Henderson Island prehistory colonization and exti

Authors: WEISLER MARSHALL I

Publish Date: 1995/09/01

Volume: 56, Issue: 1-2, Pages: 377-404

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Abstract

MARSHALL I WEISLER Henderson Island prehistory colonization and extinction on a remote Polynesian island Biological Journal of the Linnean Society Volume 56 Issue 12 September 1995 Pages 377–404 https//doiorg/101111/j109583121995tb01099xSituated at the extreme margin of the IndoWest 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 ecologicallymarginal 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 overpredation of marine molluscs exploitation of sea turtles and largescale burning for swidden agriculture The origin of human colonists is documented by analysing imported artefacts by geochemical characterization xray fluorescence analysis The human abandonment of Henderson by the seventeenth century is viewed in the context of prehistoric regional dynamics

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