Archaeological Investigations in the Yap Islands, Micronesia: First Millenium B.C. to the Present Day 9780860543534, 9781407344010

Table of contents :
Cover
Copyright
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF PLATES
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1: THE LAND AND PEOPLE OF YAP
CHAPTER 2: SETTLEMENT STUDY IN GITAM VILLAGE
CHAPTER 3: THE SURVEY AND EXCAVATIONS
CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS OF POTTERY
CHAPTER 5: DESCRIPTION OF OTHER CULTURAL AND NATURAL REMAINS
CHAPTER 6: THE ANALYSIS OF CLAY SAMPLES
CHAPTER 7: ETHNOGRAPHIC OBSERVATIONS OF POTTERY MAKING IN YAP
CHAPTER 8: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
References Cited
APPENDIX A. Settlement survey results in Gitam village.
APPENDIX B. pH results for archaeological soils in Yap
APPENDIX C. Radiocarbon dating results for Yap
APPENDIX D. The results of water absorption tests on Yapese pottery
APPENDIX E. Fishbone identifications
APPENDIX F. Identification of shellfish remains from the Mab oi shell midden
APPENDIX G. The mineralogy of clay samples of Yap
199APPENDIXHMineralogical examination of fired clay samples from Yap

Citation preview

Archaeological Investigations in the Yap Islands, Micronesia . First Millennium B.C. to the Present Day

Michiko Intoh and Foss Leach

BAR International Series 277

1985

B.A.R.

5, Centremead, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 0ES, England.

GENERAL EDITORS A.R Hands, B.Sc., M.A., D.Phil. D.R Walker, M.A.

B.A.R. -S277, 1985: •Archaeological Investigations in the Yap Islands, Micronesia'

© Michiko Intoh and Foss Leach, 1985

The authors’ moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860543534 paperback ISBN 9781407344010 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860543534 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com

TABLE

OF

CONTENTS P age

Table

of

contents

L ist

of

Plates

i v

L ist

of

F igures

v i

List

of

Tables

v iii

Acknowledgements

i x

I ntroduction Chapter

1 :

1 The

l and

and people

of

Physical s etting and geological Natural background Historical background Anthropological background Archaeological background Chapter

2 :

S ettlement

s tudy

i n

Yap

2

background

Gitam

2 4 6 7 1 0

v illage

1 3

Settlement s tudy i n Yap Village organization o f G itam Settlement s tudy in G itam Archaeological r emains i n G itam Gardening areas Marine e xploitation Pottery making Summary and c onclusions Chapter

3 :

The

survey

and

1 3 1 5 1 8 1 8 2 3 2 3 2 5 26

excavations

Brief

The

The

descriptions o f s urveyed v illages Baanimaut v illage Yaboch v illage Gachpar v illage Wugem v illage Ruu' v illage e xcavations i n Gachpar v illage Research objectives The Garingmog s ite i n t he s hore a rea The Farchee s ite i n the i nterior s lope excavation i n G itam v illage Research objectives The Tafanfir s ite

3 0

The

Toru

anibin

s ite

a rea

3 0 3 0 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 5 3 7 4 5 4 5 46 46

The

The

Chapter

5 5 5 5 5 7 6 0 6 0 6 1

e xcavation i n Nel v illage Research objectives The Mab o i shell midden s ite excavation i n Anoth v illage Research objectives The Rungruw s ite 4 :

Analysis

o f

pottery

6 9

Typology of Yapese pottery Physical analysis of potsherds Refiring t est Mineralogical i dentification Summary and conclusions Chapter

5 :

Description r emains

of

other

7 1 8 7 9 3 96 96

cultural

and

a rtefacts artefacts Shell adzes Shell scrapers Fishhooks Shell ornaments and m iscellaneous Other a rtefacts Sea u rchin f iles Coral f iles Miscellaneous objects European materials Natural r emains Human r emains Mammal Turtle Fish Crustacean Shellfish S tone and pumice

natural

S tone Shell

Chapter

6 :

The

Chapter

7 :

Ethnographic observations making i n Yap

Muyub G itam Chapter

8 :

analysis

o f

clay

artefacts

pottery

1 27

1 27 1 32

v illage v illage D iscussion

9 9 99 9 9 1 00 1 01 1 01 1 07 1 07 1 07 1 07 1 07 109 1 09 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 11 1 11 1 15 1 18

s amples o f

9 9

and

1 46

conclusions

Archaeological summary o f Yapese pottery Yapese cultural configuration i i

t radition

146 1 48

External References : Appendix A B : Appendix : Appendix C : Appendix D Appendix Appendix

E : F :

Appendix Appendix

G : H :

r elationship

1 51 1 55

c ited S ettlement s urvey r esults i n Gitam v illage pH r esults for a rchaeological soils i n Yap R adiocarbon dating r esults f or Yap The r esults f rom water absorption t ests on Yapese pottery F ishbone i dentifications Analysis o f shellfish r emains f rom the Mab oi shell m idden The m ineralogy of c lay s amples f rom Yap Mineralogical examination o f f ired clay samples f rom Yap

ii i

1 66 1 72 1 74 1 75 1 84 1 87 1 94 1 99

L IST OF

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 3 14 1 5 16 1 7 1 8 1 9 2 0 2 1 2 2 2 3 2 4 2 5 2 6 2 7 2 8 2 9 3 0 3 1 3 2 3 3 3 4 3 5 36 3 7 3 8 3 9 40

PLATES

The Faluw s ite i n Gitam v illage. S tone paved f ootpaths in G itam v illage. The water r eservoir near G itam v illage. The s avannah a rea near G itam v illage. An imported water s torage j ar. A s tone c luster i n Ruu' v illage. The Garingmog s ite. Stone walls a t the Farchee s ite. Stone walls a t t he Farchee s ite. The i nner s tone wall a t the Farchee s ite. The Toru anibin s ite. The later s tone pavement a t the Toru anibin s ite. A s tone f illed posthole a t t he Toru anibin s ite. The earlier s tone pavement a t t he Toru anibin s ite. Large potsherds i n s itu a t t he Mab o i shell m idden s ite. The c lay l ayer underneath t he Mab o i s hell m idden s ite. The Rungruw s ite. Surface artefacts a t the Rungruw s ite. Yap P lain pottery at t he Rungruw s ite. Part o f the Rungruw s ite after e xcavation. Sherd s ections o f Laminated pottery. Cut sections o f f ired clay t est blocks. A l eaf impression on t he base o f a pot. Calcareous sand t empered sherds. A P lain s herd and X-rayed Plain s herds. A Laminated sherd and i ts X-rayed photograph. X-ray photograph o f Yapese potsherds. Refired Calcareous t empered sherd pieces. Microscopic photographs o f t hin s ectioned potsherds. Shell adzes f rom Yap. Shell s crapers f rom Yap. Shell f ishhooks and worked pearl s hell f rom Yap. Shell o rnaments f rom Yap. File a rtefacts f rom Yap. Catholic medal f rom the Mab o i shell m idden. I ron implement f rom t he Toru a nibin s ite. Clay deposit i n Ayrech v illage. C lay deposit i n Aringel v illage. Microscopic photographs o f some f ired test blocks. Savannah a rea i n Muyub v illage. i v

c lay

,

P age 2 2 2 2 24 24 34 34 3 9 3 9 42 42 49 49 5 3 5 3 5 9 59 6 3 6 3 66 66 7 2 7 2 82 82 88 89 90 9 5 9 7 1 03 103 1 04 1 04 1 05 1 05 1 05 1 21 1 21 1 25 1 28

4 1 4 2 4 3 4 4 4 5 46 4 7 48 4 9 5 0 5 1 5 2 5 3 5 4 5 5 5 6 5 7 5 8 5 9

Collection o f c lay f or pottery i n Muyub village. Pottery m aking i n Muyub v illage. Pottery making i n Muyub v illage. Pottery m aking i n Muyub v illage. Pottery making i n Muyub v illage. Pottery m aking i n G itam v illage. Pottery making in G itam v illage. Pottery making i n G itam v illage. Pottery making i n Gitam v illage. Cowrie s hell t ool u sed f or pottery making. Pottery making i n Gitam v illage. Pottery making i n G itam v illage. Pottery making i n G itam v illage. Pottery m aking i n G itam v illage. Pottery making i n Gitam v illage. Pottery m aking i n Gitam v illage. Pottery making i n Gitam v illage. Ethnographically made pottery i n Muyub v illage. Ethnographically made pottery in Gitam v illage.

1 28 1 29 1 29 1 30 1 30 1 35 1 35 1 36 1 36 1 37 1 37 1 38 1 38 1 39 1 39 1 40 1 40 1 41 1 41

L IST OF

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1

F IGURES P age 3 5 16

Map o f Yap i slands. Land utilization i n Yap Map o f G itam v illage.

1 5 16 1 7 1 8 1 9 2 0 2 1 2 2 2 3 24 2 5 26

Map of G itam v illage. Map of G itam v illage. Map of s urveyed and e xcavated v illages i n Yap. Map of Gachpar v illage. Settlement f eatures o f Gachpar v illage. Section o f the Farchee s ite. S ection of t he Farchee s ite. Pottery d istribution i n Square 1 o f t he Farchee s ite. Plan and profile o f t he Farchee s ite. Schematic section o f the Farchee s ite. Pottery d istribution i n Square 2 o f t he Farchee s ite. Map of Toru anibin s ite a rea. Plan and profile o f the Toru anibin s ite. Section o f t he Toru anibin s ite. Section o f the Toru anibin s ite. Map of Nel v illage and s urrounding a rea. Map o f the Mab o i s ite and Nel v illage. Section o f t he Mab o i s ite. Map of southern Yap. Section o f the Rungruw s ite. Section o f the Rungruw s ite. Profile o f the Rungruw s ite. Terminology and classification s ystem o f

2 7 2 8 2 9 3 0 3 1 3 2 3 3 3 4 3 5

r im sherds. Lamination of pottery s ection. Particle s ize d istribution o f c lay s amples. Profile o f r im sherds f rom Gachpar v illage. Profile o f r im sherds f rom G itam. P rofile o f r im s herds f rom t he Mab o i s ite. Profile o f r im sherds f rom the Rungruw s ite. R im type variation o f Laminated pottery. Potsherds w ith drilled holes. D istribution d iagram o f d ifferent pottery

7 1 7 5 76 7 7 78 7 9 8 0 80 8 1

36

types i n the Rungruw s ite. Profile o f r im part o f P lain

8 3

1 2 1 3 1 4

s herds

f rom

t he

1 7 2 0 3 1 36 3 8 4 0 4 0 4 1 4 1 44 44 4 7 48 5 1 5 1 56 5 8 6 0 6 2 6 4 6 4 6 7 7 0

3 8 3 9 4 0

Rungruw s ite. Profile o f r im part of Calcareous s and tempered pottery f rom the Rungruw s ite. H istogram o f apparent porosity values. Selection o f artefacts f rom Yap. D istribution d iagram o f s hellfish r emains

9 2 1 06 1 15

4 1

f rom the Rungruw Location o f c lay

1 19

3 7

s ite. s amples

i n Yap.

v i

86

42 43 44 45 46

Temperature curve o f pottery f iring i n Muyub village. Prefiring t emperature f or pottery making i n Gitam v illage. Temperature curve o f pottery f iring i n Gitam village. Ethnographically made pottery. Temperature curves o f i nside and outside the pottery s torage shed.

v ii

1 32 1 34 1 34 1 42 1 45

L IST OF TABLES

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

D istribution o f artefacts by a rchaeological s ite European materials recovered i n t he excavations i n Yap i slands. I dentified human bone remains f rom the Rungruw s ite. Shellfish r emains composition o f t he Mab oi s hell m idden. M inimum numbers o f shellfish r emains f rom the Mab o i s ite. rom the Minimum numbers o f shellfish r emains f Rungruw s ite. rom the Minimum number of shellfish remains f Garingmog s ite. Description of pottery made i n Muyub and Gitam v illages i n 1 983. aking m ethod Some d ifferences i nvolved i n pottery m between Muyub and Gitam v illages.

v iii

P age 1 02 1 08 1 09 1 12 1 13 1 14 1 16 1 43 1 44

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

T his s tudy o f the pottery t raditions o f Yap was made possible by f inancial support f rom the Historic P reservation Office o f the T rust Territory o f the P acific ( Contract #CT310036), and f rom the University o f Otago ( 1983 Otago R esearch Committee). This s upport i s gratefully acknowledged. W e would l ike to thank Scott Russell o f the H istoric Preservation O ffice i n Saipan f or his a ssistance and s upport. Special thanks a re also due to Mr. A . Kugfas, the Historic Preservation Officer i n Yap, f or v arious a rrangements over t he research period. W ithout his help and f riendship, t his r esearch could not have been completed. I n the f ield, a ssistance f rom a number o f people i s a lso acknowledged: K igilig, Gamew, Sarow, Yinug, Danfel, Laurence and Figirmad i n G itam v illage; Y inug, Farangrong, Luwan, Googomow and Choai i n Nel v illage; Finiyinug, Tamagmad, Wigder, Mingnimar, Aiyn a nd Luepin i n Gachpar v illage; and Wayan, Falowan, Chath, Tomam and Falog i n Anoth v illage. A number o f chiefs o f v arious municipalities gave permission f or r esearch and made helpful arrangements: Faleuaath i n Rull, Luktun i n Weloy, Gadad i n Kanifay and Kenfel in Gilman. Their s upport i s g ratefully acknowledged. Several colleagues and s cholars f rom Japan donated their own precious research t ime on the i slands f or this project in v arious ways. Appreciation goes t o I . U shijima, S . Kobayashi, S . I shimori and M . Miyake-Yukino. S incere appreciation i s a lso due to t hose people who o ffered their homes to s tay i n and received u s a s members o f the f amily: Togeg and Fagaretinag i n G itam, Lukan and Kensof i n Gachpar and Fass i n Anoth. There are also a number o f people i n Yap who helped the r esearch i n various ways, particularly F igirmow a t t he Yap H igh S chool, T . Thornburgh at Yap-CAP, Faney i n Gachpar, Libyan in Gror, l ike t o express

a nd J . Miyai our gratitude

a t E . M.I. Enterprises, to these people.

and we

would

S pecial a ssistance w ith i dentifications was g iven by D r. B . Smith of the Marine Laboratory, University o f Guam; Associate Professor P . Houghton o f the Department o f Anatomy, Otago Medical school; Mr. I . Smith o f the D epartment o f Anthropology, University o f Auckland; Dr. Y . Kawachi o f t he D epartment o f Geology, University o f Otago; and Mr. G . Mason o f t he Department of Anthropology, University o f O tago. The t hermo-couple equipment used i n the f ield was a ssembled and s ent by Mr. B . Fankhauser o f t he Department o f Anthropology, University o f Otago. An X-ray f acility was k indly o ffered f or f ree u se by D r. Morrison o f Dunedin f or X-ray photographs o f pottery. The i llustrations and photographs i n this monograph a re t he work , of i x

Martin F isher v ery grateful.

and

R ichard Newell.

