NCD) morbidity factor influencing a 2010 non-communicable diseases (NCD) emergency and mortality rates. In fact, the life expectancy in the FSM is declaration. The Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) ten years less than in the US.5 project in Pohnpei is implementing a culturally tailored policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) intervention to reduce NCDs through healthy nutrition projects. Through collaboration with traditional leaders and using traditional The 2010 US Affiliated Pacific Islands health emergency protocols, REACH succeeded in soliciting formal approval from a Traditional declaration called for regional, national, and local agencies Monarch to serve only healthy beverages during events at all traditional houses to mobilize and respond to reduce the incidences of NCDs in in the municipality. The Governor, in turn, also supported this initiative. This the region.6 Due to the state of emergency, the Pohnpei State project cultivated relationships with traditional and government leaders to Department of Health Services (DHS) has worked on health implement a culturally appropriate healthy nutrition PSE change intervention. interventions that impact the Pohnpeian population. Previously, Pohnpei State DHS implemented public health and behavior Keywords change programs, such as health education campaigns and exercise programs, which targeted individual change and were Micronesia, Pacific Islander, traditional leaders, nutrition non-sustaining.
    [Show full text]