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Voyaging and basalt exchange in the Phoenix and Line archipelagoes: the viewpoint from three mystery islands
Author(s) -
Piazza Anne Di,
Pearthree Erik
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
archaeology in oceania
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1834-4453
pISSN - 0728-4896
DOI - 10.1002/j.1834-4453.2001.tb00488.x
Subject(s) - archipelago , basalt , phoenix , geology , westerlies , archaeology , geography , contact zone , line (geometry) , oceanography , paleontology , geochemistry , metropolitan area , geometry , mathematics
In this paper, we present evidence of long distance interaction through geochemical sourcing of basalt artifacts for some of the 'mystery islands' in the Phoenix and Line groups. We demonstrate that they were far from isolated, but in contact with Samoa, the Marquesas and perhaps the southern Cooks during the mid 12th to the mid 14th centuries. We also investigate how sailing strategies may have affected patterns of interaction through a review of other cases of inter‐archipelago contact based on WD‐XRF data. We conclude that the weather patterns around Tataga Matau in the western Pacific allow interaction from any direction at some point of the year, while in the eastern Pacific access to the quarry sources (Eiao, Pitcairn) is more restricted due to the less predictable westerlies.