THE BIOARCHAEOLOGY OF INITIAL HUMAN SETTLEMENT IN PALAU, WESTERN MICRONESIA by JESSICA H. STONE A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of Anthropology and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2020 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Jessica H. Stone Title: The Bioarchaeology of Initial Human Settlement in Palau, Western Micronesia This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of Anthropology by: Scott M. Fitzpatrick Chairperson Nelson Ting Core Member Dennis H. O’Rourke Core Member Stephen R. Frost Core Member James Watkins Institutional Representative and Kate Mondloch Interim Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded June 2020 ii © 2020 Jessica H. Stone iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Jessica H. Stone Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology June 2020 Title: The Bioarchaeology of Initial Human Settlement in Palau, Western Micronesia The initial settlement of Remote Oceania represents the world’s last major wave of human dispersal. While transdisciplinary models involving linguistic, archaeological, and biological data have been utilized in the Pacific to develop basic chronologies and trajectories of initial human settlement, a number of elusive gaps remain in our understanding of the region’s colonization history. This is especially true in Micronesia, where a paucity of human skeletal material dating to the earliest periods of settlement have hindered biological contributions to colonization models. The Chelechol ra Orrak site in Palau, western Micronesia, contains the largest and oldest human skeletal assemblage in the region, and is one of only two known sites that represent some of the earliest settlers in the Pacific. As such, Chelechol ra Orrak provides an excellent opportunity for direct study of population dispersals into Micronesia. This dissertation draws on bioarchaeological data from Chelechol ra Orrak to address research questions related to the initial human settlement and subsequent adaptation of small island environments in Palau, and more broadly, Remote Oceania. The results of ancient DNA and radiocarbon dates are used to test hypotheses related to a potential place of origin for early Palauan people. I also present a case study from Ucheliungs, a mortuary and small-scale habitation site located in Palau that is iv contemporary with Chelechol ra Orrak, to assess claims of insular dwarfing following initial settlement. The second half of the dissertation focuses on aspects of behavioral adaptation to Palau. Results of stable isotope analysis from Chelechol ra Orrak are used to reconstruct early human diet, while the role of habitual chewing of betel nut is explored within the context of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis. Together, these case studies provide fundamental baselines for understanding initial human settlement and small island adaptation in Palau from a bioarchaeological perspective. This dissertation includes previously published and unpublished co-authored material. v CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Jessica H. Stone GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene, OR North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy, Anthropology, 2020, University of Oregon Master of Arts, Anthropology, 2011, North Carolina State University Bachelor of Arts, Anthropology and Environmental Studies, 2009, Eckerd College AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Bioarchaeology, Island and Coastal Archaeology, Ancient DNA, Isotopic Analysis, Migration and Mobility, Historical Ecology PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Anthropological Collections Assistant, Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon, 2019-2020 Graduate Teaching Employee, Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, 2012-2019 Instructor of Forensic Science, Distance Education and Extended Programs, North Carolina School of Science and Math, 2011-2012 Graduate Research, Fellow, Department of Anthropology, North Carolina State University, 2009-2011 GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant, Genetic and Isotopic Investigations of Population Origins and Dispersals in Palau, Micronesia, National Science Foundation, 2019 vi Small Professional Grant, Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, University of Oregon, 2019 Special “Opps” Grant, Graduate School, University of Oregon, 2018 Small Professional Grant, Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, University of Oregon, 2018 Travel Award, Women in Graduate Sciences, University of Oregon, 2018 Gary E. Smith Summer Professional Development Grant, Graduate School, University of Oregon, 2018 Small Professional