To a ll

t hese

people,

A number o f s tudents a t t he University o f O tago their voluntary help i n the course o f l aboratory work. particularly t hankful t o E . Ono, C . Murakami, S . Wood, R . Topliss and M . Ensor.

w e

a re

o ffered We a re Caley, N .

We a re a lso g rateful to many colleagues and f riends w ho offered warm hospitality during the v isit and m ade helpful suggestions f or t he r esearch: R . Hunter-Anderson, R . and J . Cordy, H . Kurashina, R . Stephenson, M . and K . Montvel-Cohen, F . Calkins, F . H ezel, S . P rice, G . Ward, J . Craib, D . S nyder, B . Masse, M . Roberts, I . Ushijima, S . I shimori, S . Kobayashi and J . Takayama. Special g ratitude goes to J . Davidson w ho carefully read the manuscript and gave valuable s uggestions.

1-

I NTRODUCTION The unique c ultural and social s tatus o f Yap I slands i n the Western Caroline I slands i nvited this s tudy. I t was originally planned t o u se a rchaeological evidence t o s tudy t he l arge t rading network, called s awei, extending 1 100km eastward f rom Yap to t he outer i slands. A number o f f inds o f potsherds have been made on the o utlying coral atolls, and o ffered the opportunity to examine prehistoric contacts between these i slands. This project therefore s tarted with a plan o f s urveying and sampling the clay resources o f Yap, coupled w ith a s ite s urvey and e xcavation, and ethnographic r ecording o f pottery making i n Yap, a s well a s a s ite survey and excavations o f t he outer i slands. However, during the course o f the r esearch, i t became apparent that the project s hould c oncentrate on t he Yapese pottery i tself, and leave the research on the outer i slands f or the f uture. This decision was made mainly because Yap i tself has considerable spatial variation i n i ts v illage organization, cultural traditions, and e cological background. I t was f elt t hat t his should be clearly understood before r elationships w ith the outer i slands could be s tudied i n any detail. Thus, the p resent project was modified f rom a s tudy o f the s awei exchange system to the s tudy o f t he Yapese pottery t radition. The f ield work was carried out on t he Yap i slands f rom May 1 983 t ill January 1 984 under contract w ith t he H istoric Preservation Office o f t he Trust Territory o f the Pacific I slands ( see I ntoh and Leach 1 984 f or i tinerary). Several follows: 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 .

d iscrete

a spects

o f

t he

r esearch

were

f ormulated

a s

A s ettlement s tudy o f pottery making v illages. A s ite survey and excavations i n s everal a reas to obtain a s izable collection o f potsherds. A survey and s ampling o f clay sources throughout Yap. Observation and r ecording o f t he t raditional pottery making on Yap. Mineralogical and chemical analysis o f c lay s amples. Typological, physical and mineralogical analysis o f potsherds. Establishment o f Yapese pottery typology.

A detailed description o f research objectives and methods are made i n e ach s ection which f ollows. Further work i s underway on the pottery technology o f Yap, a s well a s a s tudy of e xcavated m aterial f rom t he Pemrang s ite i n s outhern Yap and f rom Ulithi Atoll. The results o f this work w ill be presented

i n

due

c ourse.

2-

CHAPTER 1 :

Physical

THE LAND AND

s etting

and

P EOPLE OF

geological

YAP

background

The Yap i slands are l ocated a t 9 deg. 2 5' to 9 d eg. 46' N , 1 38 deg. 3 ' to 1 38 deg. 14' E , i n the Western Caroline I slands o f Micronesia. They a re 7 24km southwest o f Guam and 1 850km east o f Manila ( Figure 1 ). The nearest i nhabited i slands are N gulu ( 135km to the s outh) and Ulithi ( 170km to the n ortheast). The i sland complex consists o f f our major i nhabited i slands, Yap, Gagil-Tomil, Map and Rumung, and about s ix s maller o nes surrounded by a f ringing r eef ( Figure 1 ). The i slands a re separated by narrow shallow water passages. Thus the ' group' i s essentially a s ingle l and mass which has been s ubmerged slightly. At the outer l imits o f t he r eef, the g roup i s 3 1km l ong, 1 2km wide and has an a rea o f 1 2900 ha. The l and area i s about 7 900 ha. H igh hills make up the northern Yap i sland with peaks and r idges a s high as 1 80 meters and an average o f about 1 20 meters. The hills dominate a low, partially d issected plateau to t he east, which i s 1 . 6 to 4 .8km w ide w ith an average a ltitude o f about 3 0 to 40 meters. This plateau occupies t he central part o f Yap and i ncludes the east coast o f northern Yap I sland and t he western t wo-thirds o f Gagil-Tomil. Map and Rumung, which a re north o f the plateau, are uniformly d issected i nto rounded, moderately s teep hills. The high hills o f northern Yap I sland descend abruptly southward f rom the central portion o f the i sland i nto a rolling hilly r idge 90 meters i n a ltitude. T his gradually declines southward and merges w ith a f lat narrow p lateau 1 5' meters above s ea l evel ( Johnson e t a l. 1 960: 5 1). The s ea i slands i nto

f loor drops off very s teeply t o t he 8-9km deep Yap t rench. To

the the

east o f the Yap west, the d epths

are o f the order of 4 .7km and s lope g ently i nto the Philippine Basin. The g eological position o f Yap i s unique i n having exposures o f pre-Tertiary metamorphic basement unknown elsewhere i n t he Pacific i slands. The metamorphic r ocks o f Yap a re principally greenschists and amphibolites. The metamorphic g rade appears t o i ncrease progressively eastwards f rom the g reenschist t o the amphibolite f acies. I t has been s uggested t hat the Yap I sland platform comprises metamorphosed oceanic crust and u pper mantle rocks which have been thrust up over a f ormer i sland a rc ( Shiraki 1 971; Hawkins and Batiza 1 977). Overlying t he basement rocks i n the northeastern part i s a m ass o f brec c ;ia, the Map f ormation, partly t ectonic and partly s edimentary. The T omil volcanics, composed o f andesitic tuffs, volcanic b reccias, and l ava f lows, unconformably overlie t he b reccia and b asement r ocks i n the central part and the southernmost t ip o f the Y ap _ Islands. I t

i s

not

certain whether

this

f ormation

i s

an

extensive

younger

3-

M un ic ipa l i t ies 1R u mung 2 Map 3Gag i l 4T om i l 5F an if 6We loy 7Da l ipeb inaw 8R u l l 9K an ifay 1 0G i l man

E xcava ted v i l lages A Gachpar BG ita m CN e l

DAnoth

4 00

S a ipan Mar I an a .rm . I s lands " Ro ta

8 00km

' Guam

, U l it h i Y ap 'Pa lou„;

Ngu lu

« Ea is so"r o t

Wo lea i

P onape

L a m trek :Sonsora l

K osr . a e

r ob ,.

N •uku oro

Wap ingamarang i •` 1 2 , NE W GU INEA

Figure v illages

1 . i n

Map o f

t he Yap

i slands

which excavations

were

Adm ira l ty

I slan d s

s howing

municipalities

carried

out.

and

t he

-4 volcanic unit l aid down on t he s chists ( Johnson et a l. 1 960; Davis 1 975) o r a thin tectonic breccia i ncluding f ragments o f andesitic volcanic breccia ( Hawkins and B atiza 1 977). Soils

covering

the

basement

rocks

have

been

classified

i nto

f our g roups: Latosols, P lanosols, L ithosols and Alluvial. L ithosols are the most extensive soils and a re derived f rom amphibolitic s chists and f rom the hornblende breccias o f the Map geological f ormation. They a re relatively f ertile and a re predominantly f orested w ith many a reas i n g rass l ands. Latosols are the second most extensive group and a re formed f rom the Tomil volcanics. Most of these soils are f orested or are c overed w ith dense s tands o f f erns. The Alluvial s oils o f coastal f lats, valley bottoms, and i nland depressions are the t hird m ost extensive soils. These areas a re f ormed f rom depositional s oils and support coconut palms, cultivated t aro and m ixed f orest. T he l east extensive major group o f soils o f Yap a re the Planosols which a re derived f rom schists o f t he Yap geological f ormation. They are relatively f ertile and are covered with g rass and s cattered pandanus t rees ( Tayama 1 935; Johnson e t al. 1 960). A number o f small streams constitute the chief f resh w ater resource, but t hese a re a ll small c reeks w ith f lows averaging about 2 00 l itres per m inute. During February, March and April, the f lows of a ll s treams decrease and many s treams become dry.

Natural

background

There a re two major seasons on Yap, s eparated by t wo m inor t ransitional periods. The t rade w ind s eason o f wind a nd drought extends f rom December through April. W inds during t his s eason are mostly f rom the east to north-east. The r ainfall i s l ess, particularly f rom February t hrough April. The r ainy s eason extends f rom July through October w ith w inds f rom t he west a nd southwest predominating. Between t hese t wo major s easons, t here are t ransitional periods, May through June, and November. The average annual t emperature i s 2 7 degrees C . and t he a verage annual r ainfall i s 3 073mm ( NOAA 1 980: 3 , 7 ). The humidity on Yap i s high throughout the year. The mean monthly relative humidity ranges f rom 7 9 to 85% ( Johnson e t al. 1 960: 3 4, 38).

have

S everal environmental zones w ith d ifferent l and u tilizations been observed i n the Yap i slands ( Figure 2 ). Much o f t he

coastline i s covered by mangrove s wamps. Coconut g roves o ccupy the coastal f lats along the beaches, and l and behind t he mangrove swamps and a long t he l ower s lopes o f t he h illsides. ( V alleys and the lower hillsides a re u sually f orested, and the Gagil, Map , and Rumung h ighlands a re covered w ith g rasses and pandanus. The hilltops and valleys o f Yap i sland a re a lmost totally forested, w ith only s cattered c leared a reas. S cattered pandanus, g rasses, and f erns characterize the plateau a reas ( Lingenfelter 1 975: 1 1).

5-

H igh Wa r• r

S avanah P ondanu s , a nd Y am g a rdens

Figure 2 . Land u tilization i n d ifferent e cological Yap I slands ( after Barrau 1 961; L ingenfelter 1 975).

zones

i n

t he

T he Yapese major s taple f ood, Cyrtosperma chamissonis ( giant swamp t aro), grows i n low-lying swampy a reas and i n p its dug i nto the h illsides where springs and small s treams emerge. I t i s an all year round c rop and takes three years t o mature. Colocasia esculenta ( true t aro) i s o f s econdary importance i n Yap and i s sometimes inter-planted with Cyrtosperma. Xanthosoma ( dry land taro) i s normally planted on the dry l and among banana t rees o r on t he edge of t aro swamps. Three main species o f yams ( Dioscorea alata, D . e sculenta, D . nummularia) w ith more t han 3 0 varieties are grown on the h igh, broad r idges o f the i slands ( Defngin 1 964, Sproat 1 968). They a re r egarded a s i mportant, a s they a re on Ponape ( Sproat 1 968: 9 ). The l and i s generally built up i nto mounds surrounded by deep d rainage t renches. The yam harvesting season i s f rom l ate October until May. Various ceremonial u ses a s well a s tabus a re a ssociated w ith yam cultivation ( Defngin 1 964; Ushijima 1 979). Breadfruit ( Artocarpus a ltilis) i s not a s important a s on T ruk o r Ponape where i t i s eaten throughout the year a s a major s taple f ood ( Barrau 1961: 5 1; Sproat 1 968: 4 7). I t has two major harvesting seasons in Yap ( May through June, and August) which correspond to the o ff s eason f or yams. Other s upplementary f oods i nclude Tahitian chestnut ( Inocarpus edulis), bananas ( Musa spp.), cassava ( Manihot e sculenta), sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas), f ruit o f Crataeva speciosa, Malay apple ( Eugenia malaccensis L .), carambole ( Averrhoa carambola L .), and so on. A n4mber o f a reca palms are planted mainly around r esidential a reas f or supplying betel nut. These a re chewed w ith pepper l eaf ( Piper betel) and l ime f or their m ildly narcotic and s timulating e ffects.

-6 Together w ith t he extensively and provide

above plant f oods, the major source o f

f ishes a re protein on

e aten Y ap.

Among some 2 00 species observed a round t he Yap i slands ( Amesbury 1 978), parrot f ish, s napper, t rigger f ish, j acks, b ass, r abbit f ish and s urgeon f ish a re commonly caught and eaten. I t i s rather rare f or c rabs to be consumed, particularly i n the higher ranked v illages. However, mangrove c rabs ( Scylla s errata) and l and c rabs ( Cardisoma h istipes i s common) a re c aught and eaten occasionally. Several types o f t raps were u sed to catch c rabs ( Muller 1 917: 5 9-61). Coconut c rabs ( Birgus l atro) are r are but a re f avoured by the i slanders. Marine molluscs a round Yap are abundant and were f ormerly eaten a s a s upplement food w ith f ish. They were c ollected by f emales and children a t low t ide ( Muller 1 917: 6 1). I t i s worth noting that Yap i s one o f only three i sland g roups i n Micronesia i n which Trochus n iloticus i s i ndigenous ( Smith 1 978: 7 8).

f ruit

Mammals bats.

on the Yap i slands i nclude r ats, dogs, pigs, Among these, pigs may not be pre-European.

and

Thirty-two species o f b irds i ncluding domestic c hicken ( Gallus gallus) have been reported f rom Yap ( Fisher 1 950). B irds are only rarely eaten on Yap.

