Historical Ecology in Kiribati: Linking Past with Present1

Frank R. Thomas2

Abstract: Compared with ‘‘high’’ islands, atolls and table reefs have received lit- tle attention from archaeologists focusing on historical ecology in Oceania. Limited archaeological investigations in the three archipelagoes composing the Republic of Kiribati (Gilbert, Phoenix, and Line Groups) reflect primarily cul- ture historical reconstructions. Given the unique environmental challenges posed by coral islands, their potential for prehistoric ecological research should be recognized. By contrast, the last 50 years have witnessed a host of environ- mental studies, from agricultural improvements to sea-level rise and contempo- rary human impact on terrestrial and marine resources. In an attempt to better understand the influence of natural and human-induced processes in the more distant past, this paper explores several themes of relevance to coral islands in general. These include (1) natural and anthropogenic change on geomorphol- ogy and ecosystems, (2) anthropogenic impacts on faunal resources, (3) environ- mental evidence for human colonization, (4) interisland exchange networks and population mobility, and (5) social evolution.

As islands formed by biogenic agents (un- Although coral islands have been the fo- consolidated carbonate sediments deposited cus of detailed ethnographic research begin- by waves on reef platforms), atolls and table ning in the early decades of the twentieth reefs, or low coral islands without lagoons, century (e.g., Buck 1932a,b, Beaglehole and can be regarded as especially constraining Beaglehole 1938, Kra¨mer and Nevermann habitats for human communities (Bayliss- 1938), archaeological coverage was mainly Smith 1977, Brady 1978, Liew 1990). The concerned in documenting surface remains challenges faced by human populations, both (Emory 1934a,b, 1939). It was assumed that past and present, include low soil fertility, because of their marginal environment, such absence of perennial surface freshwater, and islands must have been settled relatively late, extreme vulnerability to flooding by storm after the better endowed high islands had surge due to low elevation of the highly frag- been colonized. In view of their geomorpho- mented landmass, only a few meters above logic instability, it was also believed that cata- mean sea level. There are some 300 atolls strophic disturbances would have obliterated and low coral islands in Oceania and many most traces of subsurface cultural deposits. more individual islets. Several archipelagoes It was not until the mid-1960s, through are dominated by these kinds of limestone is- the efforts of Janet Davidson (1967, 1971) in lands, such as the Tuamotus, the Marshall Is- her pioneering excavations on the Polynesian lands, Tuvalu, and Kiribati (Figure 1). outlier of Nukuoro, that the presence of in situ cultural layers was confirmed. The 1970s and 1980s witnessed an expansion in coral is- land research, with partial coverage of the 1 Manuscript accepted 30 November 2008. Caroline and Marshall islands (Sinoto 1984, 2 Pacific Studies, Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture Dye 1987b). The Caroline Islands data fur- and Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific, ther demonstrated that stratified deposits, al- Suva, Fiji (e-mail: [email protected]). beit disturbed, could still be identified even on atolls and other island types located in Pacific Science (2009), vol. 63, no. 4:567–600 the cyclone belt (Intoh 2008). As was charac- : 2009 by University of Hawai‘i Press teristic of most of the archaeology in Oceania All rights reserved at the time, questions of origin through the

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Figure 1. One of the Gilbert atolls from the air. study of artifact types dominated the research bodies of information, however, we can pro- agenda. vide some directions for future research. Kiribati offers great potential for further Given the unique environmental challenges archaeological research, given the environ- confronting human communities on coral is- mental variability found among its atolls and lands, their potential for prehistoric ecologi- table reefs scattered over vast ocean distances. cal research should be recognized. Topics of There is a need to gather more information interest to historical ecologists include natural on local chronologies and to increase our un- and anthropogenic change on geomorphol- derstanding of past human ecology. ogy and ecosystems, anthropogenic impacts I explore themes in historical ecology ini- on faunal resources, environmental evidence tially proposed by Kirch and Hunt (1997) for human colonization, interisland exchange on several ‘‘high’’ islands in Oceania, as they networks and population mobility, and social might apply to coral island research. Data evolution. collected by Alkire (1978) on coral island so- cieties using an ecological framework are also presented and further discussed in the Kiri- physical setting bati context. Much of what follows is spec- Geography and Geology ulative given the paucity of data in support of hypotheses and scenarios over alternative The Republic of Kiribati consists of 33 atolls views. By attempting to synthesize existing and table reefs spread over an area exceeding . Historical Ecology in Kiribati Thomas 569

3 million km2 of ocean straddling the equator islands, being strongly influenced by the El between 04 43 0 N and 11 25 0 S latitude and Nin˜ o–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) (Bur- between 169 32 0 E and 150 140 W longi- gess 1987). Precipitation ranges from about tude. The total land area, however, only 3,000 mm in the north (Butaritari) to 1,100 slightly exceeds 800 km2 (Figure 2). mm in the south (Tamana) in the Gilbert The Gilbert Islands, also referred to as Group and from about 4,000 mm (Teraina) western Kiribati, are a group of 16 atolls and in the Line Islands to less than 800 mm reef islands. Banaba (Ocean Island), which on Kanton (Phoenix Group) (Hoare 1996– lies some 400 km west of the main group 1998). Prolonged drought conditions are and attains an elevation of 80 m, is sometimes common, notably in the central and south- considered to be part of the archipelago as a ern Gilberts, many of the Phoenix Islands, result of intensive social and political interac- and Kiritimati. Cyclones are rare. Tempera- tion with the Gilberts in recent history. tures show little seasonal differences. Day- The Gilbert Islands are spread over 640 time maxima are high, averaging between km on both sides of the equator at the south- 31C and 33C, although humidity is more eastern edge of Micronesia between 03 30 0 variable among the islands. N and 02 45 00 S latitude and between 172 30 0 E and 177 00 0 E longitude. The total Soils and Hydrology land area for the group is about 280 km2.Ex- cluding Banaba, three subgroups within the The highly alkaline and coarse-textured Gilberts can be distinguished on the basis of coral-derived soils of Kiribati are among the rainfall: north (Makin and Butaritari), central poorest in the world. They are typically (from Marakei to Aranuka), and south (from shallow with very little water-holding capac- Nonouti to Arorae) (Catala 1957). Tarawa is ity, little organic matter, and low available the seat of government and main commercial macro- and micronutrients apart from cal- center, with the southern part of the atoll cium, sodium, and magnesium (Thaman consisting of mixed rural and urbanized sec- 1992). Because soils are alkaline, fertility is tions. dependent on organic matter for the concen- About 1,400 km east of the Gilberts lies tration and recycling of plant nutrients and the Phoenix Group, a cluster of eight largely for soil water retention in excessively well- uninhabited atolls and reef islands. Farther drained soils. Organic carbon values for sub- east are the Line Islands, including Kiritimati soils are low (<0.5%) unless there has been (Christmas Island) located some 3,330 km considerable disturbance such as that associ- from Tarawa and 2,100 km southeast of Ho- ated with the digging of babai, or swamp nolulu. Kiritimati is the world’s largest atoll taro (Cyrtosperma chamissonis), pits (Figure 3). in terms of landmass (388 km2), accounting Phosphate soils, which were once extensive for almost half of Kiribati’s dry surface but on Banaba before large-scale mining begin- only about 4% of the population, which is ning in the early twentieth century, are found concentrated in the Gilbert Group and espe- in scattered locations throughout Kiribati. cially on South Tarawa. Owing to their small size, low elevation, and the porosity of the coral bedrock, there are no surface streams on the atoll islands. In- Climate stead rainfall soaks through the porous sur- Most of the Gilbert Islands and several of the face soil creating the Ghyben-Herzberg lens Line and Phoenix islands are located in the of often slightly brackish water floating on dry belt of the equatorial oceanic climatic top of higher-density saltwater. Apart from zone. Islands located within 5 of the equator small amounts of water that may be collected normally experience two wet seasons because from coconut palm fronds and trunks during the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) precipitation, as well as from discarded giant crosses the region twice a year (Sturman and clam shells, the lens is the only source of po- McGowan 1999). However, rainfall is ex- table water. More recently, concrete cisterns, tremely variable, both annually and between empty oil drums, and plastic storage tanks Figure 2. Map of Kiribati. . Historical Ecology in Kiribati Thomas 571