Grant, Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, University of Oregon, 2016 Juda Memorial Endowment Fund Grant, Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, 2016 Research Grant, Edna English Trust for Archaeological Research, University of Oregon, 2015 Global Oregon Graduate Award, Global Studies Institute, University of Oregon, 2015 Small Professional Grant, Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, University of Oregon, 2015 Dissertation Fieldwork Grant, Investigating Population Origins and Dispersals in a Remote Oceanic Archipelago through aDNA and Stable Isotope Analysis, Wenner Gren Foundation, 2015 Small Professional Grant, Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, University of Oregon, 2014 Travel Grant, Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, 2013 Most Outstanding Thesis Award, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, North Carolina State University, 2011 PUBLICATIONS: Napolitano, M.F., Stone, J.H., & DiNapoli, R.J., editors. (In press). The Archaeology of Island Colonization. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. vii Stone, J.H. and Nieves-Colón, M.A. (In press). Stepping Stones and Genomes: Using Ancient DNA to Reconstruct Island Colonization. In Napolitano, M.F., Stone, J.H., & DiNapoli, R.J. (Eds.), The Archaeology of Island Colonization. University Press of Florida. Fitzpatrick, S.M., Napolitano, M.F., & Stone, J.H. (In press). What is the Most Parsimonious Explanation for How, When, and From Where the Pre-Columbian Caribbean was First Colonized? In Napolitano, M.F., Stone, J.H., & DiNapoli, R.J. (Eds.), The Archaeology of Island Colonization. University Press of Florida. Stone, J.H., Nelson, G.C., & Fitzpatrick, S.M. (2020). Temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis at Chelechol ra Orrak, Palau. International Journal of Paleopathology, 28, 20-31. Napolitano, M.F., DiNapoli, R.J., Stone, J.H., Levin, M.J., Jew, N.P., Lane, B.G., O’Connor, J.T., & Fitzpatrick, S.M., (2019). Reevaluating human colonization of the Caribbean using chronometric hygiene and Bayesian modeling. Science Advances, 5(12), eaar7806. Stone, J.H., Fitzpatrick, S.M., & Krigbaum, J. (2019). Stable Isotope Analysis of Human Diet at Chelechol ra Orrak, Palau. Bioarchaeology International, 3(2), 142-156. Stone, J.H., Fitzpatrick, S.M., & Napolitano, M.F. (2017). Disproving claims for small-bodied humans in the Palauan archipelago. Antiquity, 91(360), 1546-1560. Napolitano, M.F., Fitzpatrick, S.M., Clark, G., & Stone, J.H. (2017). New Investigations of Early Prehistoric Settlement on Yap, Western Caroline Islands. Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 14, 101-107. Nelson, G.C., Stone, J.H., & Fitzpatrick, S.M. (2015). Adapting to Palau. In M. Oxenham, & H. Buckley (Eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Bioarchaeology in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands (pp. 502-526). Routledge. Stone, J.H., Chew, K., Ross, A., & Verano, J. (2015). Craniofacial plasticity in ancient Peru. Anthropologischer Anzeiger, 72(2), 169-183. Fitzpatrick, S.M., Kappers, M., Clark, M., & Stone, J.H. (2014). Preliminary Investigations of Pre-Columbian Sites on the Islands of Mustique and Union in the Grenadines, West Indies. Caribbean Journal of Science, 17(2-3), 260-272. Poteate, A., Fitzpatrick, S., Clark, M., & Stone, J.H. (2014). Intensified Mollusk Exploitation on Nevis (West Indies) Reveals Six Centuries of Sustainable Exploitation. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 7(3), 361-374. viii Giovas, C., Clark, M., Fitzpatrick, S., & Stone, J.H. (2013). Intensifying collection and size increase of the tessellated nerite snail (Nerita tessellata) at the Coconut Walk Site, Nevis, northern Lesser Antilles, AD 850-1440. Journal of Archaeological Science, 40(11), 4024-4038. ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation is the result of many years of support and collaboration and could not have been completed without the help of many friends and colleagues. None of this would have been possible without my dissertation committee, including Scott Fitzpatrick, who has been my advisor and mentor since my first field school in 2008. Thank you for convincing me that islands were the way to go, for introducing me to Palau, for your support and encouragement, and for teaching me both the value of impeccable comma use and a good meme. Nelson Ting was instrumental in the genetic work, thank you for the countless meetings and your patience as I stumbled my way through this part of the project. Thanks to Dennis O’Rourke, for your hospitality, and for the many happy hour conversations and words of encouragement and advice about aDNA. You and Tam have always made me feel welcome and kept me well-fed, for which I am extremely grateful. Thanks