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Archaeological Identification of Stone Fish-weirs Mentioned to Freycinet in 1819 on the Island of Guam

2013; Routledge; Volume: 48; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00223344.2013.856666

1469-9605

Boyd Dixon, Laura Gilda, Tina Mangieri,

Maritime and Coastal Archaeology

ABSTRACTIn 1819, when the French corvette L'Uranie anchored off Apra Harbor in the Micronesian Island of Guam, its captain Louis Claude de Freycinet was told of the former use there of stone fish-weirs. This reference has long puzzled archaeologists and historians who assumed Freycinet was misinformed or such features were no longer in existence, given the frequent typhoons that affect the region. Recent archaeological surveys of Apra Harbor tidal flats, however, have identified low-walled coral enclosures at the mouth of two freshwater estuaries. At first. these were hypothesised to have been built to foster shellfish production under the Japanese occupation of Guam during World War II. However, controlled excavation of small sites adjacent to one of these complexes yielded late Latte Period pottery and wood charcoal radiocarbon dated to AD 1645–1725. This historic timeframe is within the plausible memory of the oldest generation of Freycinet's informants. These archaeological findings, combined with interviews, research of historical accounts and ethnographic comparisons of fishing practices in Micronesia and further afield suggest that Chamorro fishermen may have used the weirs to feed local populations and visiting sailors during the seasonal arrival of the Manila galleons for a long period after Ferdinand Magellan's visit in 1521. This conclusion has practical and contemporary implications for Chamorro today. AcknowledgementsThe authors would like to extend their appreciation to Jeannette Simons, then of NAVFACPAC, Jennings Bunn and Lon Bulgrin of NAVFACMAR and Dr Eric West of NAVFACPAC, who freely gave advice and counsel during preparation of this manuscript. The authors would especially like to thank the IARII crew of Tina Mangieri, Ephraim McDowell, Leona Hamano, Atelyne Okichy and Timothy Rieth; the painstaking PCSI crew of Laura Gilda, Tony Torres, Christa Torres and Reid Yamasato; and Velix Fiten and Jeff Esefar of Guam Tropical Landscaping. Si Yu'us ma'ase' to Piti resident Joseph Santos for discussing his over 70 years of knowledge of Apra Harbor. The assistance of Journal of Pacific History editor Vicki Luker and two anonymous reviewers is greatly appreciated.Notes1 B. Dixon, J.S. Athens, J. Ward, T. Mangieri and T. Reith, 'Archaeological inventory survey of the Sasa Valley and Tenjo Vista Fuel Tank Farms Piti District, Territory of Guam, Mariana Islands', prepared for the US Department of the Navy, by International Archaeological Research Institute Inc. (Honolulu 1999).2 Robert F. Rogers, Destiny's Landfall: a history of Guam (Honolulu 1995), 176.3 For discussions with Piti resident Joseph Santos, see Dixon et al., 'Archaeological Inventory Survey of the Sasa Valley and Tenjo Vista Fuel Tank Farms', 166–7.4 For fuller discussion see C. Lobban and M. Schefter, Tropical Pacific Island Environments (Mangilao 1997), 108–26; F. Young, Soil Survey of the Territory of Guam (Washington, DC 1988).5 For a fuller discussion of the architecture and society of the Latte period, see M. Graves, 'Organization and differentiation with late prehistoric ranked social units, Mariana Islands, Western Pacific', Journal of Field Archaeology, 13:2 (1986), 139–54; M. Graves, 'Architectural and mortuary diversity in late prehistoric settlements at Tumon Bay, Guam', Micronesica, 24:2 (1991), 169–94; R. Hunter-Anderson and B. Butler, 'An overview of Northern Marianas prehistory', prepared for Historic Preservation Office, Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Saipan, Micronesian Archaeological Research Services (Guam 1991).6 For a fuller discussion, see Peter Bellwood, Man's Conquest of the Pacific (New York 1979), 281–5; B. Butler, 'Early prehistoric settlement in the Mariana Islands: new evidence from Saipan', Man and Culture in Oceania, 10 (1994), 15–38; R. Cordy, 'Social stratification in the Mariana Islands', Oceania 53:3 (1983), 272–6; J. Craib, 'Early occupation at Unai Chulu, Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands', Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association Bulletin, 13 (1993), 116–34; T. Hanihara, 'Craniofacial affinities of Mariana Islanders and circum-Pacific peoples', American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 104:3 (1997), 411–25; H. Kurashina and R. 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Ward, 'Paleoclimate, vegetation, and landscape on Guam: the Laguas core', in B. Dixon, J.S. Athens, J.V. Ward, T. Mangieri and T. Reith, 'Archaeological inventory survey of the Sasa Valley and Tenjo Vista Fuel Tank Farms, Piti District, Territory of Guam, Mariana Islands', prepared for the US Department of the Navy, by International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc. (Honolulu 1999), 121–52; J. Craib and N. Farrell, 'On the question of prehistoric rice cultivation in the Mariana Islands', Micronesica, 17:1–2 (1981), 1–9; B. Dixon, T. Mangieri, E. McDowell, K. Paraso and T. Reith, 'Prehistoric Chamorro household activities and refuse disposal patterns on the Micronesian island of Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands', Micronesica, 39:1 (2006), 55–71; R. Hunter-Anderson, G.B. Thompson and D. Moore, 'Rice as a prehistoric valuable in the Mariana Islands, Micronesia', Asian Perspectives, 34:1 (1995), 68–89; D. 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Bulgrin, 'Orote Peninsula, an island of colonial resistance on Guam, 1676–1678', manuscript on file with author; B. Dixon, 'Ancient Chamorro Warfare', available at http://www.guampedia.com (accessed 18 March 2013).12 For a fuller discussion, see Jack D. Henry, David Highness and Alan Haun, 'Archaeological inventory survey lot 2282-20 development parcel, Mangilao Municipality, Territory of Guam', prepared for Mr Dan Swavely, Tamuning, Guam, Paul H. Rosendahl, Ph.D., Inc. (Hilo, Hawai'i 1990); Francis X. Hezel, From Conquest to Colonization: Spain in the Mariana Islands 1690 to 1740 (Saipan 1989), 5–14.13 Rogers, Destiny's Landfall, 43, 54, 73.14 'Spanish Forts of Guam: Overview', Guampedia, available at http://guampedia.com/spanish-forts-of-guam-overview/ (accessed 7 April 2013).15 L. de Freycinet, An Account of the Corvette L'Uranie's Sojourn at the Mariana Islands, 1819, tr. G. Barratt (Saipan 2003 [1829]), pl. 52, 322.16 J. Carucci, 'The Archaeology of Orote Peninsula', 20–1.17 C. Madrid, Beyond Distance: governance, politics and deportation in the Mariana Islands from 1870 to 1877 (Saipan 2006), 57.18 Rogers, Destiny's Landfall, 108–1219 For a fuller discussion, see W. Higuchi, 'Japan's industrial development of Guam, 1941–1944', Pacific Studies, 31:1 (2008), 70.20 Rogers, Destiny's Landfall, 179–80.21 O. Lodge, The Recapture of Guam (Washington, DC 1954), 37–56.22 For a discussion of the continuing strategic importance of Guam to the US, see Frank Quimby, 'Fortress Guåhån: Chamorro nationalism, regional economic integration and US Defence interests shape Guam's recent history', Journal of Pacific History, 46 (2011), 357–80.23 B. Dixon et al., 'Archaeological inventory survey of the Sasa Valley and Tenjo Vista Fuel Tank Farms, Piti District, Territory of Guam, Mariana Islands'.24 B. Dixon, D. Gosser, L. Gilda and R. Nees, 'Archaeological survey and limited subsurface excavations at the Naval Ordnance Annex and Waterfront Annex, Territory of Guam', prepared for the US Department of the Navy, by Pacific Consulting Services Inc. (Honolulu 2004).25 Amesbury and Moore, 'Archaeological survey of portions