Doctoral Dissertation Research: Prehistoric Basalt Tool Production in Tutuila, American Samoa, and its Role in Prehistoric Exchange Networks in Fiji-West Polynesia

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Under the supervision of Dr. William S. Ayres, Ernest Winterhoff will analyze data collected from archaeological excavations and sampling at stone tool quarry sites on Tutuila Island, American Samoa. The evidence recovered in the field and laboratory project is expected to answer questions about early stone tool use, a key aspect of Samoan cultural adaptation beginning over 2500 years ago. On Pacific Islands, stone adzes were an essential tool utilized in felling trees, clearing land, shaping canoes, constructing homes, and other woodworking activities. Tutuila was a source of remarkably high quality basalt used to manufacture adzes, and adzes from there have been recovered throughout the surrounding archipelagoes in the Central Pacific (Fiji, Cooks, Tonga, and Tokelau), a result of prehistoric exchange networks. Samoan adze quarries and manufacture areas are characterized by huge quantities of waste material, broken performs, hammerstones, terraces, and grinding stones. Winterhoff's investigation of the type and quantities of materials associated with tool production provides evidence of Samoa's early technological, social and political systems. On a general level, because trade and exchange reflect other cultural practices, this research makes significant contributions to the understanding of human societies. In the Pacific Islands, researchers have identified linkages among islands and archipelagos, noting social interaction occurring over hundreds of kilometers of open ocean. However, efforts to document the impact of such interaction on individual islands has been limited. Information is needed on important variables like resource allocation, product standardization, manufacturing specialization, and production intensification. Understanding how inter- and intra-island variation in stone sources affected production and distribution of adzes within these networks is essential to identify the social and environmental parameters affecting early island societies. In addition, the documentation of intra-island source and production variation offers the potential for a finer scale of analysis and contributes to the more precise identification of long distance interaction. The broader impacts of Winterhoff's research include providing additional archaeological site information for use by the American Samoa Historic Preservation Office (ASHPO). These data will be helpful to ASHPO in managing Tutuilan cultural resources. Further, this research project will continue nearly two decades of productive collaboration between the University of Oregon, Department of Anthropology, and the American Samoa Community College, especially its Samoan and Pacific Studies Program (SAMPAC). SAMPAC's programming provides a forum for visiting and local scholars and a place to disseminate traditional Samoan materials, ceremonies, and beliefs to the island's population. In addition, a research report for each geographical area investigated will be supplied to the respective chiefs and their communities. For the scientific community, data collected from this research will be published in regionally-focused peer-reviewed journals, presented at national and international conferences and will also be available in the author's dissertation. Finally, this dissertation research provides training opportunities in archaeological field and laboratory analyses for undergraduate assistants from Samoa and from the University of Oregon.