H istorical

background

After the probable earliest r ecorded European v isit was made i n 1 528 ( Hezel 1 979: 1 5), only i nfrequent contact has been recorded until the late 1 800s. Around t he 1 850s, t here w ere a number o f Western t raders a round Yap i n s earch o f copra and t repang. Considerable depopulation o f Yap had a lready t aken place by this t ime, c aused by i ntroduced d iseases ( Hunt e t a l. 1 949; Hunt e t a l. 1 954). Amongst the t raders, the I rish captain, O ' Keefe, had a s ignificant i nfluence on t he Yapese e conomy a fter 1 872 ( Hezel 1 983: 263-271; 2 81-289). He made i t e asier f or Yap people to t ravel to t he Palau i slands t o procure their s tone d isc valuables. The s ize o f s tone discs has i ncreased d ramatically s ince then. Some o f t hem were also brought f rom Guam by O ' Keefe 3 ( Lessa 1 962: 33, G illiland 1 975: 1 1), but not on a r egular base ( Hezel, personal communication to I ntoh). Between 1 885 sovereignty. Some However, most o f

and 1 899, the Yap i slands were u nder Spanish m issionary activities took place a t this t ime. the t rade was taken over by (Germans and

Japanese, and t he e conomic benefits f or Spain were i nsignificant. Germany particularly was expanding i ts commercial s tations i n Oceania, and a t rading s tation was e stablished on Yap by t he company J . C . Godeffroy and Son i n 1 869.

7I n 1 899, Germany purchased t he Caroline and Marianas i slands except f or Guam a s a r esult o f the Spanish American War. Government administrative agencies were soon e stablished on Yap, but there was l ittle i nfluence on l ocal political and s ocial traditions. However, warfare was f orbidden and t he t raditional political units w ere r eorganized i nto administrative d istricts. A m ajor canal between Yap and Gagil-Tomil i slands was built. Between

the

two

World Wars,

1 914

and

1 945,

Yap

was

a

Japanese m andate ( It was f ormally confirmed by t he L eague o f Nations i n 1 920). The s hift f rom a subsistence t o a c ash e conomy was one of the basic goals o f t he Japanese. A number o f Japanese emigrated to Yap i n order t o run businesses based on copra production, m ining o f m inerals and f ishing. Many s tone house foundations were d estroyed during the Second World War. From Spanish r ule t hrough t o the period o f Japanese administration o f Micronesia, the Yapese r etained t raditional cultural practices g enerally. I t was not until t he Americans gained control o f Micronesia under a United Nations Trusteeship that the t raditional cultures became dominated by Western influences, mainly caused by a cash e conomy. The contrast between t he old a nd new l ife s tyles o f Yapese culture i s well i llustrated i n Labby ( 1973). A compromise between Micronesian moves toward political self-determination and continued American i nterest i n the a rea emerged i n t he f orm o f t he concept o f Free Association s igned i n 1983 ( Schwalbenberg 1 984; Damas 1 985). Micronesian i slands have formed f our g roups ( Northern Marianas Commonwealth, R epublic o f Belau, Federated States o f Micronesia and Republic o f the Marshall I slands) f or i ndependence. Yap has d ecided to j oin the Federated S tates o f Micronesia w ith Truk, Ponape and Kosrae. The compact was s till waiting the approval of t he U .S. Congress when this r eport was prepared.

Anthropological

background

The racial characteristics o f t he Yapese a re varied and a re not yet known i n any detail. However, t he r esult o f a blood typing s tudy s uggested some d istinctive genetic f eatures o f t he Yapese et a l.

population among 1 969).

other

Micronesian populations

( Hainline

The l inguistic a ffiliations o f Yapese have not y et been well established. The l anguage belongs t o neither t he I ndonesian nor Nuclear Micronesian s ubgroups of Austronesian ( Bender 1 971), and i s c lassified s eparately i n the Austronesian f amily by Dyen ( 1965). S ome d ialect d ifferentiation has been r ecognised w ithin Yap , particularly south against north. Some evidence f or borrowing f rom both Ulithian and Palauan was observed ( Bender

-81 971: 4 38). I t i s o f i nterest t hat t he l anguages o f t he Central Caroline I slanders who had c lose cultural contacts w ith Yap ( as i s m entioned below) belong t o the T rukic s ub f amily o f Nuclear Micronesian and are not r elated to Yapese ( Bender 1 971). The Yapese i slands once had over 1 80 s eparate v illages. However, depopulation a s well a s the development o f a modern t ransportation system r esulted i n t he r eduction o f this number to about 9 0 presently inhabited. All v illages were ranked i nto n ine hierarchical l evels roughly corresponding t o f our d ivisions, chiefs, nobles, commoners and s erfs. A v illage i s u sually m ade up of members o f one o f these c lasses a nd was r anked w ith respect to other v illages. The v illage ranking, however, w as unstable and could be a ltered t hrough warfare ( Schneider 1 962: 16, de Beauclair 1 968: 4 5). The v illages had been combined into 1 2 d istricts which were decreased to 1 0 d istricts during t he period o f German administration. According to Labby, basic to Yapese s ocial organization w ere Tabinaw). There w ere thirty ' clan' ( Ganong) and ' landed e state l ( to f orty c lans on Yap; each c lan i ncluded persons f rom a ll o ver the i sland, o f a ll ranks and s tatuses. Clan membership was a f act o f birth, a child belonging to i ts mother's clan a nd t racing i ts descent through women f rom one original ancestress. While everyone belonged to one or another o f t he c lans, all l and on Yap belonged t o one o r another t abinaw e state. The stable core o f the e state was a plot of l and upon which had been built a r aised s tone f oundation ( Dayif) and a house. To this central nucleus were a ttached t he garden l and, t aro patches, f ishing a rea, a nd other r esources owned by the t abinaw. Depending on i ts location and r ank, an e state could i nclude portions o f t he l agoon area a nd mangrove swamps, f orest l and, f reshwater s treams, and s ections o f the high g rassy i nland area, a s well a s plots on which paths, public buildings, and meeting areas were built w ithin t he v illage ( Labby 1 976: 1 5). Certain obligations were imposed on l ow c lass v illagers, who were called m ilngay, because they were l andless and w ere permitted to l ive on t he l and belonging t o h igh class v illages. These obligations were mainly l abour, s uch a s construction o f a taro patch o r a yam garden, building t he house of t he c hief, digging a g rave and t ransporting the c orpse, and s o on ( de Beauclair 1 968: 46-47). I n t he past, t hese obligations a lso i ncluded f ighting f or the h igh chief i n war ( see L ingenfelter 1 975: 1 56-159). The low c lass v illagers d id not obtain any payments f or t hese s ervices, but were f ed. There were also special o fferings f rom t he low c lass v illage to the overseer high c lass v illage. These were e arthen p ots, woven mats, t urmeric and so on ( de Beauclair 1 968: 46). Pottery making was carried out by f emales only i n the low class v illages. Because o f t he custom o f s eparate eating ( food for e lder m en,

-9 men, f emales and young f emales had to be cooked i n s eparate pots), pottery was much i n demand. Moreover, priests r equired new pots every year. Once a year, a number o f pots were carried to t he overseer v illage by f emale potters. S trictly speaking, pots were g iven t o the owner o f the Dayif to which t he f emale potters belonged. Pots were t hen d istributed t o other v illages r elations ( traditional communication net work through Tha l system). 0 This concept o f Tha' i ncluded a ll types o f r elationships f or communication between v illages. Any l egitimate r equest o r message had to f ollow the channels o f communication or Tha'. There were t wo major alliances which supported Tha': Banpagael and B anpilung. Three paramount chiefs i n three d istricts, Gagil, Tomil and Rull s tood on the top o f each a lliance. All t he v illages i n Yap belonged to e ither one or both a lliances ( Lingenfelter 1 975: 1 31-147). I t could t herefore be a ssumed that pots g iven to t he high c lass v illages were then g iven to t he villages which d id not have any associated pottery making v illages. P ottery was a lso presented to t he outer i slanders i n t he Central Caroline I slands a s one o f the sawei g ifts, g iven by Gachpar v illage i n Gagil d istrict. Sawe L . was a political, . economic and religious r elationship between Gachpar ( Wanyan and R iken v illages l ater obtained r ights) and t he atolls o f t he Central Caroline I slands. The i slands i ncluded Ulithi, Fais, Sorol, Woleai, Eauripik, I falik, Faraulep, Lamotrek, E lato, Satawal, Pulusuk, Pulap and Namonuito ( Alkire 1 965; Lessa 1 950a, b , 1 960; L ingenfelter 1 975). Although s ome complicated concepts are i nvolved i n s awei, t rade between Yap and t he outer i slands appears to have been one o f t he primary f unctions o f t he network ( Lingenfelter 1 975: 1 53). Gifts f rom atolls comprised mainly handcrafts ( such a s woven c loths, s ennit rope, pandanus s ails, pandanus mats), rare shells, coconut o il and s o on. The i tems g iven to them i n r eturn i ncluded plant f oods, pottery, t urmeric, combs, bamboo, and s o on. These l atter i tems were unobtainable on t he coral a tolls and i n this s ense, the Carolinians i nvariably received greater e conomic benefits f rom the exchange t han t he Yapese. An oral t radition suggests that Gachpar acquired t hese sawei r ights f rom Ruu' v illage when the Ruu' v illagers moved i nto Gachpar as a result of f ighting w ith Tomil ( Muller 1 917: 2 42). There was a s imilar r elationship, a lso called s awei, between Ngulu, a small a toll between Yap and Palau, and Guror i n G ilman on Yap. The materials exchanged were s imilar t o those described above

( Intoh The

n . d.).

Yapese

a lso

had

d irect

contact

w ith

Palau

i n

f ormer

10 t imes. Large s tone d isc valuables* were i mportant i n c eremonial exchange i n Yapese society. These s tone d iscs were made o f calcite, which does not exist on Yap. A n umber of v oyages w ere made f rom Yap to Palau to quarry s tone d iscs f rom c alcite on raised coral i slands s urrounding Koror. These v oyages w ere highly dangerous, and t herefore the value o f the stone d iscs was high. These t rips to Palau were l ater a ssisted by t he s team ships run by O ' Keefe, a s was mentioned above, and t his resulted i n an i ncrease i n the s ize of s tone d iscs, and a d ecrease i n their value ( Gilliland 1 975). No s tops were a ssumed t o be m ade on Ngulu during such voyages ( Lessa 1 962: 3 33).

A typical Yapese v illage consisted o f one or several young men's houses, one or s everal o ld men's c ommunity houses, dwelling houses, s tone paved s itting places a ssociated w ith meeting houses or dwelling houses, canoe house, v illage path paved w ith s tones, dancing area and s o on. A l ow class v illage had m enstruation houses and g raves f or i ts overseer v illage. Dwelling houses w ere built on r aised hexagonal s tone platforms. They l ay on both s ides o f s tone paved v illage paths and were surrounded by a number o f s econdary s tructures, s uch a s s tone paved terraces, cooking houses, young g irls' s leeping s heds, and so o n. Dwelling houses were mainly s cattered i nland behind the shore where t he young men's house was s ituated. The community meeting house was commonly s ituated i n the centre o f the v illage and was a ssociated w ith s tone paved s itting platforms and t he dancing a rea, a round which

the

s tone

d isc

valuables

were

d isplayed.

Archaeological background G ifford and Gifford conducted the f irst systematic archaeological research on Yap i n 1 956. They r eported 26 s ites. Test excavations were made at 1 0 s ites i n the c entral and southern parts o f Yap. Two chronological pottery t ypes w ere established f rom three s ites i n southern Yap and named Laminated Ware f or the l ater type and Unlaminated Ware ( re-named Yap P lain Ware by Intoh 1 984a) f or the earlier type. Considerable overlap between these types of s herds as well a s s ignificant r egional d ifferences were r eported. Unlaminated potsherds w ere examined by

Spoehr

and

i dentified

a s

Marianas

P lain

sherds.

H owever,

no

* These s tone d iscs a re w idely referred to a s ' stone money' i n the l iterature ( For example, Furness(1910), Price ( 1936) and G illiland ( 1975). However, the u se o f t he term ' money' f or them has been a rgued a s i nappropriate by Schneider ( 1976) and Lessa ( 1980). The d iscs a re t herefore s imply c alled ' stone d isc valuables' r ather than ' money' in t his r eport.

11 clear reasons f or t his i dentification w ere g iven. S even radiocarbon dates f rom charcoal were presented by G ifford and Gifford, but t here i s l ittle d iscussion o f these i n r elation t o the associated cultural material. The oldest date, f rom t he Pemrang s ite i n G ilman, was 1 780 +- 2 50 B .P. ( Gifford a nd G ifford 1959)* . I t was only recently that t his early archaeological s urvey was f ollowed up. Some s ettlement pattern s tudies were carried out and some theories of Yapese s ettlement have been developed ( Craib and Price 1 978; Cordy n . d.; Hunter-Anderson 1 983a). Hunter-Anderson village pattern

conducted

a small

t est

e xcavation

i n Map where she did an extensive survey s tudy. Only Laminated potsherds were

excavation. Three radiocarbon samples. The o ldest date was 1983a: 88).

dates were 3 10 +- 9 0

i n

Toru

f or a s ettlement f ound i n t his

obtained f rom charcoal B . P. ( Hunter-Anderson

An e xcavation of a burial g round has a lso been c arried out, because o f a irport construction. Most o f the s keletal r emains were i n an extremely poor condition, due to an a cidic environment ( Pickering, e t a l. 1 980). Some sherds were collected f rom t he surface i n the reconnaissance s urvey by K irch p rior to t he airport construction. They were examined by D ickinson mineralogically and were i dentified a s having been made i n Yap ( Kirch 1978). Two of the G iffords' s ites were r e-examined by Takayama and Intoh in 1 980. A third type o f pottery was f ound i n these excavations at t he Pemrang and Boldanig s ites i n t he G ilman and Kanifay d istricts. Although these s ites were f irst excavated by the G if fords, only two types of pottery were r eported by them at that t ime. I t could be because, a s i s mentioned i n Chapter 4 below, the third type o f pottery was not d istinguished f rom t he others. The third type o f pottery ( the oldest) i s t empered w ith

* U nfortunately i t i s not possible t o specify t he p recise details o f this radiocarbon result, o r f or that matter most others which r elate to Micronesian a rchaeology. These details a re seldom published by Pacific a rchaeologsists. I n t his manuscript, dates which were obtained f rom the I nstitute of Nuclear S ciences are r eported w ith an NZ n umber and refer to t he old half-life without s ecular correction. I n a f ew publications, a uthors g ive results with r eference t o both old and new half l ife, but do not specifically i ndicate whether s ecular corrections have been made or not. Without w riting to the i ndividual l aboratories f or f ull details o f a ll published dates i t i s not possible to , be consistent i n r eferring to them here. I n the c ircumstances these published r esults a re s imply c ited w ith a c ross-reference to t he publication concered.