Figure 3. Swamp taro (Cyrtosperma chamissonis) in pit. have provided alternative means to collect tangible cultural resources, and only a few ex- rainwater. Generally, salinity decreases from cavations have been undertaken. Unlike the both lagoon and ocean beaches toward the atolls in the jurisdictions that were once part center of islets. The location and degree of of the former U.S. Trust Territory of the groundwater development influences the sur- Pacific Islands (‘‘American Micronesia’’), rounding vegetation, as well as the location of and that have benefited from the historic village wells and cultivation pits. Unchecked preservation program of the U.S. National urbanization and population growth on South Park Service, Kiribati lacks a comprehensive Tarawa have resulted in sewage seeping into heritage-management agenda. This is largely the groundwater at several locations. attributable to limited financial resources. Of concern for the future of human hab- Excavations on the raised (makatea) coral itability, including access to drinking water island of Banaba were carried out in the and agricultural production, is the threat of mid-1960s (Lampert 1968, Sigrah and King global warming and associated rise in sea level 2001), yielding dates not older than 300 to (Nunn 2001). 400 years ago. Owing to the heavy exploita- tion of phosphate deposits throughout the archaeological coverage twentieth century, much surface cover has been removed, likely destroying a substantial The three island groups that compose Kiri- part of the archaeological record. bati have received uneven coverage of their Within the Gilbert Group, the first ar- . 572 PACIFIC SCIENCE October 2009 chaeological excavation was initiated in 1983 1992:121–122, Pawley and Ross 1993, Rain- on the small reef island of Makin (Ta- bird 2004:233). However, links between the kayama and Takasugi 1987, 1988, Takayama Gilberts and Polynesian areas are manifest 1988). This was followed by excavations on in architecture and words, particularly in the North Tarawa and the southern reef island adoption of West Polynesian nautical termi- of Tamana (Takayama et al. 1989, 1990). nology (Marck 1986, Geraghty 1994, Rain- Much of that work, as elsewhere in Kiribati, bird 2004:232). The Gilberts and Kosrae are focused on culture history and the typological both probable locations for the Proto Nu- approach. Radiocarbon dating on Nikunau clear Micronesian homeland (Lynch et al. (southern Gilberts) suggests initial occupa- 2002:117–118). When the first Europeans tion about 2,000 years ago, consistent with landed in the Line and Phoenix groups, all the earliest dates for the neighboring Mar- of these islands were uninhabited yet showed shall Islands to the north (Riley 1987, Shun signs of earlier sustained occupation, prompt- and Athens 1990, Di Piazza 1999, Weisler ing the label ‘‘mystery islands’’ to describe 1999a,b, 2000, 2001b). It should be noted them together with other similar localities that there are controversial dates from Bikini such as Pitcairn Island of Bounty fame, Hen- Atoll in the northern Marshalls, the site of derson, Norfolk, and Nı¯hoa and Necker in nuclear testing during the 1940s and 1950s, the Hawaiian Chain (Bellwood 1979:352). that suggest settlement occurred contempora- neously with the Lapita expansion into the previous ecological research Southwest Pacific before @800 B.C. (Streck 1990). Because contamination of carbon sam- Fifty years ago R. L. A. Catala published his ples by modern radioactivity would produce seminal work on the human ecology of the younger, not older dates (Rainbird 2004:86), Gilbert Islands (Catala 1957). A number of results could be derived from old drift logs reports have subsequently appeared in the of long-lived species, such as those found Atoll Research Bulletin and other publications along the west coast of North America (Kirch mainly focusing on physical geography and and Weisler 1994). natural history of the three archipelagoes but Archaeology in the Phoenix and Line is- also including important human/environment lands goes back to the 1920s and 1930s studies such as Thaman’s (1990) descrip- with work conducted by Kenneth Emory tion of agroforestry and several reports on and Gordon Macgregor of the Bishop Mu- the state of marine resources (Beets 2001, seum (Emory 1934b, Macgregor n.d.). Later Johannes and Yeeting 2001, Paulay 2001, surveys and excavations, including intensive Tebano and Paulay 2001, Thomas 2001a, research toward locating Amelia Earhart’s 2003a). The Tarawa Lagoon Project, a ma- crash site on Nikumaroro (Gardner Island), jor interdisciplinary environmental assess- yielded evidence for human settlement dat- ment survey (Abbott and Garcia 1995), has ing to the twelfth century A.D. (Sinoto 1973, greatly contributed to our understanding of Throssel and Specht 1989, Anderson et al. recent human impact on marine ecosystems 2000, Pearthree and Di Piazza 2003, Di on the main atoll. There are also case studies Piazza and Pearthree 2004). In a review of on social change with close ties to environ- the Phoenix Islands, Carson (1998) concluded mental issues affecting individual communi- that the stone platform structures were remi- ties (Lundsgaarde 1966, Geddes et al. 1982, niscent of eastern Polynesia from the period Geddes 1983, Lawrence 1983, Sewell 1983, A.D. 950 to 1500. Yet, the cultural affiliations Watters and Banibati 1984) and broad so- of current-day I-Kiribati (Gilbertese), whose cioeconomic analyses (Van Trease 1993, ancestors originally settled the Gilbert Group Thomas and Tonganibeia 2007). All of these (and the rest of eastern Micronesia), appear analyses suggest that on such small, resource- to be with groups in the southeastern Solo- poor islands human ecological linkages are mons and northern Vanuatu on the basis of more clearly visible than in most other set- linguistic and archaeological evidence (Irwin tings (cf. Alkire 1965, 1978). . Historical Ecology in Kiribati Thomas 573

