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New precise dates for the ancient and sacred coral pyramidal tombs of Leluh (Kosrae, Micronesia)
Abstract and Figures
Monumental tombs within ancient civilizations worldwide hold precious clues for deciphering the architectural skill, acumen and industry of prehistoric cultures. Most tombs were constructed from abiotic materials —stone, soil and/or clay predominately—and were built to permanently inter royalty or high status individuals. On the island of Kosrae in the central Pacific, monumental tombs were constructed with scleractinian coral and were confined to the prehistoric island capital of Leluh, where they served as temporary mortuary processing points. Like other prehistoric tombs, the Leluh tombs were dated by association - from the remnants of the temporarily interred. Here we present new dates for three sacred tombs using high-precision U-Th dates from 24 corals collected directly from the structural materials. The results suggest the tombs were built about 700 years ago during the 14th century, approximately three centuries earlier than previously reported. The new dates redefine the peak occupation of Leluh and place its ruling paramountcy at the leading edge of the developing trans-oceanic political hierarchies, and the social and economic systems that dominated the civilizations in this part of the world.
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... Fourth, the distribution of U/Th ages on coral used to construct mortuary buildings at Leluh is skewed toward younger ages (45). This distribution may support RSL rise because the most accessible construction material is likely young coral in shallow water, while older material is less accessible since it is in deeper water. ...
... However, the columnar basalts used to construct the outward-facing structures at Nan Madol are evidence of the willingness and ability to move large volumes of heavy material considerable distances (59). The presence of coral fragments from a range of species representative of a complete coral colony, their unweathered condition, and oral histories indicate that coral living in shallow water (rather than dead coral that was, for example, left exposed by RSL fall) was harvested for construction material at Leluh (45). We propose that the age, type, and condition of construction materials used at Leluh are compatible with RSL rise on Kosrae. ...
... Leluh is a monument on Kosrae that shares many architectural characteristics with Nan Madol. U-Th ages on coral from three mortuary buildings show construction began at ~640 to 560 y B.P. (45). ...
Beginning ~3,500 to 3,300 y B.P., humans voyaged into Remote Oceania. Radiocarbon-dated archaeological evidence coupled with cultural, linguistic, and genetic traits indicates two primary migration routes: a Southern Hemisphere and a Northern Hemisphere route. These routes are separated by low-lying, equatorial atolls that were settled during secondary migrations ~1,000 y later after their exposure by relative sea-level fall from a mid-Holocene highstand. High volcanic islands in the Federated States of Micronesia (Pohnpei and Kosrae) also lie between the migration routes and settlement is thought to have occurred during the secondary migrations despite having been above sea level during the initial settlement of Remote Oceania. We reconstruct relative sea level on Pohnpei and Kosrae using radiocarbon-dated mangrove sediment and show that, rather than falling, there was a ~4.3-m rise over the past ~5,700 y. This rise, likely driven by subsidence, implies that evidence for early settlement could lie undiscovered below present sea level. The potential for earlier settlement invites reinterpretation of migration pathways into Remote Oceania and monument building. The UNESCO World Heritage sites of Nan Madol (Pohnpei) and Leluh (Kosrae) were constructed when relative sea level was ~0.94 m (~770 to 750 y B.P.) and ~0.77 m (~640 to 560 y B.P.) lower than present, respectively. Therefore, it is unlikely that they were originally constructed as islets separated by canals filled with ocean water, which is their prevailing interpretation. Due to subsidence, we propose that these islands and monuments are more vulnerable to future relative sea-level rise than previously identified.
... The island's people developed a new culture, including mystical beliefs in magical and natural powers associated with objects like boulders. This belief is based on animism and dynamism (Liston & Rieth, 2010;Carson, 2012;Peterson, 2012;Richards et al., 2015;Rainbird & Wilson, 2015;Watts et al., 2015). ...
Based on the information obtained in Tambo as a historical source for the Minangkabau tribe, it can be seen that Tambo presents a narrative of the relationship between the Minangkabau and Chinese tribes on various issues. The Minangkabau tribe has cultural products with Chinese names, such as the guntiang cino clothes worn by princes and the aka cino motif found in traditional Minangkabau houses, namely the rumah gadang. This article used historical research to explore the relationship between Minangkabau and Chinese ethnicities. Source collection was carried out using library research techniques. Data analysis used a historical-anthropological approach. Based on research findings, it is worth noting that two waves of Proto-Malay and Deutero-Malay human races arrived in Sumatra from the South China region. Data analysis in Tambo, cultural aspects, and literary sources concluded that the Minangkabau tribe has a history and culture similar to the Zhuang tribe in Guangxi Province, southern mainland China. This is based on the similarities in the cultural products of the two ethnic groups, such as traditional Minangkabau women's clothing in the form of tingkuluak and suntiang items. Both ethnic groups also uphold the buffalo as one of their traditional animals. Matrilineal descent is a unique connecting factor in the Minangkabau tribe. In contrast, the Zhuang ethnic group has abandoned this system due to socio-political developments, the dominance of the Han ethnic group, and patriarchal culture.
