Bayman, James M.

English

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BOOK REVIEWSAfetna Point, Saipan: Archaeological Investigations of a Latte Period Village and HistoricContext in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Boyd Dixon, CherieWalth, Kathy Mowrer, and Danny Welch. Oxford: Archaeopress Publishing, 2019.186 pp., 106 figures, bibliography. Paperback US $58, ISBN 978-1-78969-176-4;E-book free from publisher, ISBN 978-1-78969-177-1.Yellow Beach 2 after 75 Years: The Archaeology of a WWII Invasion Beach on Saipan and itsHistoric Context in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Boyd Dixon,Brenda Tenorio, Cherie Walth, and Kathy Mowrer. Oxford: Archaeopress Publishing,2019. 127 pp., 88 figures, bibliography. Paperback US $45, ISBN 978-1-78969-258-7;E-book free from publisher, ISBN 978-1-78969-259-4.Asian PerspectReviewed by James M. BAYMAN, Department of Anthropology,University of Hawai‘i at ManoaThe companion monographs Afetna Point,Saipan and Yellow Beach 2 after 75 Years offer asignificant perspective on the history ofa modest parcel of land on a small island ina remote corner of the Pacific. Althoughmuch of the parcel in San Antonio, Saipan hadbeen disturbed by a deep sand mine, historicpreservation officials for the Commonwealthof the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) hadidentified the area as having high potential forsignificant archaeological and historicalresources, both pre- and post-contact (includ-ing a WWII American invasion beach). Thearchaeological project conducted by BoydDixon and his colleagues vindicates thewisdom of CNMI in anticipating the sig-nificance of the project area. That the researchfor this project was realized within theframework of a Cultural Resource Manage-ment (CRM) compliance project adds valueto this investigation in setting a high standardfor ongoing archaeological work in theregion. The acceleration of economic devel-opment on Saipan (and elsewhere in theregion) challenges archaeologists to developflexible and innovative approaches forresearching the past on relatively smallland parcels in increasingly urbanized andives, Vol. 59, No. 2 © 2020 by the University of Hawai‘isegmented landscapes. The success of Dixonand colleagues in meeting the challenge ofdeveloping a meaningful research program ina highly disturbed setting distinguishes thisproject. The researchers on this project metthis challenge by leveraging their priorexperience and analytical assets to constructsubstantive research questions. The authorsand their staff aligned unit excavations along alinear and parallel axis to construct a cross-section for characterizing the cultural and pre-cultural sequence of stratigraphy on theproperty. Their investment in a suite ofspecialized analyses (e.g., radiocarbon, micro-fossil, pollen, phytoliths, and starch) alongwith more conventional analyses of materialculture (e.g., ceramic, stone, shell, historic)strengthened their research.The first of the companion monographs,entitled Afetna Point, Saipan: ArchaeologicalInvestigations of a Latte Period Village and HistoricContext in the Commonwealth of the NorthernMariana Islands, focuses on a Latte Periodvillage. Particularly notable is the presentationof metric and nonmetric data from theanalyses in no less than 52 tables in a totalof 9 chapters. This is particularly constructivebecause academic publishing venues such asPress.BOOK REVIEWS 479journals typically prohibit the presentation oflarge primary datasets. Equally valuable is theirinclusion of 106 figures, including unit andfeature plan views and profiles, high-resolu-tion photographs of artifacts and osteologicalmaterials, and diagrams of pollen, phytolith,and starch frequencies. The presentation ofsuch data ensures that this project will be anenduring contribution. It will provide otherresearchers the opportunity to develop acomparative perspective on their findingsfrom elsewhere in the Mariana Islands, muchas these authors did themselves. Indeed, I havealready benefitted from consulting (andciting) this volume in my own scholarlywriting.In the first four chapters, Dixon andcoauthors summarize the research design,historic context, and methods used to recoverand analyze the material culture and humanosteological remains. A majority of thefeatures and cultural assemblages are fromthe Latte Period, which offered the investi-gators an opportunity to consider whether ornot the distribution of middens, features suchas subsurface ovens and hearth complexes, andburials correspond to the locations of domes-tic residences, that is, latte structures. Theability to identify the former locations of lattestructures on the basis of their architecturalfeatures (e.g., haligi [post or pillar], tasa [cup orcap atop a post]) is a daunting challenge inMarianas archaeology because so many oftheir surface-visible manifestations have beendisturbed beyond recognition.Thankfully, the authors of this studyillustrate how an approach proposed by Bath(1986) can be applied to ascertain the likelylocations of latte structures that are no longerevident in their surface-visible manifestations.In brief, the authors confirmed the presenceof an almost continuous zone of food-production features and cultural materialslocated seaward of a probable latte village. Thearea proved to be exceptionally rich in culturalmaterials that included (but were not limitedto) organic midden soil, shell food, shell tools,basalt, slingstones, and Latte Period ceramics.The authors’ conclusion that the spatialdistribution of various middens and theirassociated features and assemblages