Archaeobotany in Australia and New Guinea: practice, potential and prospects

Archaeobotany is the study of plant remains from archaeological contexts. Despite Australasian research being at the forefront of several methodological innovations over the last three decades, archaebotany is now a relatively peripheral concern to most archaeological projects in Australia and New Guinea. In this paper, many practicing archaeobotanists working in these regions argue for a more central role for archaeobotany in standard archaeological practice. An overview of archaeobotanical techniques and applications is presented, the potential for archaeobotany to address key historical research questions is indicated, and initiatives designed to promote archaeobotany and improve current practices are outlined

Archaeobotany in Australia and New Guinea: practice, potential and prospects

Archaeobotany is the study of plant remains from archaeological contexts. Despite Australasian research being at the forefront of several methodological innovations over the last three decades, archaebotany is now a relatively peripheral concern to most archaeological projects in Australia and New Guinea. In this paper, many practicing archaeobotanists working in these regions argue for a more central role for archaeobotany in standard archaeological practice. An overview of archaeobotanical techniques and applications is presented, the potential for archaeobotany to address key historical research questions is indicated, and initiatives designed to promote archaeobotany and improve current practices are outlined

An analysis of phytolith assemblages for the quantitative reconstruction of late Quaternary environments of the Lower Taieri Plain, Otago, South Island, New Zealand I. Modern assemblages and transfer functions

An analysis of modern phytolith assemblages is presented. Phytolith assemblages were studied in modern surface soils and sediments of 28 sites from east Otago, New Zealand, within a range of vegetation types and microclimates. No simple distinction could be made between vegetation types on the basis of phytolith assemblage composition. A Principal Components Analysis (PCA) of the phytolith data set revealed that festucoid, chloridoid and spherical phytolith morphotypes formed strong associations with sites from wetland, grassland, and forest vegetation types, respectively. More importantly, a comparison of sample replicates from each field site using Squared Chord Distance (SCD) assemblage analysis showed that wetland and grassland sites tended to produce more internally consistent phytolith assemblages than forest sites. Environmental variables including pH, conductivity, altitude, precipitation and temperature were also gathered for each site. The ability of each environmental variable to reflect variance in the entire phytolith data set was estimated by a series of Redundancy Analyses (RDA) with Monte Carlo permutation tests of statistical significance. After a forward selection process, transfer functions were generated using Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression and calibration with jack-knife validation. The final transfer functions have root mean squared errors of prediction for pH (0.47), log conductivity (0.38 muS cm), average annual precipitation (63 mm), and average annual (0.28degreesC), spring (0.38degreesC) and autumn temperature (0.41degreesC); the smallest group of environmental variables explaining the most variance in the modern phytolith data set. The most useful transfer functions for application to fossil phytolith data and paleoenvironmental interpretation are pH, log conductivity and annual precipitation. The relationship between changes in pH and annual precipitation and phytolith assemblage composition found in this study presents a prima facie relationship with the potential to provide direct proxies for soil weathering and indirectly for paleoenvironmental reconstruction

Wetter climate favouring early Lapita horticulture in Remote Oceania

The islands of Remote Oceania were among the last places on Earth colonised by humans. Lapita seafarers carrying with them an extensive root-tuber-tree crop complex and domestic animals, rapidly transformed nearly all of these previously unoccupied islands. However, the timing of initial Lapita settlements and the early introduction of horticulture remain a matter of debate as significant changes in climate coincided with human oceanic explorations in the mid-late Holocene. Here we show that fossil biomarkers preserved in sedimentary archives located near Teouma, the earliest dated Lapita cemetery in Remote Oceania, trace human presence and horticultural practices while providing the climatic context for the initial settlement. Using fossil faecal molecules, the hydrogen isotopic composition of leaf waxes, and palmitone, a molecular marker for the staple crop taro (Colocasia esculenta Schott), we identified signatures of human activity spanning the period of occupation recorded at the Teouma site. The temporal precision provided by our high-resolution radiocarbon chronology refines the settlement timing with a first unequivocal human trace appearing at 2739-2879 BP. The presence of taro in the initial settlement period attests to the early introduction and likely rapid expansion of horticulture by the first settlers. Lower leaf wax hydrogen isotope ratios starting approximately 2900 years ago further reveal that the initial settlement coincided with a transition to a wetter period, possibly driven by shifts of the South Pacific Convergence Zone. Our findings provide evidence of early horticulture in Remote Oceania and reveal the climatic context that favoured first human settlements in the islands