... 230 Th coral ages with precisions of circa 1% or better are readily attainable for suitable samples, yielding absolute uncertainties of 5-10 years for ~ 1000-year-old corals (all errors 2σ). 230 Th dating of archaeological corals has resolved the age and tempo of temple construction in both Hawai'i and the Society Islands (Kirch and Sharp, 2005;McCoy et al., 2009;Sharp et al., 2010;Weisler et al., 2006), as well as construction of monumental architecture in Eastern Micronesia (Richards et al., 2015;McCoy et al., 2016). In Western Polynesia, 230 Th dating of coral tools has been used to establish the time frame for initial Lapita settlement on Tongatapu Island (Burley et al., 2012(Burley et al., , 2015. ...
Establishing the timing of human colonization of the eastern Pacific and developing cultural chronologies within the island groups of Eastern Polynesia has relied primarily on ¹⁴C dating. Despite advancements in ¹⁴C dating, however, uncertainties introduced during calibration to calendar ages remain large relative to the tempo of human settlement of the eastern Pacific and ensuing Polynesian cultural development. ²³⁰Th dating of coral abraders, a common artifact in Polynesian archaeological sites, can potentially provide more precise ages. We report a high-precision chronology for the Kitchen Cave rockshelter on Kamaka Island in the Mangareva (Gambier) Islands, based on parallel series of 13 ¹⁴C AMS dates on short-lived plant materials and 19 ²³⁰Th dates on Acropora coral abraders and non-utilized Acropora coral branches. The ²³⁰Th coral dating results are highly consistent with ages from ¹⁴C dating, except in two cases where corals younger than expected occupied what are most likely intrusive contexts. Moreover, because the ¹⁴C and ²³⁰Th dating techniques are largely independent, obtaining consistent results via the two techniques increases confidence in the resulting chronology. A reliable ²³⁰Th date of 860 ± 5 CE for a coral from the basal layer of the cultural sequence, whose deposition cannot readily be explained by natural processes, raises the possibility of an early Polynesian visit to Kamaka Island some centuries prior to initiation of permanent occupation in the 11th to 13th centuries. These results confirm that ²³⁰Th dating of Acropora branch coral abraders can be applied to other sites in the Pacific with a high degree of confidence.
... Monumental architecture has been a major focus of much archaeological research in the region, as it is important to understanding the socio-politics of the past. These monumental sites include Nan Madol (e.g., Athens 1980Athens , 1990Ayres 1993;Ayres and Scheller 2003;Ayres et al. 2009Ayres et al. , 2015Seikel 2011Seikel , 2016McCoy and Athens 2012;Ayres and Seikel 2014;McCoy et al. 2015McCoy et al. , 2016 and Lelu on Kosrae (e.g., Cordy 1982Cordy , 1985Cordy , 1993Ueki 1984;Richards et al. 2015). However, smaller archaeological sites, representing the lives of non-elites, have also attracted some interest (e.g., Ayres and Mauricio 1999;Haun 1984;Mauricio 1993;Levin 2015Levin , 2016Levin , 2018Poteate et al. 2016;. ...
Pingelap Atoll, 1.8 km 2 in area and nearly 70 km from the nearest island, presents a clear example of anthropogenic niche-building in physically isolated circumstances with limited resources. This paper presents the first radiocarbon (14 C) dates (n=8) from an archaeological project examining settlement and subsistence practices on the atoll, specifically how Pingelapese people have constructed the environment to meet their needs over centuries of occupation. These dates confirm that human occupation of Pingelap occurred by 1700-1550 cal BP (2σ) at the latest, only a few centuries after the earliest securely-dated settlement of high islands in the region (Kosrae and Pohnpei), and with strikingly similar timing to another atoll in the region, Mwoakilloa. Evidence of early settlement includes shell tools, ornaments, extensive marine faunal remains, and charred botanical domesticates. These preliminary data build a framework for the settlement history and environment building of Pingelap.
... For example, 230 Th coral ages with precisions of circa 1% or better are readily attainable for suitable samples, yielding absolute uncertainties of 5-10 years for ∼1000-yearold corals (all errors 2σ). 230 Th dating of archaeological corals has resolved the age and tempo of temple construction in East Polynesia (Kirch and Sharp, 2005;Sharp et al., 2010) and construction of monumental architecture in Eastern Micronesia (McCoy et al., 2016;Richards et al., 2015). Where suitable samples can be identified, 230 Th dating of coral abraders from stratified contexts, which are abundant in many Polynesian stratified sequences (Kirch, 2017a), may provide precise constraints not only on the timing of initial settlement but also on the tempo of subsequent cultural and environmental changes. ...