12 numerous g rains o f f ine calcareous material and i s c alled Yap Calcareous s and t empered ware ( Intoh 1 984a). T he o ldest radiocarbon date f or Yap, t hus f ar, was obtained f rom an a ssociated Trochus sp. shell and dates a t 2 310 + -80 B .P. ( Takayama 1 982b: 1 07). Potsherds have a lso been excavated f rom several a tolls surrounding Yap and were assumed to have been brought f rom Yap a s part o f the s awei exchange system. These a tolls a re U lithi ( Craib 1 980), Lamotrek ( Fujimura and Alkire 1 984) and N gulu ( Intoh 1 981b). Some potsherds were a lso observed on F ais ( Rubinstein 1 979). Pottery on Lamotrek has been dated to a round A . D.1200 and on Ngulu to around A . D.200. Some Palauan s herds were also found together with Yapese s herds on these i slands ( Dickinson 1 982; 1 984).

13-

CHAPTER 2 :

SETTLEMENT

STUDY

I N G ITAM V ILLAGE

Settlement

s tudy

i n Yap

S ince Craib and P rice suggested a model f or t he s ettlement pattern of Yap ( Craib and P rice 1 978), s everal s ettlement surveys have been c arried out i n t he region. I t i s more convenient to use t he Yapese t erms f or the various k inds o f s ite, a s they denote quite complex f ield r emains. A l ist of these i s g iven below: Dayif(Daf):

The s tone f oundation on t he main house s ite o f t he e state. An i ndividual name i s g iven to each Dayif. I t i s a d ifferent concept f rom t hat o f Tabinaw which forms the e lementary unit o f the household.

Tabinaw:

I ndividual

Faluw:

The young men's house where young men s leep, r elax and have f un. I t i s u sually built a t t he s ea s hore or on a s tone platform j utting out i nto the l agoon.

Pebaey:

Community

Wunubey:

A s tone-paved s itting s everal backrests.

Malal:

The unpaved s tone d iscs

Sumuruw:

S tone placed

Teliw:

A sacred place.

r esidential

l and plots.

meeting house built place,

f or

t he

u sually

e lderly

m en.

a ssociated

w ith

dancing a rea l ocated between Wunubey w ith l ined up a long a narrow r ectangular a rea.

paved a long

s itting/meeting place. I t i s normally v illage paths i n the v illage a rea. F requently a magician

l ived

on

this

spot. Dapal:

A place where

a menstruation house

Liib:

A pit u sed f or soaking coconut s ennit c ord. I t i s v ery o ften

exists.

f ibre i n order to make a ssociated w ith Faluw.

The model presented by Craib and P rice defined f ive environmental zones, each w ith an e xpected s eries o f s tructures a s

f ollows:

14 Environmental

zone

E xpected

s tructures known

1 )

Mangrove.

No

2 )

Shore

Faluw

3 )

Taro

4 )

Flat areas o r gradual s lopes under coconut, betel nut, breadfruit and o ther t ree cultivation a reas.

P ebaey, r esidential s tructures

5 )

Grassy upland

s weet potato and/or yam gardens, g raves, m enstrual houses, r est platforms

l ine. swamps.

No

s lopes.

s ites

s ites

known

S ince this modelling was done u sing v ery l imited d ata, Cordy r evised i t on the basis o f his s ettlement survey in t en v illages i n Yap a s f ollows ( Cordy n .d.: 6 1):

Environmental

structures

Faluw, Pebaey, houses, communal taro s wamps a t s tream mouths

1 )

Shore

2 )

Tree-covered

3 )

Savannah

4 )

Forest-covered and

Expected

zone

Pebaey, houses, t aro patches

s lopes

small

Dapal, Wunubey, d itchbed gardens, g raves

s lopes

mountain

s lopes

No

s ites

known

r idges

This modification was based on observations o f t he absence of l arge taro swamps behind the shore which Craib and P rice s et a s a s eparate zone, the presence of Pebaey i n t he shore zone, and more extended residential d istributions i n some v illages. The coastal l arge taro s wamp was f ound particularly i n the h igh ranking v illage. I t was made r elatively r ecently by blocking a s tream mouth w ith soil f ill ( Cordy n .d.: 1 50). Cordy's model was generally s upported by Hunter-Anderson a fter a thorough s urvey had been carried out i n Toru and Nlul v illage i n Map ( HunterAnderson 1 983a). Some d ifferences between high and l ow r anking v illages were also noted, such a s s ize and v ariation o f architecture.

15 Because

of

t he

special

f ocus

on pottery

i n

t his project,

i t

i s n ot necessary t o explore these s ettlement pattern models i n any d etail. The purpose o f the s ettlement s tudy conducted i n Gitam village during the expedition was t o d iscover any specialised locations i nvolved i n pottery m aking i n t he v illage. In a ddition, G itam has unusual characteristics f or a low r anking village, s uch a s l arge v illage a rea, l arge coastline and l arge population. in t erms of

I t w as also hoped the v illage origin.

t o

e xplain

these

characteristics

The survey work was carried out i n G itam v illage mainly between June 2 2 a nd July 2 8 while the s enior author was s taying in t he village. Every old house s ite was i nvestigated, i ts s ize and d irection noted, and the t raditional l and name and the owner's name recorded. Most of t his i nformation w as obtained f rom Mr. K igilig, who was 6 2 years old i n 1 983, and who i s married to a daughter o f Fenak ( a potter r ecorded by G ifford and Gifford in 1 959 and de Beauclair i n 1 962). S ome i nformation was also obtained f rom Mr. Dabinon ( about 5 0 years o f age) and f rom Mrs R uetenngin ( 62 years old i n 1 983). Baanimaut v illage was a lso surveyed briefly because i t was c laimed to have once been a subsection of G itam v illage, a s i s described below.

V illage

o rganisation

o f

G itam

S ome background comments concerning t he v illage s tatus o f Gitam in r elation to the political and economic organisation o f Yapese society w ill be provided f irst i n o rder t o g ive an understanding o f the v illage l ink w ith high r anking overlord villages. G itam has been r anked a s P imilngay ( serfs) under t he d irect control of Balabat v illage, which i s one o f the h ighest r anking villages i n the R ull municipality. This a lliance belongs to Banpilung, one o f the two power s tructure and communication networks throughout Yap ( Lingenfelter 1 975: 1 38). The people and the l and i n G itam are said to be owned by people i n Balabat. Therefore, people i n G itam v illage have c ertain obligations to Balabat, such a s o ffering l abour ( building houses, thatching roofs, d igging g raves e tc.), t ribute ( pottery) and s o on. Graves of B alabat v illagers a re built i n G itam v illage. On t he other hand, Gitam also had a s imilar overlord r elationship w ith Ngolog village which i s t he l eading v illage o f the Banpilung alliance. Although most o f the g raves i n t he v illage area belong t o Balabat, the people o f G itam s eem to have an obligation t o d ig graves

for

Ngolog a s

well.

G itam i s located near t he m iddle of t he Rull municipality. The v illage area i s relatively l arge i n comparison w ith o ther low ranking v illages. I t i s on a relatively l ong m angrove-covered shore which i s a lso r are f or such v illages. The m ain road and

16 the l ow road ( built during t he German period) r un t hrough t he v illage a rea o f G itam ( Figure 3 ). A water r eservoir w as recently constructed n ear t he c entre o f the v illage ( western e nd of t he i nhabited area) to s upply water f or t he town. T his p lace t raditionally s erved a s a l arge taro s wamp f or G itam v illage. A small s tream runs down f rom the r eservoir t o the inlet where an old Faluw i s s ituated. The major soil t ype o f Gitam v illage i s called " Gitam v ery gravelly s ilty c lay l oam" ( Smith 1 983) and w as used f or pottery making.

f r i

D achanga r

G i tam T ORU AN /B IN •

'x s T AFENF IR • , / /

\

I 1

B aan imau ,

5 Km

F igure 3 . boundaries l ighter o f

which

Map o f G itam v illage. o f F igure 5 . The heavy

l ines

are

a re

s tone

roads, paved.

and

t he

The boxed l ine i s the

dashed

l ines

a re

area s hows shoreline,

t he t he

footpaths,

s ome

17 Four t errestrial environmental zones have Gitam v illage a s f ollows ( Cordy n . d.: 1 4):

1 )

Shoreline

( fronted by

been

r eported

m angroves)

2 )

Flat and ( coconuts, etc.)

3 )

Grassy mountain

s avannah s lopes)

4 )

I nterior

mountain areas

gradual s lopes under cultivated t ree cover betel nut, breadfruit, Tahitian C hestnut,

( with

s cattered

( with

pandanus

t rees

Most of the residential s tructures are s cattered i n zones 2 , while pottery m aking activity was generally confined

zone

3 ,

The Gitam and

grassy

s avannah

on

f orests)

and

the

f or

1 to

a rea.

v illage consists of Lan Gorolab ( Figure

t hree 4 ).

s ub-sections: Lan O row, Ke According to o ral t raditions,

Figure 4 . Map o f G itam v illage showing t hree l and s ub-sections. The adjoining v illage o f Baanimaut i s also s hown. The heavy l ine i s t he shoreline, the l ighter l ines are roads, and t he dashed l ines

a re

footpaths.

18 Lan Gorolab u sed to be a s ingle v illage i ncluding t he present Baanimaut ( meaning beside t aro patch) v illage area. The a rea a long t he shore was people f rom Ngolog, descendants d ied out Chapter 3 f or a brief Lan Gorolab environmental zone area i s l imited to v illage f oot paths. south-western end of

has

modified i nto l arge t aro patches by who e stablished Baanimaut v illage. and Baanimaut v illage i s now abandoned s urvey r ecord).

has a g rassy 3 ) i n the north

s avannah a rea and south. The

t he central f latter a rea a long A modern Faluw exists on the Lan Gorolab.

Ke G itam has the meaning o f " the r eal centre s erved a s an i mportant part o f the v illage.

i n t he Several P ebaey,

s ome The ( see

( Terrestrial r esidential s everal l ow s hore o f t he

o f I t

G itam" a nd i s s ituated

south-western part o f the v illage a long t he s hore. communal s tructures, such a s a t raditional Faluw, a t wo Teliw, a L iib ( a p it f or s ennit rope making) and a

Dapal, a long s ub-section.

w ith

a number

o f

households

were

located

The north-western part o f the v illage i s c alled L an l arge part o f this s ection i s covered w ith grassy ( Terrestrial environmental zone 3 ) and e xtends to t he mountain a reas. Large communal t aro gardens were k ept edge o f t he s avannah area. This s ection i s s ituated highest a rea o f the v illage.

i n

t his

Orow. A savannah i nterior on t he on t he

The h istory or t he r elationship between t hese t hree s ubs ections are not known. However, acccording t o Cordy, people and l and of Ke G itam w ere owned by Balabat while only the l and o f L an Gorolab was owned by Balabat ( Cordy n . d.: 1 7).

S ettlement Archaeological

r emains

i n

s tudy

i n G itam

G itam

S ixty-six house s ites, i ncluding 1 7 presently occupied households on a t raditional Dayif, t wo Faluw, t wo r est platforms ( Sumuruw) and t wo s tone f oundations f or Teliw were recorded ( Figure 5 ). The t raditional l ocations o f P ebaey and D apal w ere also r e-established. The descriptive i nformation on t hese s tructures i s g iven i n Appendix A . Some g eneral observations a s well a s some specific points w ill be g iven here. Although t he general grouping by Cordy i s r elevant, t he a ssociation o f s ite t ypes w ith the environmental zones i n G itam i s not a s d istinct a s Cordy described ( n.d.: 1 7). H e c lassified a ll a rchaeological s ites i nto t hree environmental zones a s f ollows ( Cordy n .d.: 1 7). No s ites were f ound i n the i nterior.

191 )

Shore

Faluw

2 )

Slopes

3 )

Savannah s lopes

u nder

t rees

( only 1 )

Taro gardens, dwelling houses, 2 s acred a reas ( Teliw), 1 P ebaey, burials B urials, d itch-bed gardens, pottery making a reas ( on t he lower edge o f t he s avannah), and 2 m enstrual huts ( Dapal)(also on t he f ringe of t he s avannah).

The present s urvey shows a s light d ivergence f rom t he above model. Only one s tone f oundation o f t he t raditional Faluw type i s s ituated on the western shore o f K e G itam, while a present Faluw i s built on the s outhern shore o f Lan Gorolab. A lthough both Faluw s tand on the s hore zone, t he locational d ifference between the t raditional a nd the modern Faluw i s s uggestive. The place where the t raditional Faluw i s l ocated i s the f ar end o f the deep inlet and almost on the s tream bank ( Plate 1 ). This l ocation i s different to that o f the higher r anking v illages where the Faluw i s built on the major s hore l ine o r on a j utting s tone platform. The place u sed f or t he modern Faluw i n G itam i s more o r l ess analogous, and more convenient f or marine exploitation. Moreover, the place where the t raditional Faluw was built does not get much w ind which i s e ssential f or Faluw on t he coast ( see Muller 1 917: 147). I t i s possible t hat the overlord v illage only permitted the t raditional F aluw to be built here, a lthough t his place i s more c onvenient t o t he r esidential area. The t raditional Faluw i s a ssociated w ith s tone paved s itting platforms, a dancing place and s tone d iscs. This i s a small a rea surrounded by the s ea, a s teep s lope, and a s tream. One l arge s itting platform, a ssociated w ith the Faluw, e xists on t he o ther ( north) s ide o f a s tream ( # 2 9 i n the map s hown i n F igure 5 ). Fourteen s tanding s tones which s erved a s backrests a re a rranged along t he edge o f t he platform. The western half o f t he platform was c overed w ith f our graves which belong t o Balabat v illage. There a re two house s ites on t he s hore ( #33 and 3 4). One o f these was associated w ith f our g raves a s well a s t aro patches. A Liib was r ecorded o n t he shore near t his house s ite. Hence, several additions s hould be made t o t he a rchaeological s ites f ound by Cordy i n t he s hore zone, s uch a s, a L iib, g raves and taro g ardens. Most of t he dwelling houses e xist i n t he e nvironmental z one 2 ( slopes under t rees), and a re s urrounded by small t aro patches covered with bushes. Narrow s tone paved paths r un t hrough t he v illage connecting houses ( Plate 2 ). The d istribution o f o ld stone house f oundations i s more even t han t hat o f t he presently i nhabited houses. T he present r esidences t end t o be d istributed

20-

0 ocope

8 2

. 8 1

A -

\\ 8

4 4 i 98 ,0

9 8

I , \ . ,

e

0 7 --

e e a va n n

ah

6

/ 17 1

Y am g arden

/ I f

7 5: T o ru a n ib in s i t e

. 1 0 „ e 8` •

6

7 4

.2

,

/

7 34

* 72

it

.

