Figure 1 - uploaded by Joel Klenck
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Map of Ta'u Island showing major sites from prior surveys and excavations by Kikuchi in purple (1963), Hunt & Kirch in black (1988, 1987a), Shapiro & Cleghorn in green (2000, 2002), Clark in red (1980), and Addison in orange (2008). The area of this survey at Luatele or Judds Crater is noted in blue. See Section VII.
Source publication
Archaeologist Joel Klenck authors an archaeological survey for prehistoric and historic properties covering approximately 50 acres conducted in and around Luatele or Judds Crater, on Ta’u Island, for the American Samoa Historic Preservation Office, in compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (“NHPA”), as amended. The project r...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... of Site AS-11-119: Feature 069 ( Figures 181 to 183) ....................245 Photographs of Site AS-11-120: Feature 098 ( Figure 184) ……………………249 Photographs of Site AS-11-121: Feature 099 (Figures 185 to 186) ....................253 Photographs of Site AS-11-122: Feature 100 (Figure 187) …………………... ...
Context 2
... of Site AS-11-119: Feature 069 ( Figures 181 to 183) ....................245 Photographs of Site AS-11-120: Feature 098 ( Figure 184) ……………………249 Photographs of Site AS-11-121: Feature 099 (Figures 185 to 186) ....................253 Photographs of Site AS-11-122: Feature 100 (Figure 187) …………………... ...
Context 3
... of Site AS-11-119: Feature 069 ( Figures 181 to 183) ....................245 Photographs of Site AS-11-120: Feature 098 ( Figure 184) ……………………249 Photographs of Site AS-11-121: Feature 099 (Figures 185 to 186) ....................253 Photographs of Site AS-11-122: Feature 100 (Figure 187) …………………... ...
Context 4
... of Site AS-11-119: Feature 069 ( Figures 181 to 183) ....................245 Photographs of Site AS-11-120: Feature 098 ( Figure 184) ……………………249 Photographs of Site AS-11-121: Feature 099 (Figures 185 to 186) ....................253 Photographs of Site AS-11-122: Feature 100 (Figure 187) …………………... ...
Context 5
... project comprised an archaeological inventory survey for historic sites and features in approximately 50 acres in and around Luatele or Judds Crater on Ta'u Island ( Figure 1). Luatele or Judds Crater is located in the counties of Maia and Leusoali'i, in the District of Manu'a, on Ta'u Island, in American Samoa. ...
Context 6
... total, the project area was approximately 50 acres. This area was roughly defined as the rim and interior of Luatele or Judds Crater, in the northeast of Ta'u Island, District of Manu'a, American Samoa ( Figure 1; Appendix A, p. 82). However, this area was hazardous in several respects incorporating steep declines that plunged over 100 meters, from the rim to the floor of the crater. ...
Context 7
... Feature 069, was the sole locale ascribed to AS-11-119 because the edifice was on a ridgeline, away from other features, and comprised a unique feature: a terrace or possible tia seu lupe in a unique locale, in the center of a volcanic crater. See Appendix C, Figures 181-183, pp. 243-244. ...
Context 8
... because of the feature's rarity at Luatele and its lack of proximity to other features, this locale was solely ascribed to AS-11-121. See Appendix C, Figures 185-186, 236-239, pp. 251-254, 283-284. ...
Context 9
... such, most of the artifacts identified in this study represents potential debitage based on this researcher's best attempt to identify the byproducts of lithic tool manufacturing from poor lithic material. A total of 92 lithic artifacts were recovered from Luatele (Appendix E; Tables 17-19; Figures 188-239). The eighteen archaeological features (001 to 017 and 101) on the rim of Luatele were associated with more lithic artifacts (N=89) compared to features (018 to 100) on the floor of the crater (N=3). ...
Context 10
... the three pigeon-catching mounds of F001, F002, and F003, possessed flakes: 7, 6, and 10, respectively. Also, Feature 001 contained part of an exceptionally well-crafted grinding stone or foaga (Figures 188- 191). Only the sandstone bowl in Feature 099, on the floor of Luatele, was photographed but not measured in Appendix E (Figures 236-239; Tables 17-19). ...
Context 11
... to other archaeological studies in American Samoa, pre-contact inhabitants of Luatele used poor quality lithic material, mostly vesicular basalt, when superior material was absent in manufacturing stone tools (Figures 192-235). Further, part of a grinding stone or foaga retrieved from Feature 001 together with 23 pieces of debitage from the three tia seu lupe (Features 001, 002, and 003) might indicate these tia features had secondary uses at different times in addition to pigeon-catching activities (Figures 188- 191). ...
Context 12
... to other archaeological studies in American Samoa, pre-contact inhabitants of Luatele used poor quality lithic material, mostly vesicular basalt, when superior material was absent in manufacturing stone tools (Figures 192-235). Further, part of a grinding stone or foaga retrieved from Feature 001 together with 23 pieces of debitage from the three tia seu lupe (Features 001, 002, and 003) might indicate these tia features had secondary uses at different times in addition to pigeon-catching activities (Figures 188- 191). Finally, the presence of a rare stone bowl at Feature 099, the only fale on the crater floor, near the purported kia sa or grave (Feature 068) of the legendary premier chief, Tuimanu'a Moa, with smaller boulder mounds and reported burials might indicate this fale habitation was more designed for ceremonial use than as an ordinary domestic habitation (Figures 236-239). ...