... Monumental architecture has been a major focus of much archaeological research in the region, as it is important to understanding the socio-politics of the past. These monumental sites include Nan Madol (e.g., Athens 1980Athens , 1990Ayres 1993;Ayres and Scheller 2003;Ayres and Seikel 2014;Ayres et al. 2009Ayres et al. , 2015McCoy et al. 2015McCoy et al. , 2016Seikel 2011Seikel , 2016 and Lelu on Kosrae (e.g., Cordy 1982Cordy , 1985Cordy , 1993Richards et al. 2015;Ueki 1984). ...
Report submitted to the Pohnpei State Historic Preservation Office.
Sea level rise and climate change are shaping present societies, particularly those on oceanic islands. Few historical examples could serve as references for these changes. One such potential model is the Saudeleur Dynasty with its capital Nan Madol on the Pacific Island of Pohnpei. However, the timing of its construction, as well as the dynasty's fluctuations and potential environmental influences, has remained unresolved. Through the analyses of 230Th ages on 171 dates on corals fragments used as building materials and charcoal 14C ages from excavations, 2 major construction phases spanning from the 10th to the 15th century CE can be discerned. The results show that the first phase of the site's construction, spanning the 10th–12th century, marked the dynasty's rise. The second period, spanning from the late 12th to the early 15th century, provides the most substantial evidence for the demise of the island-scale chiefdom and a significant societal reorganization. The phases are centuries earlier than previously believed. With this new evidence, we propose the hypothesis that variations in the El Niño-Southern Oscillation and subsidence-related sea level rise presented major challenges for building and maintaining Nan Madol, and thus, influenced the course of the island's history. This case serves as a compelling example of how adverse climatic conditions can spur investments—in this case, in seawater defense under high sea levels—yet ultimately may contribute to abandonment. It offers lessons for island nations, showcasing coastal resilience in the face of worsening catastrophic events that unfolded over generations.
The Pacific Islands offer a variety of marine environments providing peoples in the present and past with abundant coral materials, a “stone from the sea”. Archaeologists have long recognised the importance of coral in ancient contexts, whether as gravel, natural branches, squared blocks or cut-and-dress slabs. Coral was also used to manufacture tools such as files or pounders and incorporated in monumental ceremonial architecture as a favoured construction material and foundation offerings. However, Pacific Islanders also employed coral material for other ritual applications that remain overlooked in the literature. In this article, we consider the multiple uses of coral in the archaeological and ethnographic records of three Pacific regions: Central-East Polynesia (CEP), New Caledonia and the Torres Strait Islands. This includes offering of coral branches, sometimes associated with cairns, paraphernalia and magic stones, also production of coral lime for body ornamentation. Using these case studies, we consider material selection, modes of deposition, archaeological and ethnographic contexts, associations with other features and artefacts, before interrogating the potential significance of these unrealised datasets. By doing so, we shed new light on the ritual value of coral and reflect on the symbolic nature and function of this material.
This is the report of an exhaustive study of the ruins of Lelu in Kosrae and Nan Madol in Pohnpei and their relation to local ethnoastronomy concepts. We found significant astronomical alignments in both sites and recorded and collected historical information regarding two related petroglyph sites in Pohnpei, shedding light in what may be the recording of an lunar eclipse next to what may have been an ancient observatory.
This history of Russian place naming in the Pacific Islands from 1804 to 1830 systematically juxtaposes, correlates, and compares toponyms inscribed in varied genres of Russian texts: map, atlas, journal, narrative, and hydrographic treatise. Its empirical core comprises place names bestowed or recorded by naval officers and naturalists in eastern and northern Pacific archipelagoes during expeditions led by the Baltic German circumnavigators Krusenstern (1803–6), Kotzebue (1815–18), Bellingshausen (1819–21), and Lütke (1826–9). We address the interplay of personality, precedent, circumstance, and embodied encounters in motivating voyagers’ toponymic choices and their material expressions. We consider diverse textual movements from located experience, to specific inscription, to synthesis. Russian toponyms constituted part of the vast stock of historical raw material from which Krusenstern later created the authoritative pioneer Atlas de l'Océan pacifique (1824–7). This toponymic focus is scaffolding for a dual ethnohistorical inquiry: into the implications for Russian toponymy of Indigenous agency during situated encounters with people and places; and into the relative significance of loca'l knowledge conveyed to Russian voyagers by Indigenous interlocutors, and its presence or absence in particular sets of toponyms or different genres of text.