How agriculture, droughts and diseases shaped the island environments of Remote Oceania over the last Millennium

Over the past millennium, the Pacific Islands have experienced significant transformations, caused by different waves of human settlement and climatic variability. However, the paucity of archeological records coupled with the complex climatic setting of the tropical Pacific hinders our understanding of past environmental and societal changes. In this study, we employ a multi-proxy approach on sediment cores extracted from ponds on the west coast of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu to investigate past human-climate dynamics. Through the analysis of human-associated proxies including fecal markers, palmitone — a specific lipid biomarker for taro — and charcoal, we reconstruct changes in human presence and activities. We reconstruct past climate from leaf wax hydrogen isotopes (δ2HLW) and branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs). Changes in pollen reveal major shifts in local and regional vegetation. In our record, the period from 1000 to 1300 CE is characterized by warm/wet conditions concomitant with demographic expansion inland. Around 1400 CE, δ2HLW data indicates a drier period. The coincident decrease in palmitone, despite high charcoal and fecal marker concentrations, suggests that drier conditions might have rapidly affected taro cultivation, but not the overall population, which declined more than a century later. We hypothesize that the establishment of one of the earliest European settlements in Oceania in 1606 CE further disrupted local demographics with the introduction of diseases. This study contributes to our understanding of the intricate relationship between human activities, climatic fluctuations, and landscape modifications in Remote Oceania over the past millennium

Collective action problems led to the cultural transformation of Sāmoa 800 years ago.

In this research we identify the processes leading to hierarchical society in a region of Sāmoa, the often-labelled 'birthplace' of the Polynesian chiefdoms. Our analyses in the Falefa Valley on 'Upolu island combine lidar mapping and ground survey to reveal an extensive system of archaeological features: rock walls, ditches, and platforms. Excavation and radiocarbon dating underpin a feature chronology and characterize feature variation. Soil nutrient analyses and geoarchaeological coring indicate spatial differences in the agricultural potentional of the valley and human modification of the environment over time. Our results demonstrate that the construction of large rock walls, some several hundred meters long, began approximately 900-600 years ago, shortly after rapid population rise in Sāmoa. This was followed by the building of small rock walls, often enclosing rectilinear fields or platforms. Both rock wall types are concentrated in the western and northern regions of the valley and greater rock wall densities are associated with areas of higher agricultural potential. The earliest wall construction was penecontemporaneous with partial forest removal that created a more productive wetland environment in the southeastern region of the valley, an area later a focus of agricultural ditching. We propose that with population rise the variable fertility of agricultural land became a significant resource gradient, influencing the population in two ways. First, areas of more fertile agricultural land promoted territorial behaviour, including large rock walls, and led to a collective action problem. Second, niche construction in the form of human-induced environmental change created a productive wetland agricultural system that was enhanced with a reticulate ditch network, the maintenance of which also led to a collective action problem. We conclude that in the Falefa Valley, the second largest catchment in Sāmoa, collective action problems were the cause of increased social hierarchy and may underlie the origins of chiefdoms throughout Polynesia

Floristic homogenization of South Pacific islands commenced with human arrival

The increasing similarity of plant species composition among distinct areas is leading to the homogenization of ecosystems globally. Human actions such as ecosystem modification, the introduction of non-native plant species and the extinction or extirpation of endemic and native plant species are considered the main drivers of this trend. However, little is known about when floristic homogenization began or about pre-human patterns of floristic similarity. Here we investigate vegetation trends during the past 5,000 years across the tropical, sub-tropical and warm temperate South Pacific using fossil pollen records from 15 sites on 13 islands within the biogeographical realm of Oceania. The site comparisons show that floristic homogenization has increased over the past 5,000 years. Pairwise Bray–Curtis similarity results also show that when two islands were settled by people in a given time interval, their floristic similarity is greater than when one or neither of the islands were settled. Importantly, higher elevation sites, which are less likely to have experienced human impacts, tended to show less floristic homogenization. While biotic homogenization is often referred to as a contemporary issue, we have identified a much earlier trend, likely driven by human colonization of the islands and subsequent impacts

