Human occupation and ecosystem change on Upolu (Samoa) during the Holocene
Human occupation and ecosystem change on Upolu (Samoa) during the Holocene
Aim: To track the peopling of the South Pacific and assess their impact on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Location: Upolu, Samoa. Taxon: Terrestrial and aquatic plants. Methods: A sedimentary record covering the last c. 10,500 years was recovered from the volcanic crater that contains Lake Lanoto'o near the centre of Upolu Island. Information on past ecological change was obtained from microscopic and macroscopic remains extracted from the sediments: charcoal (fire history), pollen/spores and plant remains (vegetation history), and lake status (algae/cyanobacteria). Information on the depositional environment and climate was obtained from geochemical and sedimentary analysis: loss-on-ignition (sediment composition), cryptotephras (volcanic eruptions) and precipitation regime (Ti/inc). The environmental history developed was compared with the archaeological record from the region. Results: Charcoal material was found in the Lake Lanoto'o sediments at higher abundances and more frequently in samples from the period after the first archaeological evidence of people on Upolu (c. 2900–2700 years ago). No abrupt shift is recognized in the vegetation or aquatic ecosystem assemblages coincident with the arrival of people on the island. Main conclusions: Macrocharcoal is demonstrated to be an effective proxy for detecting human occupation of Upolu around 2,800 years ago. The immediate impact of these settlers on the vegetation seems to have been minimal; however, a subsequent opening up of the landscape is suggested through the gradual increase in ferns. The absence of any significant change in the aquatic community associated with, or after, the arrival of people on the islands suggests that humans rarely visited the lake. We suggest that on Upolu a simple model of decreasing human impact away from coastal areas is applicable.
Pacific, Polynesia, algae, aquatic, charcoal, cyanobacteria, fire, pollen, terrestrial, vegetation
600-614
Gosling, William D.
75de50b1-a15e-4dda-8d84-0c14b8ab9a2d
Sear, David
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Hassall, Jonathan
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Langdon, Peter
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Bönnen, Mick N.T.
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Driessen, Tessa D.
55930c62-3f40-4ea5-a148-a2ffeee6509b
Kemenade, Zoë R. van
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Noort, Kevin
5a12a0d1-c24f-45e0-92a7-58b348ffd0df
Leng, Melanie J.
71755042-2b5f-44a6-8420-019f13a4a946
Croudace, Ian W.
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Bourne, Anna J.
cfe0b417-c88b-4fcf-ad25-ca38310d2232
McMichael, Crystal N.H.
9165af5f-82ae-4700-adf1-dea2606f4e5d
1 March 2020
Gosling, William D.
75de50b1-a15e-4dda-8d84-0c14b8ab9a2d
Sear, David
ccd892ab-a93d-4073-a11c-b8bca42ecfd3
Hassall, Jonathan
17b719cf-5b7b-496a-8bf7-96c57618baca
Langdon, Peter
95b97671-f9fe-4884-aca6-9aa3cd1a6d7f
Bönnen, Mick N.T.
f1f541c3-36e3-494c-9c1a-5be60460521c
Driessen, Tessa D.
55930c62-3f40-4ea5-a148-a2ffeee6509b
Kemenade, Zoë R. van
f033e0a8-6f2a-428d-9e33-db46fa1c37f7
Noort, Kevin
5a12a0d1-c24f-45e0-92a7-58b348ffd0df
Leng, Melanie J.
71755042-2b5f-44a6-8420-019f13a4a946
Croudace, Ian W.
37092641-3f3a-460a-b12f-0ada28f3de12
Bourne, Anna J.
cfe0b417-c88b-4fcf-ad25-ca38310d2232
McMichael, Crystal N.H.
9165af5f-82ae-4700-adf1-dea2606f4e5d
Gosling, William D., Sear, David, Hassall, Jonathan, Langdon, Peter, Bönnen, Mick N.T., Driessen, Tessa D., Kemenade, Zoë R. van, Noort, Kevin, Leng, Melanie J., Croudace, Ian W., Bourne, Anna J. and McMichael, Crystal N.H.
(2020)
Human occupation and ecosystem change on Upolu (Samoa) during the Holocene.
Journal of Biogeography, 47 (3), .
(doi:10.1111/jbi.13783).
Abstract
Aim: To track the peopling of the South Pacific and assess their impact on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Location: Upolu, Samoa. Taxon: Terrestrial and aquatic plants. Methods: A sedimentary record covering the last c. 10,500 years was recovered from the volcanic crater that contains Lake Lanoto'o near the centre of Upolu Island. Information on past ecological change was obtained from microscopic and macroscopic remains extracted from the sediments: charcoal (fire history), pollen/spores and plant remains (vegetation history), and lake status (algae/cyanobacteria). Information on the depositional environment and climate was obtained from geochemical and sedimentary analysis: loss-on-ignition (sediment composition), cryptotephras (volcanic eruptions) and precipitation regime (Ti/inc). The environmental history developed was compared with the archaeological record from the region. Results: Charcoal material was found in the Lake Lanoto'o sediments at higher abundances and more frequently in samples from the period after the first archaeological evidence of people on Upolu (c. 2900–2700 years ago). No abrupt shift is recognized in the vegetation or aquatic ecosystem assemblages coincident with the arrival of people on the island. Main conclusions: Macrocharcoal is demonstrated to be an effective proxy for detecting human occupation of Upolu around 2,800 years ago. The immediate impact of these settlers on the vegetation seems to have been minimal; however, a subsequent opening up of the landscape is suggested through the gradual increase in ferns. The absence of any significant change in the aquatic community associated with, or after, the arrival of people on the islands suggests that humans rarely visited the lake. We suggest that on Upolu a simple model of decreasing human impact away from coastal areas is applicable.
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Accepted/In Press date: 30 October 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 20 January 2020
Published date: 1 March 2020
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
Permission for this investigation was granted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MNRE) Division of Environment and Conservation, Government of Samoa. Fieldwork in Samoa was supported by Grants to JDH from the Explorers Club Exploration Fund Grant, Gilchrist Expedition Grant, and Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Monica Cole Grant, to PGL from the Quaternary Research Association (QRA), to DAS for JDH Studentship (NERC), and University of Southampton. DAS acknowledges the support of the NERC Radiocarbon Facility NRCF010001 and specifically dates provided under allocation numbers 2004.0416, 1799.0414, 1900.0415. We would like to acknowledge the help provided by the MNRE specifically the late Lesaisaea Niualuga Evaimalo, and Josie Hill and her family for their support, without which this work would not have been possible. The authors would also like to thank the John Flenley tribute special issue editor, Prof. Mark Bush (Florida Institute of Technology), for considering our research for inclusion, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful and positive comments that improved the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors. Journal of Biogeography published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Keywords:
Pacific, Polynesia, algae, aquatic, charcoal, cyanobacteria, fire, pollen, terrestrial, vegetation
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 435783
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/435783
ISSN: 0305-0270
PURE UUID: a869e5a3-1f12-41fd-b077-31809e64d500
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Date deposited: 20 Nov 2019 17:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 05:02
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Contributors
Author:
William D. Gosling
Author:
Jonathan Hassall
Author:
Mick N.T. Bönnen
Author:
Tessa D. Driessen
Author:
Zoë R. van Kemenade
Author:
Kevin Noort
Author:
Melanie J. Leng
Author:
Ian W. Croudace
Author:
Anna J. Bourne
Author:
Crystal N.H. McMichael
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