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The Ancient World: Extraordinary People in Extraordinary Societies

Food & Agriculture in Ancient Pacific Islands

Most of the cultivated crops and livestock found in the ancient Pacific Islands were brought there by early migratory peoples from Southeast Asia and, later, by European colonizers. These migration and settlement patterns in the Pacific Islands, combined with the unique geological features of each island, played a significant role in the development of agriculture throughout the region. Fishing also comprised an important component of the ancient islander’s diets.

——Background & History——

The Pacific Islands is one of the last major regions of the globe to be settled by humans. Because most of these early cultures had no written records, much of what is known about them comes primarily from archeological finds or oral tradition. In particular, most of what is known about early food and agriculture practices in the ancient Pacific Islands derives from archeological records of the settlement and migration patterns of the first people to inhabit the islands, as well as from the unique geological features of each island.

Migration & Settlement

Traditionally, the Pacific Islands have been divided into three main groupings for research purposes: Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. These groupings are primarily based on geography, but the inhabitants within any given group typically share a number of traits, including ethnicity, place of origin, and similar cultural features.

It is commonly believed that the settlement of the Pacific Islands took place in two major waves, each of which was dominated by a different ethnic group. The first wave of people to settle the Pacific Islands primarily came from Southeast Asia, and belonged to an ethnic group known as the Australoids. Their exploration of the Pacific Islands began approximately 40,000 years ago, and led them to settle in what is now known as Australia and New Guinea.

Although movement toward the Pacific began very early, the settlement of the bulk of the Pacific Islands did not begin in earnest until approximately 4000 bce. Records indicate these movements took place in waves as well, beginning with the Australoids’ inhabitation of the Solomon Islands, followed by New Caledonia and Vanuatu approximately 2,000 years later.

In addition to the Australoids, a separate group of people known as the Mongoloids, who also originated from Southeast Asia but were part of a different ethnic group, moved outward into the Pacific Islands. This group settled in northern New Guinea and western Micronesia beginning around 3000 bce, and over the next 1,500 years, spread their settlements across Melanesia and eventually into eastern Micronesia. By around 1000 bce, they began to settle some of the Polynesian islands, including Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa.

In order to achieve this migration, these sea-faring people needed to develop quality vessels that could transport a significant number of people, plants, animals, and other supplies to previously uninhabited islands. Around 2,000 years ago, the Polynesians developed large double canoes that were particularly well-suited for this task. These canoes could carry plants and domesticated animals, as well as people, and were sturdy enough to withstand significant amounts of time in the sea. Thanks to these boats, the Polynesians were able to settle the furthest outlying islands in the Pacific, including the Marquesas Islands (around 300 ce), Easter Island (around 400 ce), central Polynesia and northern Hawaii (around 800 ce), and New Zealand (around 900 ce), as well as visit the western shores of South America.

Common Agricultural Products

The Pacific Islands are home to few indigenous plant varieties and animal species. Most of what is present originated in Southeast Asia, and was brought to the islands when the first settlers arrived. The most commonly cultivated plants in the Pacific Islands included coconut, breadfruit, pandanus, bananas, papayas, and various tubers such as taro and yams.

The geographical features of each island significantly affect the agricultural activities that take place. For example, the high islands, particularly those of the continental variety, can support the biggest variety of crops because they have the fresh water and nutrient-sufficient soil needed to support these types of plants. The atoll-type islands tend to support many fewer crops, and some of the driest atolls are only limited to crops such as coconut, pandanus, and arrowroot. Conspicuously absent from island farming was any kind of cereal crops such as rice and millet, both of which were quite popular in Southeast Asia.

Since many islands had limited crop-growing capabilities, these early peoples relied on fishing and livestock to round out their diets. Though some islands were inhabited by crocodiles, snakes, lizards, and marsupials prior to human settlement, most of the edible animals, including livestock such as pigs and chickens, were brought to the islands with the settlers from Southeast Asia. Livestock was not usually a significant part of the islanders’ daily diets, and was generally reserved for special occasions and feasts.