Although still regarded by some observers and Garnett 1998). Although the nuclear tests as one of the most traditional areas of Micro- are said to have brought no lasting contami- nesia, Kiribati has witnessed accelerated envi- nation on land, the veil of secrecy has only ronmental and social changes in the decades recently lifted around similar tests in the following independence from Great Britain Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958, in 1979 (World Bank 2000, Thomas 2003b). and there are reported instances of illness These changes might have gone unnoticed among British and Pacific Islander service- by the rest of the world were it not for media men who witnessed these tests and their de- attention on the effects of rising sea levels at- scendants. It remains to be proven that the tributable to global warming and the publicity environment (marine and terrestrial) on both surrounding the millennium celebrations on Malden and Kiritimati is safe for long-term remote Caroline Island in the southern Line human habitation. Owing to population pres- Group, renamed Millennium Island for the sure, agrodeforestation continues with the occasion. widespread removal of coastal strand species Since 1993, I have conducted a series and mangroves for fuelwood and other uses of ecological projects primarily focusing on (Thaman 1990). contemporary marine resources exploitation What is needed is a better understanding but also covering traditional tenure systems of the processes in historical ecology (cf. and agricultural production (Thomas 2001b, Crumley 1994, Kirch and Hunt 1997, Bale´e 2002b, 2003c,d). Attempts to understand 1998, Scoones 1999) that took place on coral human/environment relations on some of islands, such as Kiribati, from the first docu- the Gilbert atolls in the more distant past mented arrival of human settlers some 2,000 used ethnoarchaeological data combined years ago to European contact, and how with approaches from human behavioral ecol- natural and anthropogenic influences have ogy, and direct assessment of indigenous ar- shaped the sociocultural trajectories of vari- chaeological sites (Thomas 2002a, 2007a,b, ous communities. We know that some groups Thomas and Teaero 2009). were able to live sustainably for generations, but others became extinct, as the evidence directions in historical ecology for the Phoenix and Line islands bears testi- research on coral islands mony. What were the keys to human survival on one hand, and what led to the demise of Compared with ‘‘high’’ islands, atolls and ta- different groups on the other? An under- ble reefs have received scant attention from standing of survival, sustainable lifeways, and archaeologists focusing on historical ecology population demise on atolls may have some- (Kirch and Hunt 1997, McNeill 2001, Gar- thing to teach modern populations in the Pa- den 2005, Fitzpatrick and Keegan 2007). cific and elsewhere. More specifically, little is known about cul- tural development and change and the extent Natural and Anthropogenic Change on of human-induced environmental impacts Geomorphology and Ecosystems among Micronesian atolls before Western contact (Weisler 2001b, Anderson 2002). Ma- Since the 1970s, archaeologists working in jor environmental disturbance during the first the Pacific, with support from environmental half of the twentieth century and in the years scientists, have contributed a great deal to- just before independence includes the afore- ward our understanding of the processes of mentioned destruction of the landscape on landscape change coinciding with the arrival Banaba for extracting phosphate (Macdonald of early settlers and continuing throughout 2001); the effects of World War II bombings, the prehistoric sequence on islands under particularly on Betio Islet, South Tarawa investigation, with implications for demo- (Figure 4) (McQuarrie 2000); and nuclear graphic change, agricultural intensification, tests off Malden (southern Line Islands) and and the development of social complexity Kiritimati between 1957 and 1962 (Perry (Kirch 1984, Kirch and Hunt 1997, Leach . 574 PACIFIC SCIENCE October 2009

Figure 4. One of the Japanese 8-inch (20 cm) guns at Betio, Tarawa.

1999, Thomas 1999, Kirch and Rallu 2007). sided, allowing for reef buildup. The oceanic It can no longer be assumed that indige- crust in the Gilbert Group is dated to 139 nous populations, unlike later cultural groups, million years ago and 128 million years in had exerted only minimal influence on their the Line Group ( Jackson and Schlanger physical surroundings. The scale of environ- 1976, Gillie 1993). With the exception of mental disturbance has accelerated with Eu- seismic activity reported in the early 1980s ropean intrusion, but it is clear that many near the southern Gilberts (Lay and Okal indigenous societies impacted both terrestrial 1983), Kiribati is considered tectonically sta- and marine environments, sometimes in sub- ble. However, climatic shifts and change af- stantial ways. Besides measuring the degree fecting islet morphology have certainly taken of environmental change, historical ecologists place before and after human settlement. are also challenged in their attempts to disen- Atoll islets, or motus, constitute the land tangle the effects of natural processes from area above the level of ordinary high tides those induced by humans (Kirch 1997b, Fitz- and typically form a ring with a central la- patrick and Donaldson 2007, Nunn et al. goon open to the sea via passes. An atoll’s 2007). long axis is generally perpendicular or oblique Low coral islands are quite recent on a to the prevailing winds. Consequently, islet geological timescale, having formed on top development is more pronounced along the of extinct volcanoes that have slowly sub- windward margins, whereas deep passes are . Historical Ecology in Kiribati Thomas 575

Figure 5. Partial view of an islet along the windward (ocean) side, Abaiang Atoll.

