The end of the new area & a Trip to uta

The final levels were completed today of the 1 x 2 meter excavation in the new area. A thin layer of concentrated fish and bird bones three centimeters thick was found to be well preserved. A posthole lay just below this layer attesting to a structure at the time of the bone deposit, likely a fale umu or cookhouse. These intact layers represent a former living surface of excellent preservation. Jennifer Kahn, who will be joining us in the future projects, specializes in household archaeology in which a large area is opened up to see the living surface of house. This area presents a place for her to begin her work.

One of the more interesting aspects of this area is the lack of volcanic rock. Previous excavations contained basalt throughout the cultural deposits. That this area contains no basalt suggests that there was little sailing activity between Samoa and Tokelau at this time, leaving the islands in relative isolation. This scenario could explain the lack of domesticated mammals. If a famine period occurred all the dogs would have been eaten as a food source and to relieve pressure from the other food resources. With no access to Samoa there would be no way to replenish the stock and no way for pigs to be brought over.

It was today, while screening the final buckets that the most exciting artifact was found, a complete shell adze (toki) with a still sharp edge. The adze was made from a piece of a very large tridacna clam (fasua) shell. The clam would have been so big it is questionable whether it could have lived in the small lagoon of Atafu. It may therefore have been brought from one of the other islands of Tokelau which both have much larger lagoons, or from elsewhere. Clams this large are rarely seen today and would have been few even in the past. It may be that the adze was made from a subfossil from a time prior to human exploitation. This unusual source speaks of the time period from which it came. Local material may have been scarce and every bit important.

Our hard work is bearing fruit. It is nice to speculate on our findings, but real results will have to wait for the completion of the laboratory studies. For now we find it best to take time to relax and enjoy the beautiful location where we are blessed to be working. Olive (pronounced, O lee ve) has offered to take us to uta, the outer islands, for a nightly picnic. We all pile into the small boat and set out across the lagoon at sunset. It grows dark after we arrive waiting on the beach for the uga uga, the coconut crab to emerge from their homes in the ground. At 7.30 we follow in line behind Olive with torches and a bag the entirety of our equipment. We watch as Olive stalks and pounces quickly snatching and killing our first uga uga. By the end of the night we have caught heaps and Joe has proven his Samoan heritage by catching a bounty of tupa crabs. Dry coconut fronds are collected and set ablaze and the coconut crabs are cooked there on the beach. We feast on crab and coconut beneath the bright stars away from the lights of the village. It is a memory we will not forget, for which we are all grateful to Olive.