Geological Features

Within the Pacific Ocean, there are four main types of islands: High volcanic, high continental, atolls, and raised coral atolls. Each different type of island has specific geological features that determine what kind of crops will grow there.

High volcanic islands, such as Hawaii and Tahiti, have good sources of fresh water. They also tend to provide good fishing in the waters between the island and the off-shore reef. However, the volcanic soil is not the most effective for growing crops, so usually only a moderate number of cultivated varieties existed on these islands. Instead, the inhabitants of these islands relied on fishing and livestock to supplement their diets.

High continental islands, such as most of the large islands of Melanesia, have rugged interior mountain ranges, valleys with frequent precipitation, winding rivers, and other similar features. These islands generally have good sources of fresh water and nutrient-rich soil, and thus provide a good environment for growing most kinds of crops. As a result, these islands tend to have the largest variety of cultivated crops.

Atolls, such as the Marshall Islands, are islands built up from coral. They can be as large as nearly 5,000 square miles (such as Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands), or as small as a single square mile, and they often enclose a lagoon. Atolls do not provide the best location for cultivating crops, as the soil is not very rich and fresh water is difficult to come by. Additionally, atolls are especially vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, such as typhoons or droughts. Raised coral atolls are similar in structure to regular atolls, except that the border of the island is elevated above the sea, and the central lagoon has partially or completely disappeared. As a result, inhabitants of both types of atolls frequently rely on fishing and livestock to supplement their diets, as well as agricultural trade with other islands.

Farmers in the ancient Pacific Islands generally planted their crops according to a system known as shifting horticulture, where a plot of land would be planted for two or three years. They were then left alone for ten to fifteen years for the nutrients in the soil to naturally replenish themselves. This was a common technique in Melanesia and Micronesia, and while it was used in Polynesia, many farmers in that region relied more heavily on permanent food-producing plans such as coconut and banana trees. Additionally, farmers in Polynesia sometimes made use of irrigation systems to maintain their crops.

—Cultural & Historical Impact—

The Role of Migration in Agriculture

While some of the plants found in the Pacific Islands arrived by way of birds or ocean current, most of the cultivated varieties that played a significant role in the ancient islanders’ diets were intentionally brought to the islands from Southeast Asia by their earliest settlers. As a result, the pattern of human migration throughout the Pacific Islands is significant to the agricultural development in the region.

Few of the plant species cultivated are native to the Pacific Islands. Most of the cultivated plants and livestock animals grown on the islands were imported from Southeast Asia, and were brought along with the people who settled the island. Not surprisingly, the variation of imported plants and animals found on the Pacific Islands would decrease as one traveled further east, and thus further away from the origin point of Southeast Asia.

The ability of the Pacific Islanders to build strong, seaworthy boats and to effectively navigate the Pacific Ocean also played an important role in agriculture. The islanders were eventually able to travel from Polynesia all the way to South America (to present-day Peru and Ecuador), and it is thought that these explorers brought the sweet potato back to the islands with them on their return trip.

The Role of Trade in Agriculture

The trade of foods and food products was vital to survival on the islands of the ancient Pacific. Because some islands and atolls cannot grow a significant variety of edible plants, their inhabitants relied heavily on trade with other islands. This led to the exchange not only of food products, but also other cultural ideas. It also provided motivation for the Pacific Islanders to continue to improve their boat-building and navigational skills. In order to establish trade routes, it was extremely important for the traders to be able to find their way to specific islands and then back home. This is no small feat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, when many of the islands they are searching for are quite small, and represent a tiny fraction of the total square mileage of the Pacific

European Exploration & Settlement

While not strictly part of the ancient history of the Pacific Islands, the arrival of the Europeans had a significant impact on agriculture in this part of the world. Prior to the arrival of the Europeans during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it is thought that little had changed in the Pacific Islands over the previous thousand years, particularly in terms of agriculture. The Pacific Islanders continued to cultivate essentially the same crops they had brought with them when they first arrived from Southeast Asia. After a length of time, each island had clearly determined which crops were suited to grow there and which needed to be traded for with neighboring islands.

