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Human settlement of East Polynesia earlier, incremental, and coincident with prolonged South Pacific drought

Sear, David A.; Allen, Melinda S.; Hassall, Jonathan D.; Maloney, Ashley E.; Langdon, Peter G.; Morrison, Alex E.; Henderson, Andrew C.G.; Mackay, Helen; Croudace, Ian W.; Clarke, Charlotte; Sachs, Julian P.; Macdonald, Georgiana; Chiverrell, Richard C.; Leng, Melanie J.; Cisneros-Dozal, L.M.; Fonville, Thierry; Pearson, Emma

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Authors

David A. Sear

Melinda S. Allen

Jonathan D. Hassall

Ashley E. Maloney

Peter G. Langdon

Alex E. Morrison

Andrew C.G. Henderson

Ian W. Croudace

Charlotte Clarke

Julian P. Sachs

Georgiana Macdonald

Richard C. Chiverrell

Melanie J. Leng

L.M. Cisneros-Dozal

Thierry Fonville

Emma Pearson



Abstract

The timing of human colonization of East Polynesia, a vast area lying between Hawai‘i, Rapa Nui, and New Zealand, is much debated and the underlying causes of this great migration have been enigmatic. Our study generates evidence for human dispersal into eastern Polynesia from islands to the west from around AD 900 and contemporaneous paleoclimate data from the likely source region. Lake cores from Atiu, Southern Cook Islands (SCIs) register evidence of pig and/or human occupation on a virgin landscape at this time, followed by changes in lake carbon around AD 1000 and significant anthropogenic disturbance from c. AD 1100. The broader paleoclimate context of these early voyages of exploration are derived from the Atiu lake core and complemented by additional lake cores from Samoa (directly west) and Vanuatu (southwest) and published hydroclimate proxies from the Society Islands (northeast) and Kiribati (north). Algal lipid and leaf wax biomarkers allow for comparisons of changing hydroclimate conditions across the region before, during, and after human arrival in the SCIs. The evidence indicates a prolonged drought in the likely western source region for these colonists, lasting c. 200 to 400 y, contemporaneous with the phasing of human dispersal into the Pacific. We propose that drying climate, coupled with documented social pressures and societal developments, instigated initial eastward exploration, resulting in SCI landfall(s) and return voyaging, with colonization a century or two later. This incremental settlement process likely involved the accumulation of critical maritime knowledge over several generations.

Citation

Sear, D. A., Allen, M. S., Hassall, J. D., Maloney, A. E., Langdon, P. G., Morrison, A. E., …Pearson, E. (2020). Human settlement of East Polynesia earlier, incremental, and coincident with prolonged South Pacific drought. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(16), 8813-8819. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1920975117

Journal Article Type Article
Online Publication Date Apr 6, 2020
Publication Date Apr 21, 2020
Deposit Date Oct 29, 2020
Publicly Available Date Oct 22, 2021
Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Print ISSN 0027-8424
Electronic ISSN 1091-6490
Publisher National Academy of Sciences
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 117
Issue 16
Pages 8813-8819
DOI https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1920975117

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