likelycorrelates with the (presumed) locations ofprobable latte structures within a larger villageis promising. It offers future field projects inSaipan and elsewhere in the Mariana Islandsan important and ready-made research ques-tion. Investigation of latte village layout begsattention from archaeologists and this projectoffers an example of how such research maybe undertaken at highly disturbed archae-ological sites.Chapter 5 offers a detailed documentationof features and material culture from the LattePeriod. The descriptions of food preparationfeatures such as ovens and surface hearthfeature complexes provide some of the much-needed baseline information that is so oftenlacking in scholarly publications. The analysesof these features and their faunal assemblagesilluminate the variety of plant and animalfoods that were potentially gathered andconsumed or otherwise used at the site.Interestingly, microfossil remains of foodplants (e.g., taro) were only recovered fromdeeper ovens that also yielded large amountsof food shell. Consequently, Dixon andcoauthors hypothesize that the absence ofmicrofossil food remains from two hearthfeature complexes (Feature 1 and Feature 2)hints that they were possibly used as kilns forfiring ceramics. The precise technology thatwas used for firing ceramics in the MarianaIslands is a nagging question, so the hypothesisthat at least some surface hearth features wereused for this activity warrants additionalinvestigation. The documentation of cera-mic-firing practices is a profoundly importantand unanswered question for Marianasarchaeology.Careful documentation of additional cook-ing features further enabled the authors todistinguish the different functions of suchfacilities. For example, complexes of relativelysmall surface hearth features were likely usedon a frequent, perhaps daily, basis, whereaslarger and deeper ovens were presumably usedfor less frequent (though undoubtedly sig-nificant) communal feasts (or fiestas inSpanish). Detailed documentation of thedistribution of such features might seemmundane to some archaeologists who workin other areas of the Pacific (e.g., HawaiianIslands) that witness more frequent publica-tion of field research. Publication of480 ASIAN PERSPECTIVES • 2020 • 59(2)substantive field research in the Marianas isgenerally less frequent, however, so thedescription and ages of cooking features andtheir assemblages is still needed to betterunderstand the spatial organization of gen-dered labor in domestic contexts. Suchfeatures must be investigated and reportedin detail to gauge the importance of com-munal feasting in the region and the role itpotentially played in the political economy ofancient society in the Mariana Islands.Interpretations of traditional lifeways in theMariana Islands are often informed fromtranslations of seventeenth century Spanishdocumentary sources or ethnographicaccounts from the mid-twentieth century.Such accounts are important, yet archaeologyis better suited to discerning longitudinalchanges in traditional practices among multi-ple sites, villages, and islands in the archipe-lago. Documentary sources that emphasizethe matrilineal structure of traditional societyoffer tantalizing hypotheses that can beevaluated with the archaeological record.The accumulation of information on food-ways, specifically in Saipan and for theMarianas more generally, offers the promiseof developing a comparative perspective onthis phenomenon across the greater Pacific.Comparing the archaeological signatures offoodways among island groups that werestructured differently with respect to socialorganization (e.g., matrilineal versus patrili-neal) promises new insights. This volume is animportant step in that direction.Chapter 6 focuses on the osteological analysisof human remains excavated during the CRMproject. Fortunately, there is a relatively richbody of scholarly literature on human osteologyin the Marianas and so the need for baselineinformation is less acute than the need forinformation on foodways. Still, the publicationof this literature does not diminish thesignificance of the report by Dixon andcolleagues. Rather, the authors of this volumetake full advantage of existing literature bycontextualizing and comparing their findingswith respect to published research by otherscholars. In brief, the population at Afetna Pointcompares well with other Latte period popula-tions fromGuam and theCNMIwith respect tooverall health and life expectancy. Although thepopulation in the project area was relativelyhealthy, it nonetheless exhibited various afflic-tions that were common elsewhere during theLatte period, including osteoarthritis, degen-erative joint disease (DJD), treponemotosis(yaws), and unknown infectious lesions.The authors revisit their research questionsin chapter 7. Chapter 8 sketches a comparisonwith a recent project at the Anaguan site inGarapan.While the documentation of the twoprojects was quite different, the authorsillustrate an honorable approach to the extra-ordinarily challenging geopolitical landscape ofCRM archaeology in the Mariana Islands.The second volume by Dixon andcolleagues, entitled Yellow Beach 2 after 75Years: The Archaeology of a WWII InvasionBeach on Saipan and its Historic Context in theCommonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,focuses on the archaeological materials in theproject area that remain in the wake ofWWII.The first four chapters in this volume echo thecontext and background of the project as itwas described in the first volume on the LattePeriod. This was necessary so the secondvolume could be easily consulted by readerswho