restricted to leeward margins (Figure 5). Is- son (2003) provided an overview of the pat- lets may differ in size, morphology, and in terns of human settlement and the geological the variety of plants that they support, but evidence concerning the emergence above sea all are susceptible to being flooded by storm level of habitable and/or stepping-stone is- waves (Wiens 1962). Of interest to archaeol- lands. ogists is the timing for the development of Between 35,000 and 30,000 years ago, sea stable landforms and how local chronologies level was near current level but then dropped tie in with the history of human settlement to some 130 m below current-day mean at the in Remote Oceania. peak of the last glacial period about 17,000 Once seen as competing with Darwin’s years ago (Menard 1986:79, Nunn 1999). At subsidence theory, Daly’s (Ku¨hlman 1982, that time, former atolls were exposed like Nunn 2001) glacial control hypothesis, which makatea islands, similar to current-day Ba- emphasizes the effects of falling and rising sea naba and Nauru. Although Near Oceania levels on reef building, has found equal sup- supported human populations during those port in explaining the origin and development periods, there is no evidence that they had of atolls. Changes in sea level took place dur- reached Remote Oceania. ing and after initial settlement of Remote Beginning about 13,000 years ago, global Oceania, but their effects and timing were sea level began to rise rapidly (Martinson et not uniform throughout the region. Dickin- al. 1987). Drill cores from Tarawa revealed . 576 PACIFIC SCIENCE October 2009 leached limestone dating to some 125,000 There is now a growing corpus of radio- years ago, overlain by lithologies dating to carbon ages for early cultural horizons on less than 8,000 years ago (Marshall and Ja- five different atolls and one table reef that cobson 1985). Thus, Holocene reef growth fall within the interval A.D. 100–400 (Riley is believed to have started around 8,000 years 1987, Shun and Athens 1990, Di Piazza ago. 1999, Weisler 1999a,b, 2000, 2001b). Gali- Data for mid- to late-Holocene higher paud (2001) reported on occupation of Ant sea-level stands have been presented for a Atoll, close to Pohnpei, around 2,000 years number of Pacific localities (Grossman et al. ago, consistent with the earliest dates from 1998, Nunn 1998:243, Dickinson 2003). On the Gilberts and the Marshalls, as well as the Tarawa, a mid-Holocene position of sea level high islands of the eastern Carolines. Addi- 0.7–0.8 m above current mean is indicated tional early dates are expected from other (Falkland and Woodroffe 1997). Together atolls in the eastern Carolines and Tuvalu, with evidence from neighboring atolls, reef although the sparse evidence for the latter island formation would not have begun be- so far indicates settlement about A.D. 1000 fore about 3,500 years B.P. (Schofield 1977, (Dickinson et al. 1990). Farther east, but Falkland and Woodroffe 1997). The transi- still part of Dickinson’s (2003) central Pa- tion from corals to unconsolidated sediments cific cluster, there is evidence for exposed needed for island buildup varied across time coastal sediments from Kiritimati by about and space, even within the confines of indi- 1000 B.C. (Woodroffe and McClean 1998), vidual atolls (Marshall and Jacobson 1985, prompting Anderson et al. (2000) to suggest Woodroffe and Morrison 2001), and the that this large atoll could have been settled emergence of land suitable for permanent during the Lapita expansion or later. How- human occupation appears to have taken ever, the earliest evidence for human occupa- place several centuries later. tion on this and other atolls and table reefs in In his review of mid-Holocene high- the Line and Phoenix islands only extends stand conditions and their relationship with back to the twelfth century A.D. (Pearthree the timing of human settlement, Dickinson and Di Piazza 2003, Di Piazza and Pearthree (2003) computed a chronology for the decline 2004). of sea levels and the crossover dates in different Based on this evidence, Dickinson (2003) parts of the Pacific island region, finding a concluded that while mid-Holocene paleo- close correspondence between the availability reefs were still intertidal, habitable islets had of suitable landmass and the appearance of begun to grow on atoll reefs. The apparent human activities. These crossover dates spec- absence of comparable settlement in atoll ify the inferred time for each island group groups of the South Pacific during that time when declining late-Holocene sea level first may relate to the greater tidal range in the carried ambient high-tide level below mid- central Pacific, allowing relict mid-Holocene Holocene low-tide level. Before the crossover paleoreef flats to project farther above low- date, relict mid-Holocene paleoreef flats were tide level, enabling accumulation of unconso- still overtopped by seawater at high tide. The lidated sediment to form islets at an earlier end of highstand for Tuvalu, Kiribati (Gilbert stage of sea-level decline (cf. Chazine 1984, Group), and the Marshall Islands is 200 B.C., Montaggioni and Pirazzoli 1984, Pirazzoli with a crossover date of A.D. 1100. By con- and Montaggioni 1986, Chikamori 1996). trast, for the Tuamotus in the eastern Pacific, Thus, the absence of intervening stable land- the highstand ends at A.D. 800, with a cross- forms on the reefs that would later develop over date of A.D. 1400. These dates may be into the atolls of Tokelau and the northern used as a baseline when people could have Cooks would have effectively increased rela- settled low-lying islands. tive isolation between the high islands of The Gilberts, together with the Marshalls, West and East Polynesia, providing a possible have produced some of the earliest dates for explanation for the chronological gap be- human colonization of the central Pacific. tween Lapita in Samoa and the dates obtained . Historical Ecology in Kiribati Thomas 577 from East Polynesia and the intervening Agroforestry is a distinguishing characteris- atolls (Best 1988, Di Piazza 2005, but see tic of the earliest agriculture in the Pacific Chikamori and Yoshida 1988). islands and is still a prominent component Dickinson (2003) argued that even on is- of contemporary atoll landscapes, even in lands exposing volcanic bedrock or uplifted urbanized settings in houseyard and urban limestone coastal flats most suitable for habi- gardens. In addition, food preservation tech- tation were largely submerged during high- nology no doubt reached its zenith on the stand conditions. Alternative hypotheses for atolls, as people developed ways to process the centuries-long pause in West Polynesia certain foods that could last through periods before the colonization of East Polynesia are of scarcity and for use as sea rations. Fer- presented by Kennett et al. (2006) and Ander- mented breadfruit, dried pandanus paste, and son et al. (2006), who suggested that this dried arrowroot starch could sometimes be chronological gap might relate to population stored for years (Merlin et al. 1997). infilling and the intensification of subsistence There has been one attempt at analyzing strategies, and increasing difficulty of sailing core samples from Teraina’s peat bogs, which against the prevailing southeast trades until indicated no major vegetation change in the El Nin˜ o events became more frequent and last millennium (Wester et al. 1992). Of the of greater intensity. remaining Line and Phoenix islands that Once Pacific atolls became suitable for hu- appeared to have once supported relatively man habitation, colonists continued to face dense human settlements before abandon- numerous challenges, particularly in setting ment, the question remains as to whether up a viable subsistence base given low soil fer- people had successfully introduced cultivars tility and in some instances erratic rainfall and animal domesticates or subsisted mainly patterns. The range of food crops that could by exploiting wild resources (Anderson et al. sustain people on low coral islands was lim- 2000, Di Piazza and Pearthree 2001a). ited compared with what could be grown on The abandonment of these low coral is- the more-fertile volcanic islands. Neverthe- lands may relate to increased climatic insta- less, coral island societies devised subsistence bility during the mid-second millennium strategies that took full advantage of edible A.D., interrupting long-distance exchanges wild resources, including abundant marine and leading to declines in food resources, life, in addition to crops that were successfully both terrestrial and marine, caused by falling introduced. sea level (Nunn 2000, 2007:195, Anderson The most outstanding features of Kiribati 2002, Nunn et al. 2007; see Drugmore et al. and other atoll landscapes, particularly in [2007] for an assessment from the North At- wetter parts of the tropical Pacific, are the lantic). Such atolls are vulnerable to drought swamp taro pits. Taro pit cultivation has wit- and increases in sea-surface temperature nessed a general decline on many atolls today. (Barnett and Adger 2003). Of course, with The reasons are varied and include damage more recent human-induced disturbance, by pigs, crop disease, cyclones, growing de- ecosystem resilience is reduced. For example, pendence on food imports, and increasing rising concentrations of CO2 in the oceans salinization of the water table associated with may retard the ability of reefs to grow in global warming and sea-level rise (Thomas step with sea-level rise. 2003b). Ironically, some Pacific Island soci- It is interesting to note that settlement eties in the past took measures to exterminate spans the period after about A.D. 1000 until pigs because they were competitors for hu- A.D. 1600 at a time when colonists ex- man resources (Giovas 2006). panded into the marginal East and South Coral island societies relied heavily on tree Polynesian islands (Anderson et al. 2000, An- crops (Figure 6), such as breadfruit, panda- derson 2005). Long-distance voyaging may nus, and coconut, not only to meet their di- have been facilitated by environmental condi- etary needs but also to supply raw material tions prevailing at the time, the Medieval for a host of other products (Thaman 1990). Warm Period, bracketed between A.D. 750 . 578 PACIFIC SCIENCE October 2009

Figure 6. Atoll agroforestry landscape, Abaiang Atoll. and 1250 (Nunn 2007:59). These conclu- of an isolated table reef or an entire atoll is sions, however, are being challenged by cli- more unusual. The United States Exploring matic data from the central Pacific (Allen Expedition (Hale 1846:91) recorded an indig- 2006), which highlight the potential influence enous account from Makin of a vanished is- of climate variability, at a variety of scales, on land ‘‘lying about two days’ sail (for their Pacific peoples and the biota and landscapes canoes) to the northeast’’ and named Tarawa with which they interacted. ni Makin, also known as Karawanimakin. With the exception of seismic events Nunn (2009) analyzed oral traditions of re- noted earlier, Kiribati has not been affected cently vanished islands in Kiribati. Although by the tectonic processes characteristic of is- it is unclear when some of these islands disap- lands found along plate boundaries or close peared, other islets, such as Bikeman (Figure to intraplate hotspots. However, low coral is- 8) in Tarawa Lagoon, have a more detailed lands are very much affected by seawater ero- history, beginning with changes induced by sion and deposition (Figure 7). Thus, atoll the construction of causeways in the 1960s, geomorphology is very dynamic (Blumen- which altered water circulation and the flow stock 1961, Bayliss-Smith 1988). Islets form- of sediments inside the lagoon. Tebua Islet, ing part of a larger atoll have been known to lying between Tarawa and Abaiang, appeared disappear under the waves following a natural to have begun eroding away in the midtwen- catastrophe (cyclone, tsunami) or as a result tieth century, perhaps as a result of sea-level of more-gradual processes. The obliteration rise (Moore 2002). . Historical Ecology in Kiribati Thomas 579

Figure 7. Erosional feature on Manra Islet, Abaiang Atoll.

