Stone tools from the ancient Tongan state reveal prehistoric interaction centers in the Central Pacific

Clark, Geoffrey R., Reepmeyer, Christian, Melekiola, Nivaleti, Woodhead, Jon, Dickinson, William R., and Martinsson-Wallin, Helene (2014) Stone tools from the ancient Tongan state reveal prehistoric interaction centers in the Central Pacific. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111 (29). pp. 10491-10496.

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Abstract

Tonga was unique in the prehistoric Pacific for developing a maritime state that integrated the archipelago under a centralized authority and for undertaking long-distance economic and political exchanges in the second millennium A.D. To establish the extent of Tonga's maritime polity, we geochemically analyzed stone tools excavated from the central places of the ruling paramounts, particularly lithic artifacts associated with stone-faced chiefly tombs. The lithic networks of the Tongan state focused on Samoa and Fiji, with one adze sourced to the Society Islands 2,500 km from Tongatapu. To test the hypothesis that nonlocal lithics were especially valued by Tongan elites and were an important source of political capital, we analyzed prestate lithics from Tongatapu and stone artifacts from Samoa. In the Tongan state, 66% of worked stone tools were long-distance imports, indicating that interarchipelago connections intensified with the development of the Tongan polity after A.D. 1200. In contrast, stone tools found in Samoa were from local sources, including tools associated with a monumental structure contemporary with the Tongan state. Network analysis of lithics entering the Tongan state and of the distribution of Samoan adzes in the Pacific identified a centralized polity and the products of specialized lithic workshops, respectively. These results indicate that a significant consequence of social complexity was the establishment of new types of specialized sites in distant geographic areas. Specialized sites were loci of long-distance interaction and formed important centers for the transmission of information, people, and materials in prehistoric Oceania.

Item ID: 38972
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1091-6490
Keywords: Polynesian archaeology; geochemical sourcing; complex societies
Funders: Australian Research Council (ARC), College of Asia
Projects and Grants: ARC FT0990591
Date Deposited: 04 Jun 2015 03:37
FoR Codes: 21 HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY > 2101 Archaeology > 210102 Archaeological Science @ 40%
21 HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY > 2101 Archaeology > 210106 Archaeology of New Guinea and Pacific Islands (excl New Zealand) @ 60%
SEO Codes: 95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9505 Understanding Past Societies > 950599 Understanding Past Societies not elsewhere classified @ 100%
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