Journal
ARCHAEOLOGY IN OCEANIA
Volume 51, Issue 1, Pages 31-44Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/arco.5070
Keywords
East Polynesia; Austral Islands; coastal occupation; stratigraphy; chronology; Polynesie orientale; Iles Australes; occupation cotiere; stratigraphie; chronologie
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The Atiahara site is the first and only excavated site on Tubuai Island (Austral archipelago, French Polynesia). It was accidently discovered in 1994 and has been excavated on several occasions since then, over a surface of 197 m(2). This paper aims to present a compilation of the data available from the excavations, with a specific focus on stratigraphy, a spatial analysis of preserved occupations and new radiocarbon dates. We report a short dating sequence running from 1215 to 1390 CE, which makes the Atiahara site one of the earliest settlements in the Austral Islands. Finally, we mention the potential for tackling important topics in Polynesian archaeology through this key site, including the evolution of material culture and fishing strategies, socio-economic dynamics within a central Polynesian domestic context and possible climate variability in the region. RESUME Le site d'Atiahara est le premier, et a ce jour le seul, fouille sur l'ile de Tubuai (Archipel des Australes, Polynesie francaise). Decouvert fortuitement en 1994, il a fait l'objet de plusieurs operations archeologiques, et ce sur 197 m(2). L'objectif de cet article est de presenter une synthese des donnees spatiales et stratigraphiques recoltees au cours des differents terrains, ainsi que les datations radiocarbones effectuees sur des charbons issus des differents niveaux archeologiques. La sequence chronostratigraphique mise en evidence est relativement courte, avec des occupations domestiques datant entre 1215 et 1390 CE, ce qui fait d'Atiahara l'un des plus anciens sites de peuplement connu dans l'archipel des Australes. Nous evoquons les differents aspects qui devront etre abordes prochainement a travers l'etude de cet habitat cotier, et notamment les activites artisanales, les strategies de subsistance, et eventuellement les perturbations du climat au cours de la premiere moitie du second millenaire de notre ere.
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