Anthropogenic Impacts on Faunal Resources evidence for extirpation of the Bullmouth helmet shell (Cypraecassis rufa) from Utro¯k The very high ratio of reef to land area, typ- Atoll in the Marshalls. However, the presence ical of most atolls, provided early settlers and or absence of marine organisms in a particu- their descendants with an abundant source of lar habitat appears to be largely dictated by protein as well as raw material (fish bone, chaotic or unpredictable recruiting events empty shells) for the manufacture of tools that shape the structure of reef assemblages and ornaments (Koch 1986). Fishponds and over a particular period of time (Sale 1980). fish traps (Figure 9) made from loosely built Such events are also implicated in the distri- walls of coral boulders were used extensively bution of various shellfish species on Tarawa before Western contact (Dieudonne 2002). as documented in recent environmental sur- What is less clear, however, is the extent of veys (Paulay 2001, Thomas 2007b). This is human impact on the marine environment. not to deny that some species, by virtue of bi- Elsewhere in Oceania, there is evidence that ological, ecological, and behavioral attributes, overfishing by indigenous communities re- may display different levels of resilience to sulted in species-size reduction, particularly human exploitation patterns (Catterall and of shellfish, that can be distinguished from Poiner 1987). The disappearance of the giant the effects of natural disturbance (Anderson clam, Tridacna gigas, in the Marianas, New 1981, Swadling 1986, Spennemann 1987, Al- Caledonia, and Fiji in the past is a case in len 2002, 2003). Weisler (2001b) presented point (Munro 1989). Together with other . 580 PACIFIC SCIENCE October 2009

Figure 8. What remains of Bikeman Islet, Tarawa Lagoon. large members of the Tridacna family, this in- In the Marshalls, there is the story of the vertebrate is considered vulnerable to fish- annan´ bird that used to live along the shores ing pressure, even when using traditional of the northwestern atolls (Thomas 2004). gathering methods. Yet, as Weisler (2002) It is now said to be extinct. It may have noted for his Marshallese data, with relatively been a small ground-dwelling bird, possibly low human population on most atolls and the an endemic rail (Spennemann 1991). Rails presence of extensive lagoon and ocean-side are known to have become extinct in the past reefs, marine resources would have generally on Wake and Kosrae (Owen 1977), although remained unaffected by human activities. In it appears that extirpation took place dur- short, archaeologists lack data on prehistoric ing historic times, with the arrival of cats, resource depression, extirpation, and extinc- dogs, rabbits, and European-introduced rats tion on low coral islands compared with other (Steadman 1989, Olson and Ziegler 1995). In insular environments (Steadman 1997). An- addition, some observers have suggested that derson (2002) further suggested that in the people living on atolls were more acutely absence of information on prehistoric faunal aware of resource limitations than commu- losses in the Line and Phoenix islands, the nities on larger continental or volcanic is- demographic histories of these islands could lands and thus realized at an early stage the not be explained in terms of anthropogenic need to conserve resources (Klee 1985, Zann environmental change that might have com- 1985, Akimichi 1986). pelled people to abandon their settlements. . Historical Ecology in Kiribati Thomas 581

Figure 9. Fish trap, ocean side, Abaiang Atoll.

