Early architecture in Tonga: implications for the development of Polynesian chiefdoms

Durable architecture is a hallmark of Polynesian chiefdoms, associated with centralised control of residential and agricultural land. Previous work in West Polynesia has indicated a relatively late date for the onset of such construction activity--after AD 1000--suggesting that political development was influenced by events such as post-colonisation migration. The authors report new dating evidence from the excavation of a large earth mound on the island of Tongatapu. Its construction 1500 years ago indicates that, in contrast to previous findings, well-developed chiefdoms and field monuments probably dominated the landscapes of West Polynesia substantially prior to the colonisation of more easterly island nations. Keywords: Polynesia, first millennium AD, AMS radiocarbon dating, LiDAR, stratigraphy, chiefdoms, social complexity
Introduction The archaeological record of the first millennium AD in West Polynesia is central to our understanding of the in situ development of chiefly polities and the nature of political [...]