Archaeological and ethnohistoric evidence for protohistoric social relations on Mangaia Island, Cook Islands

Social relations as a whole have not often been highlighted by archaeologists. Spatial organization is often taken to reflect social structure. However, a concept of space probably precedes one of social relations in cognitive development. Given that social relations take place within space, similar principles may govern both. This study of prehistoric social relations on Mangaia Island in the Southern Cook Islands examines spatial organization of archaeological sites. The physical remains and the evidence found in Mangaian oral traditions are examined for the levels of heterogeneity and inequality indicated in the data. This approach is taken to avoid assumptions of the form social organization may have taken that have hampered many attempts to characterize contact-era Polynesian societies. Late prehistoric Mangaian society exhibited a high degree of heterogeneity and a low level of inequality, but was centered on the pan-island secular leader.