Environmental Evidence for Human Lipo 2006). Nevertheless, on low coral is- Colonization lands where pottery was never manufactured (although it may have been traded, as in the The rapid spread of Lapita from the Bis- case of outlier atolls of Yap) (Intoh 1992) marcks to the Fiji-Tonga-Samoa area is in and where even shell midden deposits can marked contrast to the colonization history sometimes be ascribed to natural processes of the rest of Polynesia and eastern Microne- rather than human behavior (see Carucci sia. The so-called ‘‘long pause’’ on the order 1992), environmental proxies are often used of perhaps 1,000 years or more along the to identify cultural activities. western margins of Polynesia has intrigued Given the dynamic nature of atoll geo- archaeologists. Although some radiocarbon morphology mentioned earlier, anthropo- dates and environmental proxies, such as genic traces on the landscape can easily be charcoal influxes in sediment cores, suggest obliterated unless located well inland, such as settlement of the remote eastern Pacific in the soils associated with swamp taro pits. Ex- the first few centuries A.D. or perhaps earlier cavation and dating of paleo surface soils un- (e.g., Sutton 1987, Hunt and Holsen 1991, der taro spoil dirt in mounds adjacent to pits Kirch 1997a), critics point out the unreliabil- by Weisler (1999a) in the Marshalls yielded ity of the dated samples or their precise asso- evidence of early land clearing. Accordingly, ciation with human activities (Spriggs and it is expected that the oldest dates for human Anderson 1993, Anderson 1996, Hunt and occupation will be found in association with . 582 PACIFIC SCIENCE October 2009 landscape alteration. One of the first tasks and low-ranking individual kin groups could that colonists needed to perform was to clear establish their residence and organize their vegetation in preparation for taro pit digging, activities. As Kra¨mer and Nevermann (1938) because corms can take 9 months to several reported for the Marshalls, the rank of kin years to mature. groups, as well as of the different lineages Atoll geomorphology influences both the within the same kin group, is indicated by location of settlements and our ability to where they live on the atoll. For example, at identify traces of human activity. Where contact, only the northern atoll of Butaritari still in evidence, anthropogenic landscapes and neighboring Makin were ruled by a sin- provide testimony to human influence on gle paramount chief, and groups displayed the environment. Although some of these clear social distinctions. Most of the other is- human-induced impacts were certainly de- lands were governed by councils of elders and structive, it should be emphasized that life on thus were more egalitarian. low coral islands would be considerably more Nevertheless, archaeological data from difficult without a fair amount of purposeful Ujae and Maloelap atolls in the moderately modification of the land, as well as portions wet central Ratak and Ralik chains of the of the surrounding sea. Indeed, islets that Marshalls show that in the past there was have supported people for an extensive period a tendency for settlements to be aggregated of time can be characterized as ‘‘consummate into one main prehistoric village, even on man-made environments’’ (Kirch 2000:181). large islets, in association with swamp taro Research aimed specifically at understand- pits (Weisler 1999b, 2001a). The habitation ing the relation between the distribution of area then expanded from the center toward cultural remains and islet buildup is exempli- the lagoon, facilitated by land progradation fied by work carried out in the Marshalls in that direction. Over time, the other islets, (Dye 1987b). On the basis of an ecological being smaller, were subsequently exploited model for atoll settlement, the densest (and by people living in the main village for their generally oldest) traces of human occupation various resources, including birds, turtles, are predicted to be on the wider islets, nota- fish, and shellfish, perhaps the result of a bly in their central portion. This is where decline in resources near populated areas. the freshwater lens is most developed and It may be that with falling sea level in the thus able to support agricultural production, mid-second millennium A.D., emerging reef especially swamp taro (Weisler 1999a, Yama- surfaces would have enabled the subsequent guchi et al. 2005). Moreover, these areas af- development of motus and consequently al- forded better protection from salt spray than lowed population dispersal. Later dates for areas closer to the shoreline. Other environ- the occupation of smaller motus on the reef mental parameters for settlement include islet support this hypothesis (Nunn 2007:145, location in relation to the prevailing winds, 147). proximity to canoe passes through the reef, and elevation above sea level in assessing the Interisland Exchange Networks and Population risk of damage caused by cyclones and high Mobility waves (Di Piazza 2005). In addition, given major alteration to parts of the landscape, The arrival of the first Europeans in the Pa- particularly following major storm events, cific islands in the sixteenth century ushered one can expect changes in islet length and in a period of major environmental and de- width through time, not to mention complete mographic changes (McNeill 2001, Garden obliteration (Thomas 2005). However, eco- 2005, Kirch and Rallu 2007). These pro- logical models of settlement patterns, even cesses continue to this day, with many insu- for initial settlement, might not adequately lar habitats facing continued threats from explain where people lived in the past. Cul- alien species introductions and environmen- tural factors, such as those pertaining to one’s tal destruction associated with development status, were shown to determine where high- (Overton and Scheyvens 1999). Indigenous . Historical Ecology in Kiribati Thomas 583 populations now confront the problem of terisland contact remained important for ‘‘lifestyle’’ diseases, notably with declines in many Oceanic societies and commonly in- nutritional health (Thaman 1988). While ur- volved the exchange of goods, people, and ban areas, such as South Tarawa, are experi- ideas. But as a result of environmental and encing unprecedented population expansion, social factors, connections likely waxed many outer islands are witnessing population and waned over time. declines. Although the modern-day diaspora Sustained contacts between communities of many islanders to Pacific Rim countries would confer advantages in the event of per- and farther afield has not yet impacted Kiri- sistent demographic instability and chronic bati to a large extent, the I-Kiribati are shortages in food or raw materials as a conse- increasingly mobile, seeking work opportuni- quence of environmental perturbation, such ties overseas and being drawn by the forces of as that caused by drought or cyclones (Hunt globalization (Borovnik 2006, Connell 2007). and Graves 1990). Because of their overall Exchange and population mobility are very marginality, atolls occupy a prominent posi- much part of the contemporary Pacific. But tion in discussions centered on exchanges. Al- these phenomena have a long pedigree, go- though this statement is generally valid in ing back to at least 20,000 years ago in Near comparison with ‘‘high’’ islands, atolls are Oceania, as evidenced by the distribution certainly not uniform in terms of productiv- of exotic obsidian and animal translocation ity, both terrestrial and marine (Williamson (Leavesley 2006). Moreover, archaeologists and Sabath 1982). These differences are of have distanced themselves from a dogmatic course linked to variation in climate and rain- approach to studying island societies as ‘‘iso- fall, but also to intra- and interatoll islet size, lates,’’ emphasizing contact between groups as well as the degree of lagoon closure, shape, instead of perceiving islands and islanders and depth (Richmond 1993). through old Western interpretive lenses Alkire (1978) described various examples where insularity was synonymous with isola- of interatoll ties in the form of ‘‘clusters’’ tion (Lape 2004, D’Arcy 2006, Rainbird and ‘‘complexes.’’ One of the most celebrated 2007, but see Anderson 2004, Cox et al. cases of extensive networks was the sawai, 2007, Fitzpatrick and Anderson 2008). which hierarchically linked Gagil District on From a historical ecology perspective, ex- Yap to the atolls of the western Carolines change and population movements are also (Oliver 1989:580, Hunter-Anderson and Zan relevant, in that they provide a basis for un- 1996, Descantes 1998), a tribute and ex- derstanding some of the adaptive strategies change network spanning more than 1,000 devised by coral islanders in their efforts to km. As with other atoll groups, populations establish long-term settlements (Alkire 1978). in the Marshalls were linked by such inter- Countering earlier views of Pacific island community support networks, which were societies as being largely isolated after initial adaptive in light of the latitudinal variation settlement until their rediscovery by Euro- in rainfall, resulting in differential production peans in the early sixteenth century, the oc- of foodstuff between the dry north and the currence of exotic materials at archaeological wetter south and the risk of cyclone damage, sites throughout Oceania has been inter- prompting Marshallese chiefs to secure land preted as evidence for trade relations between holdings scattered over several islets of the widely dispersed communities. Long-distance same atoll, as well as land rights and rights to exchanges and interisland population move- resources on other atolls (Spennemann 2006). ments are thought to have contributed to the Interisland links within the Gilberts in the success of the Lapita expansion into Remote early postcontact period do not appear to Oceania (Kirch 1988, Galipaud 2006). Apart meet the predictions of an exchange network from a few exceptions, regional contact per- comparable with the model proposed for the sisted right through the historic period and early settlement of Remote Oceania, as noted the establishment of colonial governments earlier. Neither do they reflect patterns ex- (D’Arcy 2006). There is little doubt that in- pected for the environmental conditions pre- . 584 PACIFIC SCIENCE October 2009 vailing across the archipelago in terms of dif- satellites of Aranuka (about 60 km distant) ferential rainfall and agricultural productivity. and Kuria (approximately 50 km from Abe- This is in marked contrast to the situation mama) in the center of the group (Alkire prevailing in the Marshalls, despite both ar- 1978). chipelagoes having a number of environmen- What characterized interatoll relations in tal and cultural traits in common. The the early contact period were the prevalence difference in connectivity patterns noted eth- of raiding and consequently the low inci- nographically between the Marshalls and the dence of trade beyond neighboring islands Gilberts might relate to alternative evolution- (Lambert 1975). Because skilled navigators ary trajectories that were primarily grounded were capable of long-distance sailing, the re- in social factors, to be examined later. Viewed luctance to travel far was largely determined from a time-depth perspective, it is hypothe- by social factors rather than distance or sized that interisland contacts within the Gil- sea conditions (Lewis 1978:165). As Wilkes berts once bore greater resemblance to the (1845:82) described, ‘‘But, so estranged have kind of linkages seen in other parts of Micro- the inhabitants of the several islands become nesia, including the Marshalls. While the de- from each other, that if a canoe from one of gree of internal variation in terms of rainfall them should visit, or seek, through distress, and agricultural productivity, as well as other another island, the persons in it would in all geographical and environmental factors such probability be put to death, under the sup- as frequency of natural hazards, distance, and position of their being spies, or in order to island size, appear to be necessary conditions procure their bones and teeth for the manu- for the development and maintenance of ex- facture of ornaments.’’ tensive interatoll networks, they are not suffi- The ethnographic present, although useful cient conditions. Knudson (1981) downplayed in our attempts to infer ancient behavior, the degree of resource variation in the Gil- should always be eyed cautiously when at- berts to account for the absence of systematic tempting to project known patterns into the inter- and intratrading or exchange networks, more-distant past (see Nunn [2007:162–163] a view to which I do not subscribe. on the conventionalization of warfare, for ex- As mentioned earlier, societies inhabiting ample). Wilkes (1845:82) again provides an atolls and table reefs could be linked to each interesting description of patterns of voyag- other by way of clusters and complexes. The ing in the past that differed markedly from latter are made up of a larger number of coral those prevailing in his days: ‘‘That the islands islands generally under a highly centralized have been peopled within a period not very authority that may actually reside in a ‘‘high’’ remote, is believed by the natives themselves, island setting, such as Yap in the case of the and they state that only a few generations sawai or Tahiti when this polity extended its back the people were much fewer than at influence throughout the Tuamotus (Alkire present, wars less frequent, and the commu- 1978). nication between the islands safe and free.’’ In the early postcontact period, and pre- This might be considered the first clue to sumably for some time before, the Marshalls the changing patterns of interisland contacts formed two main complexes linking the is- within the Gilberts. Oral traditions, subse- lands of the Ratak (east) and Ralik (west) quently collected by Grimble (1972) and chains, in addition to several subnetworks others, mention that communication was par- (Spennemann 2005). Interisland contacts ticularly frequent within three subregions of were probably as frequent as in the central the archipelago: the north, consisting of Ma- and western Carolines. By contrast, the Gil- kin and Butaritari; the north central atolls of berts are described as forming a limited num- Marakei, Abaiang, Tarawa, and Maiana; and ber of clusters, namely Makin together with the south central group of Abemama, Kuria, Butaritari at the northern end of the archipel- and Aranuka. Voyaging within the southern ago, separated by only 3 km, and, in precolo- subgroup of Nonouti, Tabiteuea, Beru, Ni- nial but postcontact period, Abemama and its kunau, and Onotoa was less common, and . Historical Ecology in Kiribati Thomas 585 between the subgroups or to the outlying is- marginal in terms of water availability or be- lands of Tamana and Arorae was a more haz- cause their surrounding reefs prevented effec- ardous journey not to be undertaken lightly. tive fishing. Mother communities with high Nevertheless, it was done enough, as witness rainfall, such as Tabuaeran, might have sup- the many interisland marriages in the local ported relatively large resident populations genealogies and the close relationship be- having access to a rich agricultural base by tween the early ruling families of Butaritari, atoll standards. These communities might Abaiang, Tarawa, and Abemama (Maude and have periodically exploited nearby satellites Doran 1966). (e.g., Kiritimati), which, despite their drier There has been too little archaeological appearance, were located within an overnight work in the area to provide much supportive voyage of a richer land and offered attrac- evidence for extensive trade networks. A dis- tive resources, especially seabirds and turtles. covery that stands out relates to Conus shell The demise of mother communities remains beads on Tamana occurring at two sites that problematic, but the occurrence of exotic ba- remain undated (Takayama et al. 1989). The salt, together with the abundance of timber investigators concluded that in view of the on certain islands for canoe building, should absence of a lagoon on this table reef, shell serve as a reminder that populations were ca- resources would be limited and that the eco- pable of migrating to other archipelagoes. Di logically poor island may have traded in the Piazza and Pearthree (2001b,c) identified ba- shells and possibly plant food resources from salt on Manra (Sydney) in the Phoenix Islands better-endowed environments, possibly from and Tabuaeran in the Line Group derived one or more atolls to the north. Ethnohis- from the Tataga Matau quarry on Tutuila in torical accounts illustrate that shell money American Samoa and from Eiao in the Mar- strings were a common currency in the quesas, which were transported over distances northern Gilberts and the Marshalls, and of 1,075 and 4,425 km, respectively. A single that they were used in exchanges in both east- basalt adz bit from the Tataga Matau, and an ern and western Micronesia. Nevertheless, it andesite core of unknown origin, were found is important to keep in mind that the pres- on Nikumaroro in 1989; both were surface ence of exotic materials may not necessarily finds in the colonial village area (T. F. King, point to human agency. Pumice, a lightweight pers. comm., 2008). However, these items are volcanic rock, which can drift thousands of not necessarily indicative of trade relations kilometers before making landfall, was highly because they could conceivably have been valued by both Gilbertese and Marshallese as carried by the first colonists. an abrading material and a source of minerals Despite the migrations, once commu- to fertilize nutrient-poor atoll soils (Sachet nication broke down, perhaps as a result of 1955, Thomas and Rosenberg 2006). Even climatic change making long-distance voyag- obsidian can disperse naturally if attached to ing more hazardous, the sequence of aban- pumice or found embedded in the root sys- donment might have followed a domino tem of drifting trees (Spennemann and Am- effect, particularly when communities faced brose 1997). demographic instability. Deteriorating condi- Using a regional approach to under- tions linked to the A.D. 1300 Event, the pre- stand island settlement and abandonment in lude to the aforementioned Little Ice Age the Line Islands, Di Piazza and Pearthree in the mid-second millennium A.D. would (2001a) proposed the concept of ‘‘mother also have jeopardized agricultural resources communities,’’ ‘‘satellites,’’ and ‘‘isolates’’ (Nunn 2007). An interesting parallel exists and concluded that resource scarcity and/ with the demographic decline or abandon- or isolation resulting in abandonment are ment of several of the Leeward Islands of explanations limited to those islands that the Caribbean around A.D. 1300 (Wilson were relatively inaccessible, small, and/or 2007:149), although there is no direct link to dry. Some islands appear never to have been environmental change. Rather, it was sug- inhabited, perhaps because they were too gested that escalating tension with popula- . 586 PACIFIC SCIENCE October 2009 tions to the south (in the Windward Islands) archaeology combined with measures of agri- or with inhabitants in the Greater Antilles re- cultural production are now offering new in- sulted in network collapse, which had once sights (Kirch and Rallu 2007), with most case played an important role in sustaining groups studies deriving from relatively large ‘‘high’’ in the environmentally more marginal islands island contexts. There is growing evidence of the northern Lesser Antilles. that many island groups suffered dramatic de- On small relatively impoverished islands, clines in their population after initial contact the need to devise strategies for managing with outsiders, although demographers, his- population growth may have arisen quickly, torians, and archaeologists alike concede that so as not to outstrip resources (Firth 1957, such decline varied in intensity from island to Thompson 1970, Bayliss-Smith 1974, Bed- island, and also from place to place in the case ford and Macdonald 1982). Warfare, human of the larger landmasses. Differential popula- sacrifice, cannibalism, infanticide, and abor- tion density at the time of contact may have tion may contribute to population regulation, set the stage for the subsequent impact of in- but there were also nonviolent means such as troduced diseases, with denser settlements moral restraint, ritual celibacy, prolonged lac- suffering the greatest decline because of the tation, adoption, and several other measures higher risk of contagion (Carroll 1975, Cordy (Alkire 1978, Klee 1980, Spennemann 1990). 2007). However, it may be that in some instances Although introduced diseases certainly underpopulation was a more serious threat contributed to population decline in the Gil- to community survival than population pres- berts, depopulation also followed in the wake sure (McArthur et al. 1976). In fact, relatively of labor migrations to various other Pacific large families, clans, and communities would islands, including Hawai‘i, and beyond. But be necessary to ensure adequate levels of pro- a more important cause of depopulation in duction (Nason 1975). certain islands was continuing intergroup As in several other low coral island soci- warfare encouraged by political, economic, eties, including the Gilberts, populations re- and religious rivalries once external trade sponded to the vagaries of environmental and missionary influence became established perturbation in a most successful way: ‘‘The (Bedford et al. 1980, Maude and Maude atoll populations used flexible social processes 1981). for the control of fertility and rates of repro- duction; they actively managed recovery from Social Evolution the demographic challenges of contingency events and ensured their continuity as atoll As Kirch (1997b:18–19) explained in his in- populations occupying enduring settlements’’ troduction to a discussion of environmental (Green and Green 2007:253). change and human society in the Pacific is- Reliable estimates of population through- lands, historical ecology aims at understand- out the Pacific region at the time of Euro- ing ‘‘the complex and reciprocal connections pean contact are difficult to assess. Estimates linking human populations with the myriad for the Gilberts range from 85,000 at the other life forms that share their world.’’ Ha- time of the visit by the United States Ex- wai‘i is one of the best-known case studies ploring Expedition in the early 1840s to for illustrating the interplay between environ- about 50,000 a decade later (Hale 1846:93, mental and social parameters, particularly Gulick 1862:410). Much lower figures, be- since the Hawaiian Islands had reached a level tween 35,000 and 30,000, have been cited of political and economic organization unpar- for the early 1860s (Bedford et al. 1980:242). alleled in Oceania before Western contact It should be noted that recruiting on for- (Kirch 1985, 2007). However, the mutually eign ships began in the 1820s (Macdonald reinforcing processes of population growth, 2001:20), thus already exposing islanders to intensification of production, environmental potential diseases at that early stage. How- change, and sociopolitical evolution can be ever, precontact household and settlement documented for several other island groups. . Historical Ecology in Kiribati Thomas 587

