Archaeological investigation of Omis Cave: a Yapese stone money quarry in Palau

Stone money disks, predominantly quarried in Palau, were part of a complex political economy on Yap and obtained through a series of exchange relations with Palauan clans or villages. Though ethnographic and ethnohistorical records provide some insight into this exchange relationship, a lack of archaeological data has prevented a better understanding of the methods involved in stone money production and how quarry sites were used by Yapese. I present the first systematic surface survey and excavation of a stone money quarry and document evidence for the only example of Pacific Islanders' carving and transporting of carbonate rock between culturally distinct island groups. Archaeological results obtained from survey and excavation at Omis Cave complement ethnohistoric and ethnographic accounts.