An archaeological investigation of pig husbandry on Tahuata Island, Marquesas, French Polynesia

The following dissertation research is a diachronic archaeological investigation of Marquesan pig management, set within the broader context of Polynesian production systems. At the time of European contact pig husbandry was very important, but when did this trend start? Is there evidence of early pig husbandry at the Hanamiai Site, and if so, what was the role of pig in the colonization process? Also, how does pig husbandry and the importance of pig production change over time in respect to population growth and increases in social stratification? The methodology presented to answer these questions is primarily based on analysis of archaeologically recovered faunal remains, including pig teeth. Tooth assemblages are analyzed from two archaeological sites on Tahuata Island, Marquesas Archipelago. One site area is the Vaitahu Valley (Rolett et al. 1998), a late prehistoric monumental architecture study area located in the back of Vaitahu Valley. The other is a coastal sand dune site, Hanamiai (Rolett 1998), which had continuous occupation from the early prehistoric to the historic period (circa A.D. 1000--1850).; Different aspects of prehistoric domestic pig production are investigated using the following three approaches: (1) stable isotope analysis of archaeologically recovered teeth (to determine pig and human diet over time); (2) analysis of archaeological tooth eruption and wear patterns (to identify pig harvesting practices); and (3) bone counts (NISP) to study the relative importance of pig in human subsistence (Rolett 1998). Data from ethnographic fieldwork and ethnohistoric literature review provide additional lines of evidence used to interpret the archaeological data. The study concludes that pig husbandry was being practiced at the Hanamiai Site by circa A.D. 1200, the earliest documented pig husbandry in East Polynesia. A model for the long-term development of pig husbandry in the Hanamiai and Vaitahu case examples is presented, including analysis of the role of pig in the evolution of Marquesan chiefdoms observed at the time of European contact.