1 t e:A 5;

/

/

er e i w

, . f e

le

2 36 )

* -- 7

1 9, • « . , I\

4 3 e ., ' 1 , ea . .

. _ _. _e . ,, . - ,. 4 Tafanfir site ‘•

7

0 4 0

\ 2 7 e

5 1

• e ', ‘ \ : • 0 , „ ,1 4 7 12 I l

2 ; . ,

, '

, . , 3 8

Sa

(3 1

v a n n ah

1

% i i

L EGEND __-St one p aved p a th H ouse s i te

2 8 2 9 / \ 00 ---- 3i sy / 3 0

6 6 ,

6 0 / 0 1

=_ e . . -l 1 2 ,i6 ;8:11i ;-. .. ... . .. ... e .. . . . . . . . . . .

' 1 4

2 4

D apa l

„6 9 6 7, p - 68

e l1 55

Y am g arden

2 5

7 0

I N P resen t r es idence T a ro g arden ing s wamp

°3 2

F a luw

0

3 40 ,

R eservo ir

2 km

3 60

3 7

\ \F a tuw 4 81

Figure 5 . Map o f G itam v illage s howing settlement f eatures. The s urrounding a rea The n umbered f eatures a re c ross-referenced heavy l ine i s the shore l ine.

ancient a nd modern i s shown i n Figure 3 . i n Appendix A . T he

21 along the v illage path i n t he i s c onnected to the town a rea. All o f greenschist the v illage. a house s ite

northern part

o f

t he

v illage

which

t he s tone platforms e xcept one were built w ith blocks o r small s tones which c an be obtained around Coral s tones were u sed f or t he platform o f Faluw and close t o the s ea.

One Pebaey was s ituated near t he c entre o f t he v illage, but this was destroyed during t he German period. S ince most o f t he stones used for t he pavement were moved during t he Japanese t ime, only a f ew l arge s tones w ere observed a round t he present g round surface. Two s acred places ( Teliw) were r ecorded n ear t he c entre o f the v illage. Two l ow s tone paved platforms were i dentified a s these special constructions. The s tory a ssociated w ith t hese s tructures was r ecorded by Cordy ( n. d.: 1 7-19). Two s tone paved r est platforms ( Sumuruw) were r ecorded a long the v illage path ( # 3 0 and 4 0). They a re r ectangular i n s hape with no a ssociations. Such places s erved a s s itting/meeting places for the v illagers. One particular S umuruw ( # 40) s erved as a meeting place f or the people o f Benik v illage ( another l ow ranking v illage i n the s ame municipality which has a c lose kinship t ie w ith G itam). A Dapal ( menstruation house s ite) w as s ituated a t t he western end o f the s lope zone a long t he s tream f rom t he dam. A small s tone pavement s erved this purpose, but was not r ecognised during the survey. A small s loping a rea on t he opposite bank s ide o f the s tream was c laimed t o have been u sed a s the place f or discarding the u nclean materials a ssociated w ith m enstruation ( Informant: Ruetenngin). Food middle

of

s hells the

were

small

deposited

water

i n

r eservoir

a particular

place

a round

which

under

water.

i s

now

t he

A large number o f g raves were observed t hroughout t he village but only s ome, which were a ssociated w ith other s ites, were r ecorded. Although a ll burials f ormerly o ccurred i n t he savannah a rea ( Cordy n . d.: 1 7), they appear i n a ll t he environmental zones e xcept f or t he mountain a rea. As w as mentioned above, s everal g raves were observed near t he s hore zone. The f orm o f tombs v aries f rom a s imple s quare s tone pavement t o l arge multi-tiered s tone tomb. A heavy c luster o f such g raves was s een i n the s avannah a rea a s well a s a n umber o f graves associated w ith houses and s itting platforms i n t he s lope under the t ree zone. Most of t he g raves belong t o Balabat, though some belong t o Ngolog. Several g raves w ere a lso observed in B aanimaut v illage. The g raves o f t he G itam v illagers a re scattered

i n

the

northern

s avannah

a rea

o f

Lan

Gorolab

s ection.

-22—

a ) . H

23 Gardening

a reas

Although t he major communal t aro patch was destroyed by t he water reservoir ( Plate 3 ), an a rea which s erved a s a communal taro patch exists between t he s lope and t he s avannah a reas i n Lan Orow s ection. Apart f rom such l arge communal gardening a reas, numerous small t aro patches are d istributed among t he r esidential area. They are p redominantly u sed f or swamp t aro ( Cyrtosperma chamissonis) cultivation, which i s t he major f ood i n Yap. Small streams were modified t o f ill t hese patches t hroughout t he v illage a rea. Almost a ll the house s ites a re s urrounded w ith such small t aro patches. S everal l arger savannah s lope a rea

d itch-bed yam gardens were observed i n t he ( environmental zone 3 ). On t he o ther hand,

yam c ultivation on a smaller s cale i s a lso notable around abandoned s tone house platforms. Each traditional Yapese society had f our s eparate yam These were a s follows ( Defngin 1 964: 4 0): 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . However,

near houses o r household i n g arden plots.

The f ather's garden The garden o f any sons who had r eached ' manhood' The garden o f the mother and children The garden o f any g irl who had r eached m enstrual

such

a d istinction

i s

not

now

observed

age

i n G itam.

O ther food plants, s uch a s breadfruit, Tahitian chestnuts, banana, and coconuts are s cattered through the s lope a rea. Because the shore i s now covered w ith mangroves, coconut t rees appear somewhat more i nland. Some f ruits and v egetables which were introduced a fter European contact were planted a round t he residential area, such a s papaya, p ineapple, passion f ruits, mango, soursap, w ater melon, pumpkin, o kra, e tc. ( Price 1 975: 3 0). Besides such f ood plants, a number o f betel nut t rees a re planted in the s lope area a round houses.

Marine

exploitation

The l agoon s urrounding Yap I slands was f inely s ubdivided and owned by certain e states, u sually o f high r ank. Various r ights relating t o d ifferent f ishing t echniques were a lso owned by higher ranked estates ( Lingenfelter 1 975: 88). The v illagers f rom the l ow ranking v illages had to have permission f rom t heir overlords o r the owner o f the l agoon s ection f or f ishing. Only two m ethods o f f ishing were t raditionally permitted to t he l ow ranking v illagers. Access to the s tone weirs built i n t he l agoon was not given to l ow ranking v illages. I t i s, however, r eported that t he low ranking v illagers d id not have much t ime f or f ishing because o f the work they were obliged villagers ( Hunter-Anderson 1 983b: 3 ).

to do f or I nstead o f

t he overlord f ishing i n t he

24 -

P late 3 . Part o f t he modern water reservoir which was built i n the a rea once u sed f or a l arge t aro garden by G itam v illagers. This photograph was t aken during the drought i n 1 983, when t he r eservoir was depleted.

P late 4 . occurs making.

The i n

s avannah a rea o f t his area,

G itam v illage. Good and was collected

quality c lay f or pottery

25 lagoon f ishes labours

themselves, people f rom a low r anking f rom the h igh ranking v illage i n r eturn they offered.

v illage f or t he

obtained v arious

I t i s l ikely that people i n Gitam v illage a lso had a restriction on f ishing i n the lagoon. The l ocation o f t he traditional Faluw o n an i nconvenient deep i nlet may s upport this interpretation. However, any such t raditional r estriction over the l ow v illage s eems to be neglected today. D uring t he s tay i n Gitam v illage, f requent f ishing by the v illagers was observed. Bamboo rafts were c ommonly used to go out t o t he a rea o ff s hore from Balabat v illage. Spearing and netting were mainly u sed. Distribution o f t he catch was o ften observed between r elatives and n eighbors. Two small e stuaries were c laimed t o be u sed a s a kind o f f ish t rap. S tones were p iled a t t he e ntrance o f t he estuary during high t ide, which s erved to prevent f ishes f rom going back to the ocean. These f ishes were then s cooped out w ith hand n ets. Individual owners had a r ight t o u se t he place. However, the f ishing i n such places was not v ery p roductive, because of this s ituation on the v ery deep i nlet. Also, they were o nly used around the day of a new moon. S hellfish collection does not s eem t o have been performed on a l arge s cale i n t his v illage. The shore i s e ntirely covered with t hick mangrove swamps where only small gastropods c an now be obtained. Shellfish were u sually collected by f emales and children at low t ide ( Muller 1 917: 6 1). However, t hey were heavily involved i n gardening and pottery making i n G itam and might not have had much t ime f or shellfish gathering. A shell midden which could have been useful f or a rchaeological analysis was u nfortunately destroyed by t he dam construction a s was described Pottery

above.

making

C lay e xists over a w ide area of the v illage i n t he s avannah slope area o f G itam ( Plate 4 ). Each potter had her own particular f avorite c lay source and a working place nearby. Three c lay sources i n d ifferent locations were r ecorded; one i n Baanimaut v illage, one i n the north-eastern end o f t he s avannah and o ne near the water r eservoir. The depth o f t he c lay deposit as w ell as the quality o f the c lay were f actors considered when selecting

clay

f rom a particular

l ocality.

P ottery making was performed i nside a small s hed ( called Tome t hib) which was built near t he c lay source and away f rom the residential area ( environmental zone 3 ). The s haped pots were stored in the shed i n order to d ry s lowly before f iring ( see Chapter

7 ).

S ince t he s hed thatching materials,

was built and had no

only w ith a f ew posts s tone pavement f or the

and s ome f loor, i t

26 i s d ifficult to l ocate s uch places a rchaeologically. However, the f iring was also performed near the pottery s hed, a nd a lot o f waste products can be expected to be f ound nearby. One place called Moon which was s aid to have been u sed f or pottery m aking nas a small low m ound surrounded by a r ow of paved s tones ( beside # 8 1). I t was a s tone f oundation of a s mall house which was built beside the pottery m aking place. According t o an i nformant ( Mr. Dabinon), the house was t emporarily u sed by t he potter f rom t ime to t ime. However, i t i s r ather unusual to s tay beside the pottery working place. A t aro patch extends behind the area. A c ertain place i n Baanimaut v illage j ust alongside t he v illage boundary w ith G itam was also u tilised f or pottery making by a potter f rom Gitam. A number o f l arge potsherds a re s cattered on the present ground surface. A small s tream w hich r uns between G itam and Baanimaut v illage i s beside the a rea. Pottery environmental This could be 1 . 2 . 3 .

making activity appears zone 3 , at some d istance due to several r easons:

t o be r estricted to t he f rom the residential a rea.

I t i s c lose to the c lay source The working place i s t abu t o men To keep t he pottery s hed away o thers to avoid breakage.

f rom

c hildren

o r

Water i s necessary f or the shaping s tage o f pottery making. Although some pottery making places a re s ituated beside streams, taro patches s urrounding these a reas would a lso s erve a s a s ource o f water. The existence o f a s tream therefore i s not n ecessarily an important f actor f or s electing the a rea for pottery m aking.

Summary

been

and

conclusions

The environmental s etting o f housing i n G itam v illage h as c lassified a s " villages w ith s horelines and gradual s lopes"

( Cordy n .d.: 1 38). The i gnored f or s ettlement. The s ummarised by Cordy

p resent survey o f s ite below. A few additions a re

( n.d.:

S hore

largely

d istribution i n G itam i s made t o t ne table presented

1 7).

Environmental 1 .

north-western mountain area w as

zone

R ecorded

s ites

2 Faluw, burials

L iib,

dwelling h ouse,

272 .

Flat and s lopes under t rees

1 Pebaey, 2 Teliw, dwelling houses, burials, t aro gardens, yam g ardens, D apal ( on t he s lope beyond t he dwelling houses)

3 .

Savannah

s lopes

d itch-bed gardens f or yam, communal taro garden ( on t he edge of s avannah), pottery making s hed ( on the l ower edge o f the s avannah), burials

4 .

Interior areas

mountain

no

s ites

Unlike other v illages, the d istribution o f houses i s not concentrated a long t he s tream or a long the s hore. R esidences a re confined to the inland s lope area. Also, t he shore zone i s not of much importance to v illage activities. Cordy observed a movement through t ime o f the s ettlement f rom i nland ( savannah s lope), to the s lope area under t rees, and f inally to the s hore, i n some high ranking v illages ( Cordy n .d.: 1 46-148). The l ack o f house s ites i n the s avannah s lope a rea, a s well a s t he insignificantly inhabited shore zone s uggest t hat such population movement d id not occur i n G itam. Moreover, t here i s no l arge taro s wamp on the shore, whereas t his o ften occurs i n a ssociation w ith c oastal s ettlement i n t he case o f high r anking v illages. Large c ommunal taro patches on the s hore required a l arge amount of l abour to be built and although i t may have been f easible for high r anking v illages to have these constructed, i t may have been impossible i n the c ase of l ow ranking v illages ( Cordy n .d.: 1 52).

area,

A lthough g rave yards a re d istributed t hroughout the v illage t hey were t raditionally confined to t he s avannah a rea. I t

could b e f rom t he

suggested t hat the confined Taai ( unclean) savannah a rea to t he whole v illage.

a rea

expanded

The activity a rea associated w ith pottery making i s l imited to t he savannah s lope zone. I t i s l argely dependant on the location of suitable c lay deposits. The sheds i n which potters worked and s tored s haped pots were s ituated under t rees on the edge o f the savannah s lope area. F iring pottery was also undertaken beside t he shed i n t he s ame a rea. Only f emales were involved i n pottery making, and m en were prohibited f rom t he area. No modification o f s ettlement pattern a s a s pecialized pottery making v illage was r emarked.

