The Bioarchaeology of Initial Human Settlement in Palau, Western Micronesia

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dc.contributor.advisorFitzpatrick, Scott
dc.contributor.authorStone, Jessica H.
dc.date.accessioned2020-09-24T17:10:46Z
dc.date.available2020-09-24T17:10:46Z
dc.date.issued2020-09-24
dc.description.abstractThe initial settlement of Remote Oceania represents the world’s last major wave of human dispersal. While transdisciplinary models involving linguistic, archaeological, and biological data have been utilized in the Pacific to develop basic chronologies and trajectories of initial human settlement, a number of elusive gaps remain in our understanding of the region’s colonization history. This is especially true in Micronesia, where a paucity of human skeletal material dating to the earliest periods of settlement have hindered biological contributions to colonization models. The Chelechol ra Orrak site in Palau, western Micronesia, contains the largest and oldest human skeletal assemblage in the region, and is one of only two known sites that represent some of the earliest settlers in the Pacific. As such, Chelechol ra Orrak provides an excellent opportunity for direct study of population dispersals into Micronesia. This dissertation draws on bioarchaeological data from Chelechol ra Orrak to address research questions related to the initial human settlement and subsequent adaptation of small island environments in Palau, and more broadly, Remote Oceania. The results of ancient DNA and radiocarbon dates are used to test hypotheses related to a potential place of origin for early Palauan people. I also present a case study from Ucheliungs, a mortuary and small-scale habitation site located in Palau that is contemporary with Chelechol ra Orrak, to assess claims of insular dwarfing following initial settlement. The second half of the dissertation focuses on aspects of behavioral adaptation to Palau. Results of stable isotope analysis from Chelechol ra Orrak are used to reconstruct early human diet, while the role of habitual chewing of betel nut is explored within the context of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis. Together, these case studies provide fundamental baselines for understanding initial human settlement and small island adaptation in Palau from a bioarchaeological perspective.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1794/25601
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Oregon
dc.rightsAll Rights Reserved.
dc.subjectAncient DNAen_US
dc.subjectColonizationen_US
dc.subjectRadiocarbon Datingen_US
dc.subjectRemote Oceaniaen_US
dc.subjectStable Isotope Analysisen_US
dc.titleThe Bioarchaeology of Initial Human Settlement in Palau, Western Micronesia
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
thesis.degree.disciplineDepartment of Anthropology
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Oregon
thesis.degree.leveldoctoral
thesis.degree.namePh.D.

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