Questions that raise serious issues
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Why did the package of foods and technology diminish so dramatically as the culture moved east? (Kennett, Anderson & Winterhalder, 2006:24) [pdf]
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Why did decorated pottery cease to be made?
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Why are domestic pigs and chickens not seen further east? (Kennett, Anderson & Winterhalder, 2006:21) [pdf]
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Do the sites with Lapita pottery indicate one culture? (Gosden 1992:10) [pdf]
- Did the culture change the ecologies of the islands they moved into? (Gosden 1992:11) [pdf] (Kennett, Anderson & Winterhalder, 2006:15) [pdf]
Future archaeology to address these issues
What is needed is investigation of changes through time and in space of
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PLANT USAGE: which domestic and which wild plants were used on each island and how did these change through time?
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ANIMAL USAGE: for example, 28% of bird bones at one Tonga site were of extinct birds. What is the pattern of domestic and wild animal existence on islands through time?
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ARTEFACT MAKING AND USAGE: is all Lapita pottery made in the same way? What was the pattern of its disappearance in each site? What was the tool assemblage for each site? Can the development of boat design and construction be determined from the archaeological record?
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SETTLEMENT PATTERNS: did these move and change as the resources diminished?
Investigation of human genetics might help answer questions about just who were the ancestors of eastern Melanesian/western Polynesians, but so far genetics has complicated the picture because it gives no clear answers.
To properly address these questions archaeologically, highly expensive and thorough investigation is required. To gain data from plant material and small fauna remains requires flotation sieving and microscopic analysis for at least a representative sample of soils. Close analysis of plant remains is important. Plants such as taro, bananas and yams are propogated by being pushed back into the soil, which blurs the line between hunter-gatherer and farmer, and make it difficult to determine the original place of domestication. But many plants leave seed casings, phytoliths, and pollen grains, each one distinctive and capable of separating wild from domestic varieties. These remain in the archeological record and can be used to determine sequences of plant usage and existence.