In opposition, there is little archaeological The position of the Gilbert Islands at the evidence from low coral islands that would southeastern end of Micronesia has led to allow us to draw parallels with some of the suggestions that it constitutes a ‘‘transitional ‘‘high’’ islands to further our understanding area’’ or ‘‘migrational bridge,’’ in view of the of the ‘‘Big Structures and Large Processes’’ archipelago’s proximity to the low coral is- in Oceanic prehistory (Kirch 2000:302–325). lands of Tuvalu to the south. The southern- That social evolution did take place cannot be most table reef in the Gilberts, Arorae, is doubted, but it appears to be poorly reflected separated from northern Tuvalu by a gap of in the archaeological record. The coral island approximately 340 km. It is not the intention environment certainly imposed limitations on here to reify the Western construct of divid- the range of cultural expressions. Because ing up Oceania into distinct ‘‘culture areas.’’ atolls generally lack monumental architecture Rather, the terms ‘‘Micronesia’’ and ‘‘Polyne- indicative of social complexity and severely sia’’ are used only as heuristic devices, in line curtailed further agricultural intensification with Kirch and Green’s (2001) phylogenetic over time, archaeologists need to examine model. Although the existence of such inter- the land- and seascape from a different angle. mediate cultural expressions has been rejected Historical linguistics and oral traditions may by some ethnographers (Koch 1986:251– also serve to shed light on some of the social 255), much oral history, supported by other transformations that are presumed to have ethnographic studies, suggests that in the taken place in the last 2,000 years (Grimble past external links extended to Samoa. Aside 1972, Maude 1977, Latouche 1984, Tiroba from oral traditions that establish a link 1989, Teaero and Veramu 1993, Maude and between the Gilberts and Samoa in the thir- Maude 1994, Teaero 1997). teenth century A.D., according to genealo- Coral islands offer limited potential for gies (Newell 1895, Maude and Maude intensification of food production using tra- 1994:135, 251), the most compelling aspect ditional methods (Kurika et al. 2007). How- of Samoan influence was a large community ever, studies of atoll agriculture in the meeting house, the maneaba, supported by Gilberts show that people have over the cen- shaped coral boulders (Figure 10), together turies selected and improved a variety of tree with its Samoan fono-type institution. More- and root crops, as exemplified by nearly 200 over, the Gilberts’ landowning descent units, different cultivars of pandanus and over 20 which were ambilineal in the north and varieties of swamp taro, differing in quality tended to be patrilineal in the south, re- and age at maturity (Luomala 1974, Ali and sembled more closely those of Polynesia Asghar 1987, Thaman 1990). In addition, tra- than those of other Micronesian societies, ditional methods of food preservation en- which were matrilineal (Alkire 1977:78–80, abled the accumulation of surplus but were Oliver 1989:996–997, Rainbird 2004:234– not usually intended to support an elite (Par- 235). kinson 1955). Unfortunately, there is little in- Navigational knowledge for a Samoan formation on yields. route supports the likelihood of return voy- Archaeologists may be able to establish a ages, but it has little to say about the chronology of taro pits, suggesting that ex- frequency of such interaction (Grimble pansion of this kind of food production sys- 1972:140, Lewis 1978:123). Other Polynesian tem could be linked to population increase influences can be traced to neighboring Tu- (Chazine 1983). As noted earlier, with a shift valu, and some of the southern Gilberts are in the subsistence economy after Western said to have supported populations who once contact, few new taro pits were excavated spoke Polynesian dialects, but in the course and several were abandoned (Dye 1987a). of time they became ‘‘Gilbertized’’ (Oliver Likewise, coral-lined fishponds found at a 1989:996). Oral traditions tell of Gilbertese number of places in the Gilberts (Dieudonne who landed on Nui Atoll in Tuvalu, driving 2002) provide evidence for intensification of away the inhabitants (Sabatier 1977:110, Faa- marine resource production. niu et al. 1983:72). The challenge for archae- . 588 PACIFIC SCIENCE October 2009

