The Fishermen of Anapua Rock Shelter, Ua Pou, Marquesas Islands

Fishing was an important aspect of subsistence of many Pacific communities. Ethnographic accounts however, have tended to give an incomplete picture of fishing behavior, often overemphasizing dangerous or exciting aspects at the expense of the more mundane. In recent years, a growing number of archaeological studies, based on the careful collection and systematic and thorough analysis of fish remains, have permitted a better understanding of some aspects of fishing practices in various Pacific island groups. This paper presents the results of the analysis of a substantial collection of fish bones from Anapua Rock Shelter, a deeply stratified site in the Marquesas. The objectives of the study were to define the character of the catch of the fishermen who frequented the shelter over a long period and to explore any possible changes through time; and then to place Anapua in a broader Marquesan and Pacific context. THE ANAPUA ROCK SHELTER Anapua is a rockshelter at the southern end of the island of Ua Pou in the Marquesas Islands. It is difficult to access except by sea and is known to present-day Marquesans as a "fishermen's cave." Archaeological investigations were carried out there under the direction of Ottino, starting in 1982 (Ottino 1985a: 2162289 1985b). The investigations consisted of a 13 [m.sup.2] excavation in the interior of the shelter, which exposed only the uppermost layers, and a deep sondage (test pit) at the Junction of the flat interior and the beginning of the talus slope. The site produced a large range of faunal material, which was identified and reported by Leach et al. (1990). The faunal material is from the sondage, which was excavated in 39 spits to a depth of almost 4 m. Fifteen stratigraphic layers were recognized. These were grouped by Ottino into five major levels, according to the nature of the sediments. The correlation between arbitrary spits, stratigraphic layers, and major levels is shown in Table 1.(1) The material excavated from the sondage was sieved through 2 mm mesh. TABLE 1. LEVELS, LAYERS, AND SPITS AT ANAPUA ROCK SHELTER DESCRIPTION LEVEL LAYERS Ashy, charcoal-stained deposits with clearly defined hearths and earth ovens. European material present V 15b, 15a Fine, ashy deposits, little or no evidence of living surfaces or structures IV 14b, 14a, 13 Largely sterile layer of scree and colluvium III 12 A deep deposit of ashy, charcoal-stained layers alternating with colluvium II 11 to 3 Sterile deposit resting on the rock floor of the shelter I 2 to 1 DESCRIPTION SPITS Ashy, charcoal-stained deposits with clearly defined hearths and earth ovens. European material present 1 to 6 Fine, ashy deposits, little or no evidence of living surfaces or structures 8 to 17 Largely sterile layer of scree and colluvium 19 A deep deposit of ashy, charcoal-stained layers alternating with colluvium 21 to 36 Sterile deposit resting on the rock floor of the shelter 37 to 39 Note: Spits 7, 18, and 20 are excluded because they included material from more than one level. Ottino obtained a radiocarbon date of 2100 [+ or -] 95 B.P. on charcoal from deep in the site. A sample of shell from the same level has been dated to 770 [+ or -] 50 B.P. (CRA 1180 [+ or =] 50, NZ 7527, Ottino 1992:57). Ottino (1992:210) regards the earlier result as more acceptable. Three other radiocarbon dates from higher up the stratigraphic sequence have not yet been published. The bulk of the faunal material consists of fish and invertebrates (shellfish and crustaceans). …