Stable Isotopic Evidence for Nutrient Rejuvenation and Long-Term Resilience on Tikopia Island (Southeast Solomon Islands)

Sustainability

Jillian A. Swift¹  Patrick V. Kirch²  Patrick Roberts³  Jana Ilgner³  Sara Marzo³  Mary Lucas³  Samantha Brown⁴ 

[1] Anthropology Department, Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, HI 96817, USA;Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA;Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745 Jena, Germany;Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany;

关键词: stable isotopes;    archaeology;    commensals;    nutrient flows;    Polynesia;    land use;   

DOI  :  10.3390/su13158567

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Tikopia Island, a small and relatively isolated Polynesian Outlier in the Southeast Solomon Islands, supports a remarkably dense human population with minimal external support. Examining long-term trends in human land use on Tikopia through archaeological datasets spanning nearly 3000 years presents an opportunity to investigate pathways to long-term sustainability in a tropical island setting. Here, we trace nutrient dynamics across Tikopia’s three pre-European contact phases (Kiki, Sinapupu, Tuakamali) via stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of commensal Pacific rat (Rattus exulans) and domestic pig (Sus scrofa) bone and tooth dentine collagen. Our results show a decline in δ¹⁵N values from the Kiki (c. 800 BC-AD 100) to Sinapupu (c. AD 100–1200) phases, consistent with long-term commensal isotope trends observed on other Polynesian islands. However, increased δ¹⁵N coupled with lower δ¹³C values in the Tuakamali Phase (c. AD 1200–1800) point to a later nutrient rejuvenation, likely tied to dramatic transformations in agriculture and land use at the Sinapupu-Tuakamali transition. This study offers new, quantifiable evidence for deep-time land and resource management decisions on Tikopia and subsequent impacts on island nutrient status and long-term sustainability.

【 授权许可】

Unknown