Cordy

P opulation e stimates have been made f or G itam v illage ( n. d.: 1 43) and by Hunter-Anderson ( 1983a: 8 9) based on

estimated and 4 20

number o f D ayif ( 60-70). f or the peak population o f

Cordy e stimated between G itam v illage based on

by t he 360 t he

28 Hawaiian model, s ix-persons per Dayif. However, this f igure was modified by Hunter-Anderson t o 2 08 u sing four-persons per 89 ). household w ith 80% occupancy r ate ( Hunter-Anderson 1 983a: S ince the l atter m ethod o f calculation appears t o be m ore r easonable, t he peak population o f G itam v illage was r ecalculated based on the surveyed Dayif n umber a s follows: Number

o f

Dayif

6 7

Occupation rate x

Persons

0 .8

x

per

Dayif

4

Population =

2 14

This f igure f its i n t he g roup consisting o f m ixed ranking v illages, a s Hunter-Anderson s uggested ( 1983a: 89), a nd i s a l ot higher than t hat of small low r anking v illages. T he l arger v illage area w ith l arge gardening s ites could be responsible f or this. I n this r espect, G itam i s more s imilar to higher ranking v illages than smaller i nland low ranking v illages. I t therefore raises s everal questions concerning the o rigin o f Gitam village. The f ollowing conditions at Gitam s how an apparent between this v illage and high ranking v illages: 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . Among

contrast

I nland s ettlement ( sparse s ettlement on t he coast) Lack o f l arge t aro s wamp on t he s hore Utilising savannah area f or pottery making A n umber o f graves throughout t he v illage a rea

these,

conditions

3 and

4 do

not

necessarily

m ean

that

t he

v illage was originally low ranked. They could have c ommenced at any t ime a fter the v illage became low r anked. On the o ther h and, condition 2 suggests t hat G itam was a lready r anked l ow by t he t ime l arge t aro swamps were constructed a long t he s hore l ine i n high r anking v illages ( within t he l ast 2 00 years a ccording to Cordy

n .d.:

1 50).

There are a lso s ome obvious d ifferences ranking v illages ( for example, Nlul v illage Anderson

1 983a, 1 . 2 . 3 .

Of

these,

1 984).

Large Large Large a

f rom other l ow i n M ap , Hunter-

v illage area population coastline occupied

l arge

coastline

i s

not

n ecessarily

a n

important

i ndicator. Marine exploitation i s not a s s ignificant a t Gitam as i t i s f or h igh r anking v illages. Large v illage area and population could be c losely r elated. These conditions as well as possession o f a high quality c lay source could have e nabled G itam to

continue

pottery

making

until

r ecently.

29To conclude, G itam: was

s everal

once of

d ifferent

higher

h istories

1 .

G itam

r ank,

but

2 .

G itam was occupied before small f ormed, but was not ranked h igh.

3 .

G itam l ater

4 .

G itam

was

s erf

can be proposed

defeated v illages

f or

i n a war. w ere

f irst

developed a s a part o f a high r anking v illage and s eparated to f orm a s ingle lower r anking v illage.

r anking

was

f ormed

v illage

a s

i n other

a l ess low

desirable part

ranking

v illages

o f

a

high

were.

The excavation c onducted a t the Toru anibin s ite s uggested that t he s ite has been occupied about 3 50 y ears ( see Chapter 3 ) w ith s everal d ifferent occupational periods. Some more data f rom G itam a s well a s s urrounding v illages could s hed l ight on the above q uestions.

30 -

CHAPTER

3 :

THE

SURVEY AND EXCAVATIONS

Nine v illages were surveyed and four o f t hese w ere f or e xcavations ( Figure 6 ). A brief d escription o f v illages w ill be presented, f ollowed by a description excavations.

selected surveyed of t he

S ix s ites i n f our v illages were s elected f or excavation ( see Figure 1 ). The research design v aried f rom s ite to s ite according to t he project objectives. I n t he description of e ach excavation below, comments are g iven on t he research objectives, the square l ayout, s tratigraphy, c ultural and natural remains f ound f rom each layer, and chronology o f t he s ite. Every square was l aid out chief o f the l and owner.

a fter specific permission had been obtained municipality, f rom the v illage chief, a nd

from t he f rom t he

The e xcavation units v aried i n s ize f rom s ite to s ite according t o conditions and the objectives o f each excavation. A combination o f natural l ayers and 0 .1m spits was used f or r ecovery and recording, except a t the Rungruw s ite where the d eep s andy cultural deposit was excavated i n 0 .25m spits. The f ills o f post holes o r pits were described and s eparately t reated. The spit matrix was t rowelled, s ieved through a quarter i nch s creen ( 6.35mm) and hand-sorted on plastic sheets. I n the c ase of v ery plastic c lay s oils, s ieving was almost i mpossible, a nd lumps o f c lay were spread on plastic sheets and e xamined by hand. This s lowed down the excavation progress considerably. D uring excavation, each s ite was covered w ith a l arge plastic sheet to prevent t he collapse o f s ide walls a fter rain. Because of t he rainy s eason, the excavations o ften f illed w ith water which r an i nto the s quares down the s ection wall. When this o ccurred, t he water was baled out and the surface soil was s craped i n order to prevent any contamination. All s ections were plotted and s oil samples were t aken f rom each spit f or soil pH. and o ther analyses. All potsherds, s hells, s tones, coral, bone, charcoal and a rtefacts were separately bagged unwashed.

B rief Baanimaut

descriptions

of

s urveyed

v illages

v illage

This v illage s ite i s extensively covered w ith bushes i ncluding a lot o f bamboo. I t was s aid t o have belonged to G itam y people f rom until a b ig t aro patch along the coast was built b Ngolog. A number o f g raves were observed t hroughout t he v illage. The t aro patch s till exists and i s owned by s everal v illagers o f Ngolog. Only f our l ow s tone pavements u sed f or house f oundations were

r ecorded

a long

t he

coastline.

No m idden deposit

or

surface

31 -

Figure 6 . i slands.

Map

s howing

s urveyed

and excavated

v illages

i n

Yap

32 f inds w ere observed. suggested by i nformants

Yaboch

A c lay deposit beside G itam v illage t o have been u sed f or pottery making.

w as

v illage

This v illage was s urveyed i n o rder t o look f or c lay deposits. Although no good c lay deposit was found, a b ig quarry f or greenschists was observed, and t his had been extensively u sed f or s tone pavements. S ince no such s tone r esources a re available i n the southern s andy area, g reenschist was quarried i n t his v illage and was t ransported t o the southern v illages b y rafts. A number o f house f oundations, i ncluding one Pebaey and t hree F aluw foundations, are s cattered around f rom the coast l ine to t he i nland hilly s lope. The v illage has t hree s ub-sections. Potsherds are not abundant on the ground s urface, nor a re o ther cultural materials. This v illage has good access to m arine resources, particularly clam shells taken f rom the r eef, which are rare i n other parts of Yap. One big Tridacna sp. shell adze was shown by an i nformant who had obtained i t f rom h is grandfather. A water s torage j ar possibly made in t he Philippines was also kept by this informant ( Plate 5 ). No explanation for this pot was obtained. Gachlaw

v illage

This v illage was a lso v isited i n s earch o f a c lay deposit. Only one f amily was s taying i n the v illage when i t w as v isited. The whole v illage a rea was covered w ith bushes i ncluding a number o f useful plants such a s breadfruit, betel nut, hibiscus, and other t rees. There was a l arge t aro patch extending f rom the west coast t o the east coast through Ley v illage. Some p arts of t his taro patch were owned by G ror v illage i n Gagil which was t he overlord o f this v illage. This was because the sandy soil at G ror was not suitable f or t aro patches. I t i s important to s tudy such activity a reas i n r elation to the e cological background or r esource

l imitations.

A l arge number of house f oundations a re s cattered all over the v illage area. The Pebaey was destroyed by a s torm about 5 0 or 6 0 y ears ago. The coral s tone platform o f the Faluw w as heavily covered w ith bushes and has been abandoned m ore than 6 0 years. Wugem

No good

c lay deposit

was

f ound.

v illage

This i s a small i nland v illage. The whole area was badly d isturbed by Japanese t o make a garden f ield. There u sed t o be about 5 0 house foundations and one Pebaey according t o an o ld l ady who has l and i n this v illage. Most o f them w ere m oved ion r emains during t he Japanese period. Only one s tone f ounda(t beside a taro patch. This s tone pavement i s about 0 .3m high and

33 i s built not have

Ruu'

with coral b locks. much plasticity.

The

s oil

i s

a red

c lay,

which does

v illage

T his v illage has been abandoned f or a long period and t he v illage area was completely covered w ith l arge poisonous lacquer t rees ( Semeocarpus v enenosa). People do not want to walk i nto the a rea because o f t hese poisonous t rees. I t was obvious t hat any k ind of r esearch i n this v illage would present d ifficulties. Therefore, the survey and excavation originally planned i n t his v illage were abandoned. The village was, however, walked t hrough w ith an o ld man who l ived on the edge o f this v illage and was not a llergic t o t hese poison trees. No s tone platforms f or house f oundations were observed. Their absence was e xplained by a s tory t hat when this v illage had a battle w ith other v illages, all t he s tone foundations were destroyed and piled i n one place. Although a number of l arge black volcanic s tones were observed i n a cluster in a couple o f places ( Plate 6 ), i t i s not c lear whether t hey were u sed f or pavements o r whether they were natural deposits. The i nformant mentioned that once he f ound s everal potsherds when he was digging the ground t o make yam gardens. This v illage appears to have s ome potential f or f uture archaeological research.

The

Research

e xcavations

i n Gachpar

v illage

objectives

G achpar i s s ituated on the east coast o f t he G agil-Tomil complex ( Figure 7 ). I t was one o f the high r anking v illages i n the municipality, w ith control over Map and Rumung I slands a s well. The v illage a rea extends f rom the east coast to the western inland h ill. The shore has a small patch o f s andy beach as w ell as mangrove swamps. The d istance between the beach and the t aro swamp i s about 1 30 meters and between the t aro s wamp and the uplands i s about 800 meters. The present v illage a rea, j ust behind the coastal t aro swamps, was before population g rowth occurred.

once

the

s horeline o f

Gachpar

Three d ifferent environmental zones were o riginally selected for e xcavations: l ow coastal man-made l and, i nland s lope and interior hilly upland. The r eason f or t his s election was l argely based on the hypothesis which Cordy presented a fter h is settlement s urvey ( n.d.: 1 46-148). He p roposed a v illage movement f rom the i nterior to the s lope a rea, and f inally t o t he shore. This was i ndicated by o ral t radition and s upported by

34 -

P late

5 .

A water s torage j ar possibly made i n Philippines.

P late 6 . v illage.

A

s tone

c luster

j ust behind

t he

i nformant

i n

R uul

35 observations o f a rchaeological r emains o f s tone house f oundations which a re d istributed among t hese a reas. However, Cordy c arried out no a rchaeological work to confirm t his hypothesis; i ndeed, a s i ndicated above, t his would be a d ifficult objective t o f ulfil. There

a lso

Was

a nother

p roblem

t o

be

t ested

a rchaeologically. Gachpar i s known h istorically t o have had power, c alled s awei, over t he outer i slands. This was a t ribute s ystem , and Yapese pottery was g iven to the outer i slanders i n return f or t heir t ribute t o Gachpar v illage ( see L ingenfelter 1 975: 1 47-155). According t o o ral t radition, however, Gachpar acquired this r ight f rom Ruu' v illage a fter people f rom t his v illage moved i nto G achpar ( Muller 1 917: 2 42). I t would be u seful to see i f this change could be observed a rchaeologically. S everal surveys and e xcavations w ere planned i n both Ruu' and Gachpar v illages i n o rder t o t est t his hypothesis, a s well a s t o establish the sequence o f pottery i n both v illages. However, i t t urned out t o be impossible t o c arry o ut a s urvey i n R uu' v illage because o f a number o f poisonous l acquer t rees g rowing i n the v illage a rea, a s was explained a bove. Moreover, l ack o f t ime did not allow completion o f t he p lanned excavation i n t he i nterior hill s ite a rea o f Gachpar. Consequently, only t hree squares i n t wo s ites were excavated: one i n t he s hore a rea and t wo i n t he i nterior s lope a rea ( Figure 8 ).

The

Garingmog

s ite

i n

the

s hore

a rea

This s ite i s s ituated i n t he s hore zone and i s s urrounded by Pebaey and a mangrove s wamp which e xtends t o t he t aro s wamp l ying behind. Some young c oconuts a s well a s l ow s hrubs were s cattered a round ( Plate 7 ). A number o f c rab holes were present. Several potsherds were s cattered on t he present g round s urface. One 2 x 2 m square was l aid out. Three natural l ayers were r ecognised a s f ollows: L ayer 1 was a g rayish brown s andy s oil a nd contained n umerous small g astropods a s well a s some c rustacean r emains t o a depth o f about 0 .4m f rom t he present g round s urface. A f ragment o f a beer bottle and a s tone f ile were f ound i n t he u pper part o f t his l ayer. A considerable n umber o f potsherds were obtained f rom a round 0 .2 to 0 .28m a nd 0 .4 t o 0 .48m below t he s urface. One Cowrie s hell s craper w ith t wo holes w as f ound i n the bottom o f t his l ayer ( Plate 3 1b; F igure 3 9i). A c harcoal s ample f rom t his l ayer was d ated t o l ess than 2 50 B .P. ( NZ 6 676). L ayer 2 was a c emented coral l ayer and m easured about 0 .1 t o 0 .3m thick a t t he western corner. This l ayer w as v ery hard t o e xcavate, a nd a lmost no potsherds were f ound. Moreover, f requent

r ain

f illed

t he

s quare

w ith

g round

water

t o

above

-36-

Wanyan I I I

'

\

\

f

',_ ... _

,'

...........

,. 1... ,

\ \

\

\

,

\

---------

I

-

\ ',�_/. Binaw I I

-/j

...

• // / e

I

�

I

I

/

I .

•

.,.

,.

I • I

\

/

.... __ _

�

J /

,' /

�-----

/

',

, ✓ ... ✓

I /

I

\

I I

I

'

I

,

',

I

•

.

.. __ - ---- .,.,,

I---- --

"\ '\ I

\"

"'"\ � I

:

... -- J- -'

N

• / I ,

I

-\..

\

t

I

I

I

----- ---

\

_./

}

I

___ ____

Leng

I I

,,

'

:

I

I

,,

\.

• I • I

,/

Lebinaw .\

•

� .... , _____ ,..,..-J•____ J

•\..... -1....\

I ,

, ...

site

I

' ,:

�

:

,I

Garingmog

•\ ... \,. ...

\I

,

1

... -'

1.

