Henderson Island prehistory: colonization and extinction on a remote Polynesian island
Situated at the extreme margin of the Indo‐West Pacific biotic province, the four islands of the isolated Pitcairn Group hold interest for biogeographers and archaeologists alike. Human settlement may have been as early as the 8th century AD for the uplifted limestone island of Henderson, the most p...
Published in: | Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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Oxford University Press (OUP)
1995
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ftunivqespace:oai:espace.library.uq.edu.au:UQ:f44abaf 2023-05-15T16:34:34+02:00 Henderson Island prehistory: colonization and extinction on a remote Polynesian island WEISLER, MARSHALL I. 1995-01-01 https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:f44abaf eng eng Oxford University Press (OUP) doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1995.tb01099.x issn:1095-8312 issn:0024-4066 orcid:0000-0002-2336-2544 adaptation archaeology extinctions Henderson Island Oceania Pitcairn Group Polynesia Prehistory x‐ray fluorescence 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Journal Article 1995 ftunivqespace https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.1995.tb01099.x 2020-08-06T14:05:29Z Situated at the extreme margin of the Indo‐West Pacific biotic province, the four islands of the isolated Pitcairn Group hold interest for biogeographers and archaeologists alike. Human settlement may have been as early as the 8th century AD for the uplifted limestone island of Henderson, the most pristine island of its kind. An archaeological survey of the Pitcairn Islands is provided, while Henderson is examined in detail. Recent extensive excavations provide a record of change during 600 years of human occupation. Adaptation to the ecologically‐marginal conditions is documented by artefacts, more than 150000 vertebrate bones, molluscs and subfossil plant remains recovered from stratigraphic contexts. The effects of prehistoric human occupation on the pristine environment are revealed by Polynesian plant and animal introductions, bird extinctions and range reductions, possible over‐predation of marine molluscs, exploitation of sea turtles, and large‐scale burning for swidden agriculture. The origin of human colonists is documented by analysing imported artefacts by geochemical characterization (x‐ray fluorescence analysis). The human abandonment of Henderson, by the seventeenth century, is viewed in the context of prehistoric regional dynamics. Article in Journal/Newspaper Henderson Island The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace Pacific Henderson Island ENVELOPE(97.200,97.200,-66.367,-66.367) Four Islands ENVELOPE(-108.218,-108.218,56.050,56.050) Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 56 1-2 377 404 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace |
op_collection_id |
ftunivqespace |
language |
English |
topic |
adaptation archaeology extinctions Henderson Island Oceania Pitcairn Group Polynesia Prehistory x‐ray fluorescence 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
adaptation archaeology extinctions Henderson Island Oceania Pitcairn Group Polynesia Prehistory x‐ray fluorescence 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics WEISLER, MARSHALL I. Henderson Island prehistory: colonization and extinction on a remote Polynesian island |
topic_facet |
adaptation archaeology extinctions Henderson Island Oceania Pitcairn Group Polynesia Prehistory x‐ray fluorescence 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics |
description |
Situated at the extreme margin of the Indo‐West Pacific biotic province, the four islands of the isolated Pitcairn Group hold interest for biogeographers and archaeologists alike. Human settlement may have been as early as the 8th century AD for the uplifted limestone island of Henderson, the most pristine island of its kind. An archaeological survey of the Pitcairn Islands is provided, while Henderson is examined in detail. Recent extensive excavations provide a record of change during 600 years of human occupation. Adaptation to the ecologically‐marginal conditions is documented by artefacts, more than 150000 vertebrate bones, molluscs and subfossil plant remains recovered from stratigraphic contexts. The effects of prehistoric human occupation on the pristine environment are revealed by Polynesian plant and animal introductions, bird extinctions and range reductions, possible over‐predation of marine molluscs, exploitation of sea turtles, and large‐scale burning for swidden agriculture. The origin of human colonists is documented by analysing imported artefacts by geochemical characterization (x‐ray fluorescence analysis). The human abandonment of Henderson, by the seventeenth century, is viewed in the context of prehistoric regional dynamics. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
WEISLER, MARSHALL I. |
author_facet |
WEISLER, MARSHALL I. |
author_sort |
WEISLER, MARSHALL I. |
title |
Henderson Island prehistory: colonization and extinction on a remote Polynesian island |
title_short |
Henderson Island prehistory: colonization and extinction on a remote Polynesian island |
title_full |
Henderson Island prehistory: colonization and extinction on a remote Polynesian island |
title_fullStr |
Henderson Island prehistory: colonization and extinction on a remote Polynesian island |
title_full_unstemmed |
Henderson Island prehistory: colonization and extinction on a remote Polynesian island |
title_sort |
henderson island prehistory: colonization and extinction on a remote polynesian island |
publisher |
Oxford University Press (OUP) |
publishDate |
1995 |
url |
https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:f44abaf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(97.200,97.200,-66.367,-66.367) ENVELOPE(-108.218,-108.218,56.050,56.050) |
geographic |
Pacific Henderson Island Four Islands |
geographic_facet |
Pacific Henderson Island Four Islands |
genre |
Henderson Island |
genre_facet |
Henderson Island |
op_relation |
doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1995.tb01099.x issn:1095-8312 issn:0024-4066 orcid:0000-0002-2336-2544 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.1995.tb01099.x |
container_title |
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |
container_volume |
56 |
container_issue |
1-2 |
container_start_page |
377 |
op_container_end_page |
404 |
_version_ |
1766024511614877696 |