The arrival of the Europeans brought an entirely new variety of crops and livestock. In particular, the Europeans brought with them a variety of warm-weather crops that grew well in the island conditions, such as cacao, coffee, vanilla, sugar, pineapple, and citrus fruits. These came to be known as “cash crops,” as they could not easily be grown in Europe, and Europeans were willing to pay a premium to obtain these goods. The ability to take over a Pacific island and plant large amounts of these cash crops made these islands valuable to European governments. It became one of the motivations for what eventually led to the division and colonization of the Pacific Islands among several prominent European nations. In addition to these crops, the Europeans also brought a new variety of livestock to the islands, including goats, deer, horses, and cattle.

———Interesting Facts———

  • There are few native plants or animals on many of the Pacific Islands, particularly those farther east.

  • Most of the edible animals and cultivated plant varieties that exist on the Pacific Islands were brought there either by the early Southeast Asian settlers, or the later European explorers.

  • It is believed that early Polynesians traveled all the way to the western coast of South America, to present-day Peru and Ecuador, and returned to the islands with sweet potato plants.

  • The oldest evidence of food production in the Pacific Islands is on New Guinea, where evidence of the practice of swamp drainage is found.

  • The Lapita, an ancient Pacific cultural group, are the common ancestors of numerous Polynesian cultures. Flourishing between 3,600 and 2,900 years ago, they domesticated chickens, dogs, and pigs, and lived on tree and root crops, notably taro, coconuts, and bananas.

————Bibliography————

1 

Bellwood, Peter. The Polynesians: Prehistory of an Island People. London: Thames and Hudson, 1987. This book provides detailed information about the history of the people of Polynesia prior to European exploration of the area, and contains many useful pictures, charts, and diagrams.

2 

Burenhult, Goran, (ed). New World and Pacific Civilizations: Cultures of America, Asia, and the Pacific. New York: Harper Collins, 1994. This book, published as part of a series by the American Museum of Natural History, contains much useful information, as well as plenty of excellent photographs of the locations and artifacts it mentions.

3 

Currie, Stephen. Australia and the Pacific Islands. Farmington Hills, MI: Thompson Gale, 2005. This book provides a quick and useful introduction to the geography and history of the Pacific Islands, although its historical information focuses mostly on that of the arrival of the European explorers and settlers. Contains some useful maps, drawings, and photographs.

4 

Frazee, Charles A. Two Thousand Years Ago: The World at the Time of Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002. This book provides a quick snapshot of society in different parts of the world around at the turn of the first century ce.

5 

United States Government, (ed). Oceana, A Regional Study. Washington, DC: United States Government, 1984. This book is a very thorough study published by the US government detailing many aspects of the Pacific Island region, from ancient times until publication in the 1980s.

—Tracey M. DiLascio, Esq.

————Works Cited————

6 

Bellwood, Peter. The Polynesians: Prehistory of an Island People. London: Thames and Hudson, 1987.

7 

Burenhult, Goran, Ed. New World and Pacific Civilizations: Cultures of America, Asia, and the Pacific. New York: Harper Collins, 1994.

8 

Currie, Stephen. Australia and the Pacific Islands. Farmington Hills, MI: Thompson Gale, 2005.

9 

Frazee, Charles A. Two Thousand Years Ago: The World at the Time of Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002.

10 

United States Government, Ed. Oceana, A Regional Study. Washington, D.C.: United States Government, 1984.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
"Food & Agriculture In Ancient Pacific Islands." The Ancient World: Extraordinary People in Extraordinary Societies, edited by Shally-Jensen Michael, Salem Press, 2016. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=CWEP_0964.
APA 7th
Food & Agriculture in Ancient Pacific Islands. The Ancient World: Extraordinary People in Extraordinary Societies, In S. Michael (Ed.), Salem Press, 2016. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=CWEP_0964.
CMOS 17th
"Food & Agriculture In Ancient Pacific Islands." The Ancient World: Extraordinary People in Extraordinary Societies, Edited by Shally-Jensen Michael. Salem Press, 2016. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=CWEP_0964.