Island ecosystem responses to the Kuwae eruption and precipitation change over the last 1600 years, Efate, Vanuatu

Introduction: islands of the Southwest Pacific are exposed to geologic and climate-related disturbances that occur on a range of timescales and which probably affect, to varying degrees, their terrestrial ecosystems. Over the past ∼1100 years we know of two major events in the region: the Kuwae eruption which is thought to have occurred ∼500 cal. years BP and a shift to drier conditions which began ∼1100 cal. years BP. Methods: we investigated terrestrial and lacustrine ecosystem responses to these events and also to a changing fire regime, likely human-caused, using a multi-proxy (C/N, charcoal, chironomids, pollen, and tephra) record from Lake Emaotul, Efate, Vanuatu. Results: Tephra from the Kuwae eruption was found across a 6 cm layer which our age-depth model suggests was deposited 650–510 cal. years BP (95% confidence). Forest and chironomid community turnover increased during the wet-dry shift 1100–1000 cal. years BP; subsequently, chironomid turnover rates decreased again within &lt;135 years and vegetation had partially (but not fully) recovered after ∼80 years. Following Kuwae volcanic tephra deposition, vegetation turnover increased again, reflecting a reduction in small trees and shrubs and an increase in grasses. Subsequently, the forest vegetation did not regain its previous composition, whereas chironomid community composition remained fairly stable before and after tephra deposition. Within the last ∼90 years, enhanced local burning drove another increase in vegetation turnover. Discussion: terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems in Efate are sensitive to changes in hydroclimate, volcanism, and anthropogenic fires, although to different degrees; while recent human impacts are often obvious, volcanic eruptions and climatic shifts have also structured Pacific-island ecosystems and will continue to do so.</p

Influences of sea level changes and volcanic eruptions on Holocene vegetation in Tonga

Here, we investigate Mid- to Late-Holocene vegetation changes in low-lying coastal areas in Tonga and how changing sea levels and recurrent volcanic eruptions have influenced vegetation dynamics on four islands of the Tongan archipelago (South Pacific). To investigate past vegetation and environmental change at Ngofe Marsh (‘Uta Vava’u), we examined palynomorphs (pollen and spores), charcoal (fire), and sediment characteristics (volcanic activity) from a 6.7-m-long sediment core. Radiocarbon dating indicated the sediments were deposited over the last 7700 years. We integrated the Ngofe Marsh data with similar previously published data from Avai’o’vuna Swamp on Pangaimotu Island, Lotofoa Swamp on Foa Island, and Finemui Swamp on Ha’afeva Island. Plant taxa were categorized as littoral, mangrove, rainforest, successional/ disturbance, and wetland groups, and linear models were used to examine relationships between vegetation, relative sea level change, and volcanic eruptions (tephra). We found that relative sea level change has impacted vegetation on three of the four islands investigated. Volcanic eruptions were not identified as a driver of vegetation change. Rainforest decline does not appear to be driven by sea level changes or volcanic eruptions. From all sites analyzed, vegetation at Finemui Swamp was most sensitive to changes in relative sea level. While vegetation on low-lying Pacific islands is sensitive to changing sea levels, island characteristics, such as area and elevation, are also likely to be important factors that mediate specific island responses to drivers of change

Practice, Potential and Prospects

Abstract Archaeobotany is the study of plant remains from archaeological contexts. Despite Australasian research being at the forefront of several methodological innovations over the last three decades, archaeobotany is now a relatively peripheral concern to most archaeological projects in Australia and New Guinea. In this paper, many practicing archaeobotanists working in these regions argue for a more central role for archaeobotany in standard archaeological practice. An overview of archaeobotanical techniques and applications is presented, the potential for archaeobotany to address key historical research questions is indicated, and initiatives designed to promote archaeobotany and improve current practices are outlined