I \

I

--

I

I \

I

,

I

I

\

/

.,'.·

;/ I

Farchee site • . ,

• I -----------.-;

I

I I \

J

-

/,.,.,.--------\--------------;_,--- --_,/ •--

I

I •

I

I

•

:,..... .\1-�-;-r------

,,,,t.. ... _

.........

.,,

(,- ----.:.. ..../ I

-

I

\ I\ ;\

,'

_,_...,,

\ Gachpar-:.. . / \

./

_.

It,

,,....

.,/

)' /

---==--====>-5Km.

0

Figure 7. Map of the Gachpar village, and others nearby. Modern The heavy line is the shore houses are shown as solid squares. The two excavations are line and the dashed lines are tracks. designated with crosses.

37 t his l ayer. southern half d rained.

I t o f

was the

therefore decided to e xcavate only the square while the water was continuously

Layer 3 was a muddy soil and appeared underneath t he c emented coral l ayer which contained a number o f l arger s hells. I t i s uncertain whether t hese l arger s hells were f ood r emains o r not. The t exture o f t his l ayer i s s imilar to t hat o f a mangrove s wamp. Besides f inding no evidence o f cultural material, the problem o f d raining water prevented f urther excavation i n this s ite. A total of 2 24 pot sherds ( about 5 ,900g) was obtained f rom this excavation w ith a density o f 140 s herds/m3 and 3 ,560g/m3. These sherds are e xclusively Laminated s herds. Crustacean and f ishbone remains were f ound throughout the l ayers. The excavation showed t hat the a rea was once mangroves. The a rea was t hen covered w ith a coral which contained potsherds and a shell a rtefact.

The

Farchee

s ite

i n

the

i nterior

s lope

covered and s and

w ith l ayer

a rea

This s ite i s s ituated on the s lope a l ittle i nland f rom the taro swamp. The l evel o f t he s ite i s about 2m above t he taro swamp. The area was moderately covered w ith v arious t rees and shrubs including betel nut, breadfruit, Polynesian chestnuts, and oranges. The Dayif, f rom which the s ite name was t aken, was covered with soil and s everal t rees. Although s everal l arge stones were s cattered around the mound, t he s tone platform o f the mound was not v isible. One square hearth w ith f our l ong s tones was observed near the centre o f the mound. A number o f l arge potsherds ( some o f t hem could be put together t o r econstruct most of a whole pot) were s cattered a round the s ite. Two squares were laid o ut, one on t he possible cooking place ( Square 1 ) a nd one on the house mound ( Square 2 ). Square

1 ( 2

x 2m)

was

l aid

out

about

3m north o f

mound where the cooking place may have existed. of potsherds was observed on t he western s ide o f layers

were

d istinguished

( Figure

t he

house

A concentration t he square. Two

9 ).

Layer I was a v ery dark r eddish brown s oil ( Munsell 5YR 4 /2, pH 5 . 6) w ith v olcanic ash l enses. Most potsherds f ound were f rom t his l ayer. No European a rtefacts were f ound e xcept f or a p iece o f i ron on the g round surface. Small f ragments o f charcoal appeared i n a ssociation w ith volcanic a sh. One posthole-like p it f eature was observed on t he west wall. I t was about 0 .45m deep and 0 .2m i n d iameter. ( No c ultural e vidence was f ound to i ndicate the f unction o f t he p it. A

38 -

S choo l

C s

: J apanese P i t M in ing ----

c :D C

F archee j S i te e 5 4 , . f t z i,

C2

z = .

0 2

0

c,

/

ü f l

cm

C2,

i c = 1\

< = > H ouse s i te

r r i

cm ,

cm ,

Ä

P eba i

-( F i lseb )

G ar ingmog S i te

o U c i U

m G = .

P eba i ( Pee G achpar)

T aro s wamp

Figure 8 . Gachpar v illage s howing s ettlement f eatures based o n Cordy ( n. d.: 1 21). The Farchee and Garingmog excavations a re i ndicated w ith a rrows. The heavy l ine i s t he shore l ine. charcoal sample ( NZ 6 651). Layer 2 was 7 .5YR 5 /8, potsherds. the present

f rom

this

l ayer

was

dated

to

469

+ - 66

B .P.

a s terile bright brown c lay soil layer ( Munsell pH 5 .5) which contained a l ittle charcoal a nd The e xcavation was c arried out to 0 .75m below s urface.

A t otal o f 160 sherds were obtained f rom t his square ( 53.3/m3). They are a m ixture o f mainly Laminated and a special f orm o f calcareous s and t empered pottery ( see Chapter 4 ), w ith a f ew P lain s herds. A t endency was r ecognised f or the porous t ype o f pottery to be concentrated i n t he deeper part of t he deposit, while the Laminated type became dominant i n the upper deposit ( Figure 1 1). Square

2

( 2

x 2 .5m)

was

l aid

out

about

2 m

south-east

o f

Square 1 t o c ut across a part o f the north s ide o f the house mound. Surface s oil was r emoved and t he d istribution o f s tones was mapped ( Figure 1 2). These s tones v aried i n size ( from 4 0 x 40 x 3 0mm t o 1 00 x 2 50 x 440mm) and consisted o f a m ixture o f

39 -

Plate 7 . The G aringmog s ite before t he laid out. This a rea i s surrounded by extends to t he t aro s wamp lying behind.

excavation square was mangrove swamp, which

Plate 8 . The f irst o f t wo s tone walls which appeared i n Square 2 o f t he Farchee s ite. This i s t he outer wall o f t he pair which i s p art of a house mound construction.

—4 0—

0 P r d r ö

1 7 5

X ( 1 )

_ c

. o

N Z 6 5 1

4 1 ) . o

• > •

L a y e r 2 i s n a t u r a l .

› 4 r = 1

a o f t h e F a r c h e e x c a v a t i o n

4 6 9

± 6 B P

_ c

•

4 — I 4 0 0 ( 4 1

t h e f o u r w a l s

U . )

E

CO

.

-41 -

L am ina ted t y pe A 3 0%

2 0 -3 0

L am ina ted t y pe B ,

P o rous 7 0%

N

3 0-40 40-50 5 0-60 0 i s 6 0 -7 7 0-80

Figure 1 1. Pottery the Farchee s ite. deposit.

d istribution o f d ifferent depth i n Square 1 o f Laminated pottery became dominant i n the upper

— B

c Coral stone 0 Volcanic stone -

A -

1 0

50c m

Figure 1 2. P lan and p rofile o f Square 2 o f t he Farchee e xcavation in Gachpar v illage, showing the d istribution o f s tones over the surface underneath t he f irst c ultural l ayer. The horizontal l ine on t he l eft o f the profile i s the base o f an a rbiträry spit. The s tones outline t he e dge o f a house mound. The mound was artificially built up before the s tone f acing was placed.

i n e r w a l a t t h e

F a r c h e s i t e

T h e w a l

42-

z 4 . )

0

r d

r C ) a ) 4 ) • 4 i 4 ) 0 • . 1

• H W
0 l C H

X r d 4 -) G ) 4 u )

52To summarise, t his square was on t he edge o f t he s tone pavement and was a ssociated w ith a house s ite. No evidence w as f ound s uggesting that this particular l ocation was u sed f or a special purpose such a s cooking. I t was observed that the s tone pavement was built on t he m ixed c lay l ayer which could have been dug out and deposited on top o f the previous ground surface. The taro c ultivation p it beside the s ite could have been t he source for the deposited clay layer. Below t he m ixed c lay l ayer was another c ultural deposit which contained abundant potsherds. This layer was dated as 2 85 6 +- 4 0 B . P. ( NZ 644). Three other r adiocarbon d ates were obtained f rom l ayers 1 ,3, and 5 . They are all dated a s l ess t han 2 50 years B . P. ( NZ 6630, NZ 6650, NZ 6678). The date f rom l ayer 5 i s not necessarily r eliable. The charcoal sample f rom t his layer was mainly obtained f rom a brown s oil m ixture i n t he clay, and this could have been derived f rom a carbonised modern t ree root. Also, the probability o f C14 a ge being less than o r greater than 2 50 years f or this sample i s 2 3. 4%. So i t i s quite possible that the t rue age i s g reater than 2 50 B . P. ( see Appendix C ). Square 2 was s et on t he e astern end o f the house m ound. I t was hoped that a hearth would be f ound i n the central part o f t he mound s o t hat a charcoal s ample could be r ecovered f or dating. However, the central area was i n use a s a garden, and t he excavation had to be l aid out i n t he eastern part of t he mound. One 1 x 3 m square was l aid out i n order t o s ection t he eastern edge o f the house mound. I t was d ivided i nto t hree s ub-squares ( east, middle and west) i n order t o record artefacts and natural remains s eparately. A l arge amount of g lass f ragments ( mainly f rom beer bottles) were collected f rom the ground surface. Seven natural l ayers were r ecognized ( Figure 1 8). Layer 1 was a yellowish gray humified soil (Munsell 1 0YR 4 /2, pH 6 .5) covering a s tone pavement which appeared 50 t o 6 0mm below the surface i n t he western half o f the square. Most o f the s tones u sed f or t he pavement were g reenschists o f r elatively l arge s ize ( 0.3 x 0 .4m). One post hole w as observed on t he south-western corner. I t was about 0 .6m deep and 0 . 4m i n d iameter containing several stones ( 150 x 160 x 1 30mm) i n t he f ill. A

soil

l ayer

designated a s

Layer

2 was

associated with

t he

s tone pavement along the south wall. I t was a l ight g ray humified soil ( Munsell 1 0Y 7 /2, pH 5 .3) and was q uite d eep i n the eastern part where another large posthole w as r ecognised. I t a lmost r eached the bottom o f Layer 6 . T his posthole was f illed w ith about 40 l arge g reenschist blocks, varying i n s ize f rom 1 00 x 5 0 x 3 0mm to 3 00 2 00 x 6 0mm ( Plate 1 3). The hole measured about 0 .7m i n d iameter a nd 0 .7m i n depth. Almost no soil deposit was recorded around

53-

P r c i W

O

W Q . 1 S : 1 4 P P

4 4 O

W •

N

•

W › I

1 4 . A s e c o n d s t o n e

4 4 0 Q 4) W u " ) r q r I

• W 4 -4 4 -) r d

O 4 -4 c r ) S a 4 W H H

9 4 0

W

( 1 )

4 1

• O p 4 ) r d 0 1

0

P l a t e 1 3 . A

4 : 2

0

V )

54 the hole which suggests the hole was f illed o nly w ith s tones. A considerable amount o f soft carbonised sennitl ike material was obtained among t he s tone f ill. Layer 3 was a yellowish c lay l ayer ( a mixture o f Munsell 1 0YR 7 /8 and 1 0YR 4 /3, pH 5 .3), and o ccurred under t he s tone pavement. I t contained some small g ravel. I t corresponded to l ayer 3 o f Square 1 , and was v ery loose. A small p it ( about 0 .2m i n d iameter) was observed i n the western s ubsquare. A number o f potsherds a s well a s a considerable amount o f European material ( glass and i ron) was obtained. O f particular i nterest, were , a g lass bead ( Figure 3 9e) and an i ron implement ( Plate 36), which were found u nder t he s tone pavement i n the western s ub-section. Layer 4 was a brownish black soil l ayer ( Munsell 2 .5Y 3 /2, pH 5 . 6) and appeared only i n t he western half of t he square. This layer has almost the s ame colour and t exture o f Layer 6 . I t was not possible to determine s tratigraphically which o f these corresponded to the brown s oil l ayer ( Layer 4 ) o f Square 1 . A post hole i n t he south-western corner reached the bottom l evel o f Layer 4 . A part o f a stone pavement appeared at the bottom o f Layer 4 on the north-western section ( Plate 14). Most o f the pavement were greenschists. longitudinally along the north-south Layer

5

s tarted

loose c lay l ayer to brown ( Munsell

underneath

the

s tones used They were axis.

s tone pavement.

for t he arranged

I t

varying f rom olive g ray ( Munsell 7 .5YR 4 /5) i n colour ( pH 5 . 0).

was

1 0Y

a

5 /2)

Layer 6 was again a brownish black s oil layer (Munsell 7 .5YR 2 /2, pH 5 .3) which may correspond t o Layer 4 of Square 1 . A large f lat greenschist bou_d_r was f ound on top o f the l ayer i n the eastern quarter. Several s tones, i ncluding a n upright s tone, were found near the centre o f the square. Although t he s hape of the upright s tone was typical o f a backrest, this i nterpretation i s uncertain. No p it at t he base o f t he s tone was observed. One o ther upright s tone was found i n the western square almost a t the s ame l evel as t he f irst. Layer 7 was a yellow s terile c lay 5 . 4) and t he excavation ceased a t

l ayer ( Munsell t his point.

5 Y

7 /6,

pH

Three r adiocarbon dates were obtained f rom Square 2 , f rom Layers 2 ,3 and 6 . These are l ess t han 2 50 B . P. for t he former 6 two ( NZ 669, NZ 6661) and 364 +- 5 4 B .P. f or the l atter ( NZ 6 680). These are regarded a s reasonable, considering the dates obtained f rom Square 1 . I t i s believed t hat Layer 4 o f Square 1 and Layer 6 o f Square 2 are contemporary, and t his i s confirmed by t he r adiocarbon dates. Layer 4 i n Square 2 could not be dated

55 because of s carcity o f charcoal. However, considering t he abundant distribution o f potsherds i n both Layer 6 o f Square 2 and L ayer 4 of S quare 1 , they could be s upposed to be contemporaneous. The t ime span f or this layer complex i s estimated to be about 400 to 2 00 B .P. on t he basis o f t he t wo radiocarbon dates. Above these layers, i t i s obvious t hat a t least two l ayers o f s tone pavement were built i n Square 2 w ithin a period of about 2 50 years. The top horizon i s definitely dated to a fter European contact, artefacts found i n t he f ill

j udging f rom the presence under the stone pavement.

o f

European

A total of 3 85 S herds ( 54/m3 and 7 24g/m3) was obtained f rom this s ite. The majority o f these are small Laminated sherds except for one Plain sherd. No d istinctive change i n pottery making technology was recognised. However, more r im sherds excavated f rom the l ower l evel t end to have a pinched f inish than the ones f rom the upper layer. I t was also noticed t hat the shaping technique o f potters i n the e arlier part o f t he s ite was not a s well executed a s l ater i n t ime. To summarise, t he excavation a t Toru anibin r evealed s ome interesting evidence r elating to house construction. Two to three cultural l ayers w ithin a t ime span o f about 4 50 years were observed. Two l ayers i n Square 1 and three l ayers i n Square 2 were d istinguished. The earliest l evel, which could be s et between about 400 and 2 00 B . P. has abundant potsherds, but l acks any e vidence of a s tone pavement. The second l evel appeared only in Square 2 . This i s characterised by a s tone pavement w ith an artificially deposited c lay layer underneath. Only a small amount of potsherds were obtained f rom t his level. The t hird level i s also associated w ith a s tone pavement w ith a rtificially deposited clay layer underneath. This s tructure was built a fter European contact. Most o f the l ayers were acidic which could be the r eason f or the s carcity o f shell f ish o r f ishbone remains.