This was the first book-length archaeological study of Micronesia, a collection of island groups in the Western Pacific Ocean. Drawing on a wide range of archaeological, anthropological and historical sources, the author explores the various ways that the societies of these islands have been interpreted since European navigators first arrived there in the sixteenth century. Considering the process of initial colonisation on the island groups of Marianas, Carolines, Marshalls and Kiribati, he examines the histories of these islands and explores how the neighbouring areas are drawn together through notions of fusion, fluidity and flux. The author places this region within the broader arena of pacific island studies and addresses contemporary debates such as origins, processes of colonisation, social organisation, environmental change and the interpretation of material culture. This book will be essential reading for any scholar with an interest in the archaeology of the Pacific.
We have dated Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea and Barbados corals that formed at times since the Last Interglacial Period, applying both ^(230)Th and ^(231)Pa dating techniques as a test of age accuracy. We show that Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e ended prior to 113.1 ± 0.7 kyr, when sea level was −19 m. During MIS 5b sea level was −57 m at 92.6 ± 0.5 kyr, having dropped about 40 m in approximately 10 kyr during the MIS 5c–5b transition. Sea level then rose more than 40 m during the MIS 5b–5a transition, also in about 10 kyr. MIS 5a lasted until at least 76.2 ± 0.4 kyr, at a level of −24 m at that time. Combined with earlier data that places MIS 4 sea level at −81 m at 70.8 kyr, our late MIS 5a data indicate that sea level fell almost 60 m in less than 6 kyr (10.6 m/kyr) during the MIS 5–4 transition. The magnitude of the drop is half that of the glacial–interglacial amplitude and approximately equivalent to the volume of the present-day Antarctic Ice Sheet. During this interval the minimum average rate of net continental ice accumulation was 18 cm/yr, likely facilitated by efficient moisture transport from lower latitudes. At three specific times (60.6 ± 0.3, 50.8 ± 0.3, and 36.8 + 0.2 kyr) during MIS 3, sea level was between −85 and −74 m. Sea level then dropped to −107 m at 23.7 ± 0.1 kyr early in MIS 2, before dropping further to Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) values and then rising to present values during the last deglaciation. Times of rapid sea-level drop correspond to times of high winter insolation at low northern latitudes and high winter latitudinal gradients in northern hemisphere insolation, supporting the idea that these factors may have resulted in high water-vapor pressure in moisture sources and efficient moisture transport to high-latitude glaciers, thereby contributing to glacial buildup. We combined our sea-level results with deep-sea δ^(18)O records as a means of estimating the temperature and ice-volume components in the marine δ^(18)O record. This analysis confirms large deep-ocean temperature shifts following MIS 5e and during Termination I. Deep-ocean temperatures changed by much smaller amounts between MIS 5c and 2. Maximum temperature shift in the deep Pacific is about 2°, whereas the shift at a site in the Atlantic is 4°. Under glacial conditions temperatures at both sites are near the freezing point. The shift in the Atlantic is likely caused by a combination of changing proportions of northern and southern source waters as well as changing temperature at the sites where these deep waters form.
The impact of the human presence on the fauna of a Pacific island is often immediately archaeologically visible in the slaughter of its land birds seen in the bones. The impact on vegetation is less distinct archaeologically, and many of the Pacific cultigens have soft tissues which rarely preserve. So a study of prehistoric agriculture on one of the high Micronesian islands largely involves pollen and charcoal.
The remains of 40 skeletons from the necropolises of Iwelen and Adrar Bous, situated in the massif of Aı̈r, southern Sahara (Niger) have been investigated for their mineral content, carbon isotope ratio and14C activity. The impermeability of the graves allowed for a good preservation of the bones, which are in fact devoid of secondary calcite. Furthermore, the necropolis of Iwelen gave the opportunity to study tombs which cover a time interval of about four thousand years, which is rather exceptional for sub-Saharan Africa. The good state of preservation of the material enabled the study of the geochemical evolution of bone carbonate hydroxylapatite through time, with a significant statistical resolution. All analytical data allow us to conclude that the initial13C/12C isotopic ratio of the carbonate hydroxylapatite, albeit accompanied by a change in the crystallinity index, has been preserved. Given the described local conditions, the increase in the crystallinity index cannot be linked to exchanges with the environment but clearly reflects the decrease of CO3radicals in the bone material. A correlation is suggested between the crystallinity index and the residual content of organic matter. The14C dates obtained for the carbonate hydroxylapatite are identical to those of the material of comparison (leather, charcoal and associated collagen samples). We can therefore conclude that the potential carbon isotopic exchanges—either by adsorption of by substitution—between the carbonate hydroxylapatite on the one hand and the total dissolved inorganic carbon (TDIC) on the other, are too insignificant to be detectable through analysis. These results can be explained by the combining of two favourable factors: the waterproof nature of the graves and the arid climate. The dating of carbonate hydroxylapatite in the restricted conditions already described opens new prospects for establishing a chronology of the principal funerary monuments of the Sahara.