The evolution of the Polynesian chiefdoms

by Patrick Vinton Kirch

"This is the first study from an archaeological perspective of the elaborate system of chiefdoms found in the islands of Polynesia. While the growth and development of complex social and political systems in this region has long interested anthropologists and ethnographers, only recently have the islands' rich sources of archaeological data been fully exploited. The author combines these new archaeological data with ethnographic and linguistic materials to present an innovative and perceptive account of the processes of culture change in the islands over three millennia. Using comparative ethnography, lexical reconstruction and direct archeological evidence, the author reconstructs the broad outlines of Ancestral Polynesian Society, from which the diverse societies of Polynesian region descended. Major processes of cultural change are analysed in detail, including colonization, adaptation to new and changing environments, development of intensive production and social conflict and comp