Figure 10. Coral boulder posts of a maneaba, Abaiang Atoll. ologists will be to identify cultural influences Hage and Marck (2002:166–167): ‘‘Unlike and how these might have impacted the land- patrilocal residence, in which absent hus- scape. bands must rely on wives from different In their analysis of Micronesian descent patrilineages to manage their affairs, in the groups and interisland voyaging, Hage and matrilocal case, absent brothers can rely on Marck (2002) argued for links between ma- lineage sisters to look out for their common triliny, the degree of suprafamilial author- corporate interests. The argument implies an ity, and the regularity of interisland trade absence of internal warfare achieved by form- (see also Mason 1968, Hage and Harary ing expeditions around men from different 1996:159). They believed that relative isola- households and villages.’’ tion of the atolls and islands in the eastern Thus, according to the argument, south- Carolines promoted conditions that weak- ern Gilbert Islanders especially have been ened matriliny. The Gilberts are also cited as practicing the kind of short raiding forays de- having possibly shifted away from an original scribed ethnographically partly because of the matrilineal system to a cognatic one, primar- existing social structure. ily in the northern atolls. One might suggest that a change to a patrilineal system in the southern Gilberts could be attributed to Sa- conclusions moan influence, which is well documented (Oliver 1989:940). The relation between ma- Although work continues in building up atoll triliny and voyaging is further explained by chronologies throughout the Pacific to inter- . Historical Ecology in Kiribati Thomas 589 pret both natural and cultural features, there uncovered evidence for extensive landscape is also a need to address broader patterns and change resulting from vegetation clearing, processes similar to those proposed for the soil erosion, and species extinction. Debate ‘‘high’’ islands. Results in that direction have continues regarding the role of humans ver- been partially achieved for the atolls and table sus climatic factors as the leading cause for reefs in the Marshall Islands through a sam- these changes, but it is reasonable to assume pling strategy aimed at studying past human that human impact on the environment ex- adaptation (Weisler 2001c). acerbated in some cases the effects of natural Like the Marshalls, the Gilberts are dis- disasters, sometimes resulting in major social tributed along a north-south axis, displaying disruption. More data are needed to evaluate major differences in mean annual rainfall but the degree and main causative agent of envi- in reverse order in comparison with the Mar- ronmental change in atoll settings. shalls, with a wetter north and a drier south. The implications of this type of research Although the risk of cyclones is less than in should be clear. The interlinked topics of the Marshalls, the major hazard is drought. ‘‘sustainability’’ archaeology, historical ecol- As noted earlier, variation also exists in terms ogy, and conservation biology (van der of islet and lagoon size and configuration. All Leeuw and Redman 2002, Lyman and Can- these characteristics should provide an ideal non 2004, Kirch 2005, Hardesty 2007, Kirch setting for examining variation in the type and Kahn 2007, Erlandson and Rick 2008) and density of archaeological features, the highlight the many challenges faced by com- effects of people on the native biota, and munities in the Pacific islands, including atoll how communities might have developed and populations, as they attempt to cope with changed over time. changing environments, economies, and so- Because of their small size, limited and at cial values, which now more than ever pose a times fluctuating resources, and relative iso- threat to sustainable livelihoods. As the noted lation, low coral islands are of interest for geographer Harold Brookfield (1980:16) re- evaluating aspects of past human adaptation marked, ‘‘one of the more significant trends to challenging environmental conditions. Yet in modern environmental research is the much remains to be learned regarding their growing realization of how much can be cultural transformation for sustainability be- learned about the present from study of the fore European contact. What stands out is past.’’ But we need to be cautious in applying the fact that several communities were able lessons from past adaptations in contempo- to live sustainably through a combination of rary settings (Rapaport 1990, Spennemann relatively small populations, trade and popu- and Alessio 1991, Thomas 1993, Overton lation mobility, and perhaps voluntary con- 1999, Beardsley 2006). Surely, adjustments servation measures. An important distinction will have to be made to assist in developing should be drawn, however, between the ef- long-term ecologically secure approaches to fects of conservation and voluntary conserva- survival in the region. For the inhabitants of tion (conservation by design). But as Smith low coral islands, however, time might be and Wishnie (2000) argued, sustainability of running out and options limited, with the resource use can still be achieved in the for- prospect of mass migration linked to cli- mer case; for example, by matching harvest mate change and sea-level rise an increasingly needs, regulating onset or duration of har- likely adaptive scenario. Displaced communi- vests, patch switching to maximize overall re- ties could somehow retain their core cultural turns, and anthropogenic practices that create values even after several generations, as the habitat mosaics (see Sosis 2002, Thomas Polynesian diaspora tends to suggest. How- 2007b). ever, several aspects of the tangible cultural In a general sense, it can be asserted that heritage, including archaeological and tradi- islands, and especially atolls, are microcosms tional sites, might be irretrievably lost. Con- of larger, but equally fragile environments sequently, research into the early historical (Kirch 2004). From some of the volcanic ecology of atolls can ill afford to be post- islands in the Pacific, archaeologists have poned. . 590 PACIFIC SCIENCE October 2009

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