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Based on archaeological data it is time to re-evaluate the stratified chiefdom of the Leeward Society Islands. The model was constructed mainly on ethno-historical/ethnological data and has been used extensively, and this social system has been projected back in time, sometimes maybe too far. The question that may be asked is: What happened during almost 1000 years of settlement in the Society Islands? Here we take as our starting point Irving Goldman's interpretation of social organization in the Society Islands, and argue for an earlier existence of either traditional chiefdoms and/or open chiefdoms in the Leeward Society Islands. New archaeological investigations of marae and habitations show that the stratified chiefdom in the Society Islands was a late development, and that the society went through several changes through time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Society Islands, concentrations of temple sites, as are found in aggregate site complexes, are considered material equivalents of kin-congregations where lineages proliferated and segmented through time. Such site complexes are ubiquitous in the Windward Society Islands; however, few have been studied in detail, leaving the precise timing of their construction and use unknown. Excavations at 'Opunohu Valley aggregate complexes in the 1960s suggested that major marae complexes served as elite centers and were a late phenomenon. Here I present a new suite of radiocarbon determinations from 'Opunohu Valley structures in five aggregate site complexes. The expanded chronology identifies two different phases of site construction, the first dating to ca. AD 1400-1500 and associated with a major inland expansion, the second post-dating AD 1600 and related to a period of intensified chiefly competition whereby new temples and elaborate house sites were constructed or enlarged and elaborated. The initial construction of temple structures within aggregate sites is both earlier than once thought and multi-staged, linked to community and regional socio-political change expressed at the local level. I briefly outline the implications for aggregate site construction and use and correlate these to ethnohistoric references regarding shifting patterns of political control through time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new war cult dedicated to the god 'Oro emerged in late prehistory in the Society Islands and was linked to shiftsin temple architecture, religious rituals, and sacred regalia. Legends suggest that this war cult developed in the Leeward Islands and was translocated to the Windward group prior to European contact. This article summarizes ethnohistoric data for the 'Oro war cult, including its relationship to new temple styles in the Windward group constructed from worked rounded stones. Such temples are found in both inland and coastal contexts. Extant chronological data on Windward marae of the 'Oro style are synthesized. A new spatio-temporal case study of four 'Oro style temples from the 'Opunohu Valley, Mo'orea demonstrates considerable variability in temple morphology and chronology. This is linked to differences among socio-political maneuverings of high status lineage chiefs versus lower status lineage chiefs in the 'Opunohu Valley and perhaps to functional variation among the types of 'Oro style marae structures found in inland contexts. The new chronology suggests a rapid translocation of the 'Oro style war cult into the Windward group, somewhat earlier than previous archaeological work had suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When first test excavated in 2003, the Onemea site on Taravai Island (site 190-12-TAR-6) yielded high densities of extirpated and extinct bird bones which, along with radiocarbon dates of AD 1000 to 1050, suggested a colonization phase occupation. Expanded excavations in 2005, reported here, revealed additional details of site stratigraphy, chronology and use. Initial human activity on the dune surface included exploitation of nesting or roosting seabirds, and sporadic use of combustion features. We interpret this initial phase as involving repeated, low intensity visits over a period of two to three centuries, beginning around AD 950, resulting in a palimpsest deposit (Layer III). Sometime in the 13th century intensive occupation on the dune commenced, resulting in the deposition of a cultural layer (Layer II) averaging 55-60 cm thick, containing earth ovens and with evidence for fishhook manufacture and use. Occupation of the Onemea dune ceased in the late 14th century AD. The chronology for the Onemea site, which is provided by 11 radiocarbon and three 230Th coral dates, lends support to a model of initial human colonization of southeastern Polynesia at around AD 1000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]