Glossary of Terms

ALL A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Ancestral Polynesian Culture:  The Ancestral Polynesian period in Samoa dates from 2500 to 1700 BP, and marks a major cultural change subsequently recorded in the region’s ceramic technology, subsistence practices, and settlement patterns. Tonga, ‘Uvea, Futuna and Samoa culturally separated from their western neighbor, Fiji, and became archaeologically distinct. Populations on Fiji continued more of the traditions from the earlier period, because of continued interaction with settlements farther west. The period's significance to our understanding of Polynesia’s past is derived from the 'baseline' data it provides for the later socio-political and technological diversification documented throughout the greater region 

Classification:  The scientific ordering of social phenomena or material remains based on shared characteristics. 

Context:  Refers to an artifact’s immediate surroundings, its provenance and/ or its association. 

Cultural Resource Management:  (CRM) Sometimes referred to as Contract Archaeology, this type of archaeological research is mandated by state and federal legislation for the purposes of protecting and managing archaeological heritage for later generations, e.g. CRM is conducted prior to the construction of highway and utilities. 

Lapita Cultural Complex:  The Lapita were the founding population for Remote Oceania dating from 3500 to 2500 years ago, and the highly stylized dentate-stamped motifs on their pots created an identifiable archaeological culture. In this period, subsistence practices included taro-yam horticulture supplemented by pigs and chickens. The material inventory included ceramics, stone and shell adzes, shell fishhooks and shell valuables. This period signals human colonization and settlement of the Samoan Archipelago at approximately 3000 BP 

Traditional Samoan Culture:  Dated from 1700 to 300 BP, the Traditional Samoan period indicates the cultural separation of the inhabitants of the Samoan archipelago from the rest of the region, and the marked increase of socio-political elaborations. Here, differences in status between people are witnessed archaeologically by the incorporation of large mounds, star mounds, inter-island trade and variation in house sizes. Also, the island’s population levels increased and began to be evenly distributed throughout the island.