Context 13
... thick vegetation, leaf litter and canopy that mostly comprises a secondary forest (Whistler 1992:19, 93). The common secondary forest tree species in and around Luatele are Alphitonia zizyphoides, Bischofia javanica, Elattostachys falcata, Dysoxylum samoense, Neonauclea forsteri, Pometia pinnata, Rhus taitensis, and Syzygium inophylloides (Id. at p. 19). Beneath the trees, the ground cover consists of secondary scrub species including ferns: Angiopteris evecta, Christella harveyi, Diplazium harpeodes, Cyathea lunulata, Pneumatopteris species, and Lomagramma cordipinna and other vegetation such as Blechnum vulcanicum, Dicksonia brackenridgei, Clidemia hirta, Cyrtandra species, Mikania ...
Context 14
... thick vegetation, leaf litter and canopy that mostly comprises a secondary forest (Whistler 1992:19, 93). The common secondary forest tree species in and around Luatele are Alphitonia zizyphoides, Bischofia javanica, Elattostachys falcata, Dysoxylum samoense, Neonauclea forsteri, Pometia pinnata, Rhus taitensis, and Syzygium inophylloides (Id. at p. 19). Beneath the trees, the ground cover consists of secondary scrub species including ferns: Angiopteris evecta, Christella harveyi, Diplazium harpeodes, Cyathea lunulata, Pneumatopteris species, and Lomagramma cordipinna and other vegetation such as Blechnum vulcanicum, Dicksonia brackenridgei, Clidemia hirta, Cyrtandra species, Mikania ...
Context 15
... thick vegetation, leaf litter and canopy that mostly comprises a secondary forest (Whistler 1992:19, 93). The common secondary forest tree species in and around Luatele are Alphitonia zizyphoides, Bischofia javanica, Elattostachys falcata, Dysoxylum samoense, Neonauclea forsteri, Pometia pinnata, Rhus taitensis, and Syzygium inophylloides (Id. at p. 19). Beneath the trees, the ground cover consists of secondary scrub species including ferns: Angiopteris evecta, Christella harveyi, Diplazium harpeodes, Cyathea lunulata, Pneumatopteris species, and Lomagramma cordipinna and other vegetation such as Blechnum vulcanicum, Dicksonia brackenridgei, Clidemia hirta, Cyrtandra species, Mikania ...
Context 16
... thick vegetation, leaf litter and canopy that mostly comprises a secondary forest (Whistler 1992:19, 93). The common secondary forest tree species in and around Luatele are Alphitonia zizyphoides, Bischofia javanica, Elattostachys falcata, Dysoxylum samoense, Neonauclea forsteri, Pometia pinnata, Rhus taitensis, and Syzygium inophylloides (Id. at p. 19). Beneath the trees, the ground cover consists of secondary scrub species including ferns: Angiopteris evecta, Christella harveyi, Diplazium harpeodes, Cyathea lunulata, Pneumatopteris species, and Lomagramma cordipinna and other vegetation such as Blechnum vulcanicum, Dicksonia brackenridgei, Clidemia hirta, Cyrtandra species, Mikania ...
Context 17
... geological formation surrounding Luatele or Judds Crater is termed the Luatele Formation, approximately 1,500 meters in length and 2,000 meters in breadth and consists of thin pahoehoe flows of Olivine Basalt and Picrite-Basalt that comprise the Luatele shield on the northeast of the island of Ta'u and mostly consist of moderately vesicular basalt (Stice & McCoy 1968:443, 447). . Figure 116: Feature 96, Small, oval, boulder mound. Photograph taken from 176 degrees magnetic. ...
Citations
... The area of contiguous terracing is roughly bounded on the northwestern side of the project area by an intermittent stream and by steep cliffs to the north. The inland boundary is more difficult to define, as archaeological remains continue slightly past the crater (Klenck 2016). However, a series of large cross-slope walls does mark an elevation at which the nature of the archaeological record changes from a dense concentration of terracing to more specialized features and more sporadic linear mounds. ...
... 340 masl in the center-west transect. It is above this point that there seems to be a shift in the nature of the archaeological record wherein terracing is more sporadic, linear mounds parallel to the slope are rare, and ritual sites are present (see Klenck 2016). ...
Successful settlement on Polynesian islands required the alteration of environments, and such alteration produced extensive cultural landscapes. While some of the characteristics of these landscapes are well-established, what drives the spatial and temporal structure of these settlements is not clear across the entire region. Here, we present data on the nature and structure of settlement along one geological substrate in the interior of Ta‘ū Island, Manu‘a Group, American Sāmoa. Our results suggest that variability in slope and soil fertility were key drivers of archaeological patterns. Early use of the area seems to meet expectations of an ideal free distribution wherein the community was dispersed and located in relatively optimal locations for settlement. Characteristics of the settlement in the 15th century a.d. and later are consistent with landscape packing and community integration, signaling a shift to an ideal despotic distribution.
Stone and earthen architecture is nearly ubiquitous in the archaeological record of Pacific islands. The construction of this architecture is tied to a range of socio-political processes, and the temporal patterning of these features is useful for understanding the rate at which populations grew, innovation occurred, and social inequality emerged. Unfortunately, this temporal patterning is poorly understood for many areas of the region, including the Sāmoan archipelago. Here, we describe a project directed toward establishing a robust chronology for the construction of these earthen and stone terraces and linear mounds on Ta‘ū Island. Using recent methodological improvements, we highlight the tempo at which different architectural types were constructed on the island and the implications for understanding demographic expansion and changing land tenure practices in the last 1500 years. This research suggests the construction of architecture was largely confined to the 2nd millennium AD with a small number of terraces plausibly built in the 1st millennium AD. This temporal patterning suggests that a reconfiguration of settlement patterns occurred within West Polynesia as people there moved into other regions of Oceania.
