The Evolution of the Polynesian Chiefdoms

This is an archaeological perspective on the elaborate system of chiefdoms found in the islands of Polynesia.

Patrick Vinton Kirch (Author)

9780521273169, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 13 July 1989

328 pages
22.7 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.466 kg

'This well-illustrated book with its extensive bibliography should continue to be an important book for scholars and students of Polynesia for years to come.' Journal of the Polynesian Society

This is an archaeological perspective on the elaborate system of chiefdoms found in the islands of Polynesia. While the growth and development of complex social and political systems in this region have long interested anthropologists and ethnographers, the islands' rich sources of archaeological data have since been exploited. The author combines this fresh archaeological data with comparative ethnographic and linguistic materials to present an innovative and perceptive account of the processes of culture change in the islands over three millennia. Using comparative ethnography, lexical reconstruction and direct archaeological evidence, the author reconstructs the broad outlines of Ancestral Polynesian Society, from which the diverse societies of the Polynesian region descended. Major processes of cultural change are analysed in detail, including colonization, adaptation to changing environments, development of intensive production and social conflict and competition.

Preface
1. Introduction
Part I. Foundation: 2. Polynesian societies and ecosystems
3. Ancestral Polynesia
Part II. Process: 4. Dispersal, colonization, and adaptation
5. The demographic factor
6. Changing environments
7. Development and intensification of production
8. Competition and conflict
Part III. Transformation: 9. Tonga
10. Hawaii
11. Easter Island
12. Epilogue
Glossary of Polynesian terms
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Archaeology [HD]