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To request permissions please use the Feedback form on our webpage. http://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/feedback General copyright and disclaimer In addition to the above conditions, authors give their consent for the digital copy of their work to be used subject to the conditions specified on the Library Thesis Consent Form and Deposit Licence. The role of arboriculture in landscape domestication and agronomic development: A case study from the Marquesas Islands, East Polynesia Jennifer Marie Huebert A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology, The University of Auckland, 2014. Abstract Polynesian settlers transformed the native forests of the central Pacific islands into productive economic landscapes. Root crops came to dominate agronomic systems in many areas but arboriculture was the dominant mode of food production in some, and it is not well understood how these different endpoints evolved. In the Marquesas Islands, an economy dominated by Polynesian-introduced tree crops was encountered at western contact. Development of this system was investigated using large wood charcoal assemblages that spanned at least a 600-year period in Marquesan prehistory. Charcoal analysis is uniquely suited to inform on the reflexive processes of socio-economic development and landscape domestication in this setting, providing direct information on past vegetation and the use of arboreal resources. Data were compared from sites in three windward valleys with contrasting geographic and micro-climate conditions. A minimum of 59 taxa were identified including food-producing trees such as breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis), coconut (Cocos nucifera), candlenut (Aleurites moluccana), Pandanus, Terminalia and Tahitian chestnut (Inocarpus fagifer). Although tree crops were cultivated early in the sequence, breadfruit wood was infrequent (or absent) in contexts that dated to before AD 1400. Breadfruit was, however, a frequent occurrence in multiple study locations after 1650. A chronology of landscape domestication was defined for the windward valleys of Nuku Hiva, and the findings of this study suggest that the lush agroforests noted at contact were in place by the mid-17th century. Possible scenarios that could have led to this outcome were considered, and the decision to intensify food production through the cultivation of tree crops in this setting is linked to both the high yields that can be achieved on rugged land and the labour-efficiency of tree cropping. It is further argued variability in climate was a significant factor, and the ability to store fermented breadfruit (mā) for long periods of time would have provided food security if crops repeatedly failed. More generally, it is suggested that arboriculture is an important component of subsistence strategies in environments where climate is highly variable. Comparison with available data from the Society Islands provides some support for this suggestion. Keywords: Marquesas, arboriculture, anthracology, wood charcoal, landscape domestication i Acknowledgements I am indebted to many people who made this project possible. First and foremost, I owe a debt of gratitude to my primary adviser, Melinda S. Allen. Without her guidance and encouragement this project would not have happened. I also wish to thank Andrew McAlister for advice and camaraderie both in and out of the field, and Sidsel Millerstrom for sharing the charcoal from her Hatiheu excavations. Rod Wallace is thanked for introducing me to the practice of wood charcoal identification and for sharing valuable insights into the interpretation of charcoal assemblages. Simon Holdaway gave valuable feedback in the design of this research project, and has shaped my thinking on archaeological theory over the years. Ongoing advice in the anthracological method, discussions about wood anatomy, and moral support was kindly provided by Emilie Dotte-Sarout. There are many people to thank for assistance with reference materials. Lloyd Donaldson of Scion (New Zealand Forest Research Institute, Ltd.) provided advice on wood anatomy and identification, as well as access to a very nice Scanning Electron Microscope. Gail Murakami gave advice on charcoal identification, including several microphotographs of reference material, and entertained my many questions during an impromptu visit. Catherine Orliac is owed a very gracious thank you for exchanging a sizable reference collection of East Polyneisan woods with Drs. Allen and Wallace some years ago. Kevin Butler also collected wood specimens on Nuku Hiva in 2003 that were an important resource. Deborah Woodcock shared several images of Sapotaceae woods from her personal collection of Hawaiian material. Jessica Lee shared microphotographs of Cordia lutea. A special thanks goes to Michael Thomas of the Rock Herbarium, University of Hawaii, for sharing scanned SEM images of Hawaiian woods taken by the late Charles Lamoureux. Jacqueline Bond of Rotorua expertly sectioned wood for the reference collection. For assistance in collecting botanical specimens in the field, a gracious thanks to Tioka Puhetini, Moetai Huioutu, and Dadou Teikiehuupoko of Nuku Hiva for expert guidance and also for sharing their knowledge of plants. The Teikiehuupoko (Tehina, Roger, and Panui) family of Hatiheu, and Moetai Huioutu and Anne Ragu of Taiohae, were superb hosts during field work. Thanks to Jean-François Butaud and Rhys Gardner for identifying voucher specimens, and to Ewen Cameron (Curator of Botany at the Auckland War Memorial Museum) for adding vouchers from the 2010 field season to the Museum collections. During the past several years I have benefitted greatly from advice, ii forest walks, and conversations about plants and ethnobotany with Art Whistler and David Eickhoff and I thank them for sharing their knowledge. At the University of Auckland, I wish to thank Briar Sefton for assistance with numerous illustrations and Tim Mackrell for assistance setting up various microscope cameras and for photographing tiny fragments of charcoal for publication. The staff of the Anthropology Department has been very helpful and supportive over the years, and I owe many thanks to many people there. This research was funded in large part by a University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship, along with grants from the Faculty of Arts Doctoral Research Fund, the Royal Society of New Zealand Skinner Fund, and the University of Auckland Postgraduate Students Association (PGSA). Lastly, I wish to thank my husband, Matthew Crofoot, for his understanding and support in this endeavour. iii Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Theoretical orientation ................................................................................... 4 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 4 Studying domesticated landscapes in prehistory ............................................................. 5 Determinist and particularist approaches .......................................................... 6 Ecological approaches........................................................................................ 6 Socio-natural systems approaches ................................................................................... 8 Concepts of the theory .................................................................................................. 10 Landscape ......................................................................................................... 10 Intensification ................................................................................................... 11 Risk management .............................................................................................. 12 Studying scale, pattern, and process in prehistory ........................................................ 13 Theoretical model of landscape domestication ............................................................. 15 Factors influencing outcomes ....................................................................................... 17 Domesticated landscapes in Polynesian prehistory ....................................................... 19 Pacific production systems ............................................................................... 19 Evolution of Pacific production systems ........................................................... 21 Synthesis ............................................................................................................ 23 Case study ....................................................................................................................