are specifically interested in Saipan’s rolein WWII. Chapter 6 focuses on archaeolo-gical materials and chapter 7 on osteologicalremains from the WWII period. The descrip-tions of American and Japanese weapons suchas “pineapple” hand grenades, machine guns,and mortars in chapter 6 and the osteologicalanalysis of four Japanese soldiers in chapter 7offer stark reminders of the horrors thattranspired on the invasion beach.Chapter 8 provides concise summaries oforal interviews with five individuals (threemen and two women) who are either presentor former residents of the project area. AsDixon and his coauthors note, a goal of thischapter is to consider whether memories ofWWII and the early postwar years haveremained vital in the shared heritage of thelocal community. Recollections of howdiscarded materials were repurposed demon-strate the resourcefulness of Saipan’s commu-nity in the early postwar years. Accounts suchas the fabrication of women’s underwear withremnants of flour sack fabric and strips of tireinner tubes underscore the fact that archae-ologists should be ever mindful in interpretingBOOK REVIEWS 481the function(s) of ancient or modern artifacts.The compilation of narratives from these fiveindividuals illustrates a novel way of doc-umenting and preserving cultural heritage.Not surprisingly, the five narratives recall bothpositive and painful memories about a bygoneera in the project area (i.e., San Antoniovillage) in the 1940s.Chapter 9 is the final part of the secondvolume. Here, the authors reflect on theresearch questions that were delineated inchapter 4. As the authors note, the geographiclocation of the project area (i.e., San Antonio)was not particularly suitable for settlementduring the Spanish, German, and Japaneseperiods. The village was a considerabledistance from the major port of maritimecommerce and, although it was used forfarming during the Latte Period, it was ill-suited for German coconut farming (toproduce copra) and the subsequent introduc-tion of sugarcane farming by the Japanese. Asthe authors note, the general dearth ofarchaeological evidence in the project areaprior to the construction of Japanese defensesin the late 1930s is unsurprising. However, anabundance of American-made munitions andother military hardware (e.g., howitzer shellcasings, hand grenades, canteens, mess kits,and .50 caliber bullets) confirm that the areawitnessed significant combat during the 15June 1944 invasion of Saipan to expel Japaneseforces. The project also documented evidenceof military construction (e.g., Coast GuardLoran Station) near the end of the war andinto the subsequent decades of the Cold War.In sum, the publication of this project ascompanion volumes in the Access Archae-ology series of Archaeopress Publishing(Oxford) is laudable. The overwhelmingmajority of archaeological research projectsare undertaken in the region within thecontext of economic development stemmingfrom tourism. Because such research is oftenunavailable from published and accessiblevenues, important fieldwork goes unnoticedexcept by those who are employed in theprofit-driven CRM industry. The authors ofthese two volumes should be commended forthe time and energy they committed to theproduction of these monographs. The pub-lication of archaeological research is a profes-sional obligation and the availability of thesecompanion volumes in both open-access andprint venues ensures that their project findingswill be widely disseminated. Indeed, it wouldbe most helpful if sponsoring agencies andinstitutions, both in the private sector andgovernmental, were to invest resources insupporting more publications of archaeolo-gical research in like manner. Open-accesspublication enlarges the readership of scho-larly work by both professionals and thegeneral public, including the indigenouspeoples whose ancestral heritage is often thefocus of archaeological investigation. Whenthe lead author, Boyd Dixon, was recentlygiven a CNMI Humanities Council LifetimeAchievement Award, the adoption of thesetwo volumes by educators in the local schoolswas mentioned as one of several hallmarks ofhis storied career in the islands.The Affect of Crafting: Third Millennium BCE Copper Arrowheads from Ganeshwar,Rajasthan.Uzma Z. Rizvi. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2018. 176 pp., 53 figures, 13 tables,extensive catalogue (black and white throughout). Paperback £32, ISBN 978-1-78969-003-3; E-publication £16, ISBN 978-1-78969-004-0.Reviewed by Peter JOHANSEN, Department of Anthropology, McGill UniversityUzma Rizvi’s book provides a critical newperspective on an important regional archae-ological landscape that has largely beenmarginalized as a somewhat enigmatic frontierbackwater of the Indus Valley Civilization(IVC). Northeastern Rajasthan during the

Afetna Point, Saipan: Archaeological Investigations of a Latte Period Village and Historic Context in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Boyd Dixon, Cherie
Walth, Kathy Mowrer, and Danny Welch. Oxford: Archaeopress Publishing, 2019.
186 pp., 106 figures, bibliography. Paperback US $58, ISBN 978-1-78969-176-4;
E-book free from publisher, ISBN 978-1-78969-177-1.
Yellow Beach 2 after 75 Years: The Archaeology of a WWII Invasion Beach on Saipan and its Historic Context in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Boyd Dixon,
Brenda Tenorio, CherieWalth, and KathyMowrer. Oxford: Archaeopress Publishing,
2019. 127 pp., 88 figures, bibliography. Paperback US $45, ISBN 978-1-78969-258-7;
E-book free from publisher, ISBN 978-1-78969-259-4.

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