The

Research

excavation

i n Nel

v illage

objectives

Nel v illage i s one of t he low ranking v illages on t he west coast i n the Kanifay municipality i n southern Yap ( Figure 1 9). I t i s a narrow rectangular v illage spreading f rom the west coast to t he interior. The coast i s covered w ith mangrove s wamp and does not have a beach. A shell

m idden was

f ound during

the

s urvey

o f

c lay

deposits

in t he v illage area ( Figure 1 9). The shell was d istributed over a l arge area and w as more dense than a t t he Pemrang s ite which was e xcavated by Takayama i n 1 980 ( Takayama 1 982a). A l arge amount of potsherds were evident among the s hell.

-56-

L ame r

•

Z-e''

I

/•

•

T abW i c l i f iy :

5K m

F igure 1 9. Map of Nel v illage and n earby v illages. Modern houses a re shown a s solid squares. The Mab o i sh911 m idden i s s hown a s a cross-hatched a rea, and the e xcavation was o n one s ide o f this. The heavy l ines are the shorelines, the l ighter l ines are roads, and t he dashed l ines a re t racks.

57 The excavation was carried out with t he f ollowing objectives: collection o f a s izable potsherd sample; examination o f t he geographic source o r s ources o f t he c lay u sed f or t he potsherds ( no good c lay source was known nearby); evidence o f marine resource e xploitation.

The Mab

o i

s hell

m idden

The s hell m idden i s s ituated near t he c entre o f t he v illage and away f rom the snore, and i s surrounded by s everal t aro patches. Two concentrations o f shell deposit were observed ( Figure 20). The a rea was l ightly covered w ith bushes i ncluding bamboo which was d ifficult to c lear. A square 3 x 1 .5m was laid out on the northern edge o f t he shell midden ( Figure 2 0). I t was d ivided i nto t hree 1 x 1 .5m sub-squares designated A , B and C f rom the western end respectively. The original s urface o f the s quare was s loping, and the eastern end o f C was about 0 .5m below t he surface o f A . At f irst a ll shells were collected i n e ach s ub-square. However, this proved an impossible recovery method because o f t he quantity involved. Moreover, t he majority o f the s hells were only t wo kinds of small gastropods. I t was therefore decided t o collect all t he shells only f rom s ub-square A and d iscard the s hells f rom the r est except f or a bagful o f sample shells f rom each spit. As excavation proceeded f urther, t his also became impossible, and below 0 . 3m i n depth, shells were r etained only f rom a 1 x lm a rea of s quare A . The excavation was c arried out u sing 0 .1m spits. The total thickness o f the s hell layer was about 0 . 6m. The s hell horizon was d ivided i nto two l ayers: Layer 1 was a s hell l ayer m ixed w ith grayish soil ( pH 7 .7), and Layer 2 was almost pure s hell. The shell layers contained a f air amount o f potsherds i ncluding nearly half pot f ragments ( Plate 1 5), a considerable amount o f crustacean remains and sparse charcoal. Several European artefacts s uch a s f ragments o f a f ood can and i ron and a Catholic medal ( Plate 3 5) were a lso f ound i n t he s hell l ayer. A small Tridacna sp. shell adze was f ound a t the bottom o f the shell layer

( Plate

3 0d).

Two c lay l ayers appeared under t he shell l ayer. The separation between the shell and c lay was v ery d istinct ( Plate 16;

F igure

2 1).

Layer 3 was a dull o range c lay soil ( Munsell 7 .5YR 7 /4) and contained f ew potsherds i n the upper l evel. Layer 4 was an orange clay s terile l ayer ( Munsell 7 .5YR 6 /8). These c lay l ayers were not observed a t the eastern corner where some d isturbances by

t ree

roots

and

c rab holes

were

r ecognised.

58-

/ / 2 r e

2Y r y

p i m

" ' s f t v

1 2 : r e 9

f ; Ye

< 9) ' "

I

21 t e

ee 9 g a z

p m # Y 9

1

4 E Y

g Y P r9

/ ‚

p m 1

r s m F oo tpa t h S he l l d i s t r ibu t ion

e F igure showing

2 0. the

Map o f l ocation

T a ro g a rden ing p i t G a rd en i ng p i tf o r b ananas & ta ro

t he Mab o i s hell m idden a rea i n Nel v illage, o f three s ub-sections excavated.

I t was d isappointing t hat a lmost no f ishbone was f ound i n the s ite. The l ocal v illagers w ere t raditionally prohibited f rom f ishing i n t he ocean a s were t he o ther l ow r anking v illagers. Only s hellfish and c rabs were permitted t o be taken. However, i t should be r emembered t hat t he v illagers c ould have acquired s ome f ish f rom the overlord v illagers i n r eturn for t heir l abours. I t i s possible t hat t he a rea where f ishbone was deposited w as d ifferent t o t hat f or shells. I n f act, one i nformant i n G itam v illage s uggested t hat f ishbones were d eposited near e ach house while shellfish debris was d iscarded i n a particular a rea i n e ach v illage. A t otal o f 3 49 s herds ( 73/m3, 3 ,010g/m3) was obtained f rom the excavation. Large n umbers o f s izeable f ragments a re responsible f or t he heaviness per c ubic m eter. A , c onsiderable n umber o f s herds f ound a t d ifferent l ocations or d epths f it together. P otsherds e xcavated f rom t his s ite a re e xclusively Laminated

s herds.

-59 -

P late

1 5.

Plate 16. deposit at

A l arge

potsherd

i n

s itu

i n

t he Mab o i

The c lay layer which appeared the Mab o i s hell m idden s ite.

s hell

underneath

m idden.

t he

s hell

-60 -

S ou th

Wes t

E as t

N o r th

2 0-

6 o e o -

[ NZ 6 68 1 ] .250 1 3P

Crab h o le

2

1 0 -1 2 0-

[ NZ 6 670 1< 250 BP

Figure 2 1. Section d iagram of t he four walls o f the Mab oi s hell m idden excavation i n Nel v illage. Layers 1 and 2 are the s hell l ayers, Layer 3 i s a c lay layer w ith some shell, and Layer 4 i s natural. The lower l imit o f the excavation i s also shown. The majority o f s hellfish remains obtained f rom t his s ite belong t o the f amily Strombidae ( Strombus mutabilis), but several other types were important also ( see Chapter 5 ). Two r adiocarbon dates o f l ess than 2 50 B . P. were 6 6 f rom Layers 2 and 4 ( NZ 681, NZ 670). These determined t o be post-bomb. Considering the high level crab activity on t he s ite, some m ixing i s s uspected.

The

Research

excavations

obtained are both of hermit

i n Anoth v illage

objectives

At the t ime when the excavations were completed i n the above three v illages, the amount o f pottery r ecovered was not great, particularly o f the oldest Calcareous Sand Tempered pottery. A considerable amount of this type o f pottery had been previously recovered at the Pemrang s ite, s ituated i n the southern end o f Yap, where a very d ifferent environment p revails. Anoth

v illage

was

ranked

second

t o Gror

v illage

i n

t he

G ilman municipality, but had almost a s much political power as Gror. The environmental background of t he v illage i s s imilar to the a rea where the Pemrang s ite exists: low lying s andy f lat area, and reasonably i nland f rom the s hore ( Plate 1 7). The a rea called Rungruw was s uggested by the chief o f Anoth a s having a r ich deposit o f potsherds ( Figure 2 2). Besides a number o f potsherds, including Yap P lain ware a s well as Laminated ware, a number of shell a rtefacts were s cattered on the g round ( Plate 1 8) suggesting a r ich archaeological deposit. The main objective of the excavation a t Rungruw s ite was t he collection o f a s equence o f the t hree main pottery t ypes previously described f or Yap: Calcareous S and Tempered, P lain and Laminated pottery

( Intoh,

1 981b).

-61 The

R ungruw

s ite

Two t est pits ( 1m near t he shore and one stratigraphy o f the s ite

i n d iameter) were excavated f irst, one i nland, i n order t o observe the major ( Munsell colour data were not r ecorded).

T est pit I was opened beside the coastal road ( about 1 00m inland f rom t he present beach l ine). I t showed three l ayers: a gray humified sandy s oil a t the top ( 0.05m thick), a yellow beach sand l ayer ( 0.7m thick) and a cemented s and l ayer a t t he bottom ( greater than 0 .7m thick). Several potsherds i ncluding Laminated, P lain and Calcareous s and t empered types were f ound. T est pit 2 was opened about 6 5m i nland f rom Test p it 1 . I t showed a grayish humified s and layer a t the top ( 0.45m thick), a whitish yellow coarse sand ( 0.55m thick) and a hard c emented sand layer a t the bottom. Almost no potsherds were f ound. Two

1 x 4m

squares

were

l aid

out

between

S quare I was s et out about 7m north-west 2m a bove sea level. Four natural layers ( Figure 23; P late 2 0).

the

two

t est

pits.

f rom Test p it 1 and were d istinguished

Layer I was a dull yellowish brown humified s andy loam ( Munsell 1 0YR 5 /3, pH 8 .0) containing numerous modern roots. A small amount of coral s tones, s everal species of s hells, s ome f ishbones, and a small amount o f greenschist gravel w ere observed besides some potsherds i ncluding Calcareous s and t empered s herds, sparse charcoal and some human bone f ragments. One s hell bead ( Plate 3 3f) and a Cassis sp. s hell s craper ( Plate 3 1d; F igure 3 9j) were also obtained. L ayer 2 was a g rayish yellow brown s and ( Munsell 1 0YR 4 /2, pH 7 . 9) with many t ree roots. Some places, particularly on t he northern end, were very hard to excavate. Some l arge p ieces o f P lain pottery were found i n a c luster a t the s outhern end o f t he square ( Plate 1 9). S everal species o f s hells, and s parse charcoal were noted. A f ragment o f a T rochus sp. s hell r ing was a lso obtained ( Plate 3 3e). One r adiocarbon date ( NZ 6 625, 5 07 +- 1 33 B .P.) was obtained. L ayer 3 was a thick ( 1.0m) l ight yellow beach s and l ayer ( Munsell 2 .5Y 7 /4, pH 7 .7) and contained some roots, coral, s everal species of s hells, s ome f ishbone, s everal blocks o f u nfired clay, and some g reenschist gravel. Besides a n umber o f potsherds, this l ayer was productive o f a rtefacts, s uch a s a sea u rchin f ile ( Plate 3 4a; Figure 3 9h), a Trochus s p. shell one-piece f ishhook ( Plate 3 2b; F igure 3 9b), the point part o f a composite f ishhook made o f Trochus sp. s hell ( Plate 3 2a; F igure 3 9a), a T ridacna sp. r ing ( Plate 3 3a; F igure 3 9d), and a Tridacna sp. artefact ( Plate 3 31; Figure

-62-

I /

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--. I .Mc day

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•

G ach law

----— \ __ e

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r habe tK ,• ,• -

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1

z

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•

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/

M aggc R ung ruw s i te

Figure 2 2. location o f

0

5 Km I

Map o f t he southern t ip o f Yap i sland s howing t en v illages and the excavations a t Rungruw and

t he t he

location o f t he Pemrang s ite e xcavated by G ifford a r id G ifford a nd Takayama. The solid squares a re modern houses. The heavy l ine i s t he s horeline, t he l ighter l ine i s t he r oad and t he dashed l ines

are

t racks

and

f ootpaths.

-63 -

Plate 1 7. A general excavation.

v iew

of

Plate 18. A number o f scattered on the surface a t

t he

Rungruw

s ite before

potsherds and s hell the Rungruw s ite.

c learing

a rtefacts

f or

were

64-

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-6539f). A fragment of the rim part of a Calcareous sand tempered pot was obtained. It has an out-curved rim with a small shoulder below. The reconstructed interior diameter of the pot at the lip part is about 350mm. The thickness is 7.5mm at the shoulder. One radiocarbon date (NZ 6668, 1905 +- 65 B.P.) was obtained. Layer 4 was a dull yellow orange cemented sand layer (Munsell lOYR 7/4, pH 7.6) and contained few sherds, which were mostly Calcareous Sand Tempered. A small amount of shells, greenschist gravels, some unfired clay blocks, and sparse charcoal were also recorded. Since the north end of the square was particularly hard to excavate through the cemented layer, only the southern parts were excavated. Fresh water appeared at 0.32m below sea level (2.38m the present ground).

below

Square 2 was set out about 17m inland (north) from Square 1. The surface level was l.97� to 2.08m above sea level. This place was once used as a car track. Six natural layers were distinguished (Figure 24). Layer l was a packed brown black humified sandy soil (Munsell lOYR 3/1, pH 7.6). It was about 80mm in thickness and contained numerous tree roots and crab holes. No artefacts except for potsh�rds and some human bone fragments were found. Layer 2 was a dark grayish sandy soil (Munsell 2.5YR 5/2, pH 7.7) and contained a large number of various artefacts. A thin ash lens with a bJrned soil layer on the bottom was observed in a small patch on the south part. Four shell beads, three shell rings, one shell ornament, four Tridacna sp. adzes, eight Conus sp. scrapers, one Tridacna sp. scraper, one shell scraper, one piece of worked pearl shell, one coral file, one stone file and one hammer stone were found, together with a pig tooth and a 5 cent US coin. It is possible that the coin (dated 1964) was taken into Layer 2 by the activities of burrowing crabs. A radiocarbon date (NZ 6667) gave a result of , o r ö wE 1 • e i E i( DE i u u u

win

s ite.

a l ( I )

0

i

, ) , 1

1 1 , 1 ,. w w wcn w

c r )

co c n w

a r n E o r a m e n t

u r c h i n f i l e e S t o n f i l e

l C o r a f i l e

S ite

by

r d

s e e o s e l M i c l a n u s h o b j e c t

D istribution of

i n t e r i o r

1 .

e x t e r i o r

Table

0

Gar i ngmog 50-60(