of Routes 4 and 15 and Dairy Road, Guam'; Amesbury and Hunter-Anderson, 'An archaeological survey in the Lumuna area, Yigo District, Guam'; Athens and Ward, 'Paloeclimate, vegetation, and landscape on Guam', 121–52.26 Athens and Ward, 'Paleoclimate, vegetation and landscape on Guam: the Laguas core'', 121–48.27 L. Thompson, Archaeology of the Marianas Islands (Honolulu 1932), 46–9; Thompson, The Native Culture of the Marianas Islands, 32; for a fuller discussion, see S. Russell, Tiempon I Manmofo'na: ancient Chamorro culture and history of the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan 1998), 179–86.28 Freycinet, An Account of the Corvette L'Uranie's Sojourn, 162.29 Ibid., 163–4.30 R. Tsuda, W. Tobias, P. Bryan, W. FitzGerald, H. Kami and I. Ikehara, Studies on the Genus Siganus (Rabbitfish) in Guam Waters, University of Guam Marine Laboratory, Technical Report no. 29 (Mangilao 1976), 6.31 H. Tudela, 'Traditional rabbitfish management', Journal of Micronesian Fishing, 1:2 (Saipan 2009), 5–6.32 R. Randall, R. Tsuda, R. Jones, M. Gawel, J. Chase and R. Rechebei, Marine Biological Survey of the Cocos Barrier Reefs and Enclosed Lagoon, University of Guam Marine Laboratory, Technical Report no. 17 (Mangilao 1975), 49.33 Freycinet, An Account of the Corvette L'Uranie's Sojourn, 162–3.34 L. Cunningham, Ancient Chamorro Society (Honolulu 1992), 35; cf. Cunningham, 'The ancient Chamorros of Guam', in L. Carter, W. Wuerch and R. Carter (eds), Guam History: perspectives, vol. I (Mangilao 1998), 22.35 G. Fritz, 'The Chamorro: a history and ethnography of the Mariana Islands', tr. Elfriede Craddock, ed. Scott Russell, Occasional Historical Papers Series, no. 1, CNMI Division of Historic Preservation (Saipan 2001), 70–1.36 J. Amesbury, F. Cushing and R. Sakamoto, Guide to the Coastal Resources of Guam, vol. 3: Fishing on Guam (Mangilao 1986), 19.37; J. Jennison-Nolan, Land and Lagoon Use in Prewar Guam: Agat, Piti, and Asan. MARC Working Papers no. 15, Micronesian Area Research Center, University of Guam (Mangilao 1980), 15.38 Cf. Thompson, The Native Culture of the Marianas Islands, 33; L. Thompson, Guam and its Peoples (Westport 1947), 128; J. Jennison-Nolan, C. O'Meara, D. Bradley, J. Guest and D. Moore, Cultural Resources within the Guam Seashore Study Area and the War in the Pacific National Historical Park, Department of Anthropology and Geography, University of Guam (Mangilao 1979), 58, 60; Russell, Tiempon I Manmofo'na, 189.39 For growing concerns to ensure conservation, see generally J. Stojkovich, 'Survey and species inventory of representative pristine marine communities on Guam', University of Guam Marine Laboratory, Technical Report no. 40 (Mangilao 1977); J. Amesbury and P. Callaghan, Territory of Guam Fisheries Development and Management Plan (Mangilao 1981); Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources, Aerial Fisheries Survey (Mangilao 1981).40 G. Barratt, 'Carolinean contacts with the Islands of the Marianas: the European record', Micronesian Archaeological Survey Report no. 25, Division of Historic Preservation (Saipan 1988).41 W. Alkire, 'An introduction to the peoples and cultures of Micronesia', in W. Alkire (ed.), The Peoples and Cultures of Micronesia (Canada 1972), 42.42 R. Cordy, 'Archaeological survey of Inem, Okat and Loal Kosrae Island', Micronesian Archaeological Survey Report no. 7, Historic Preservation Office, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Saipan 1981), 97, 102, 112, 116, 122.43 W. Ayers, A. Haun and C. Severance, 'Ponape archaeological survey: 1978 research' Micronesian Archaeological Survey Report no. 4, Historic Preservation Office, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Saipan 1979), 135–41.44 For a fuller discussion, see R. Hunter-Anderson, 'Yapese Stone Fish Weirs', Asian Perspectives, 24:1 (1981), 81–6; J. Moore, 'Current fishing practices and use of marine resources in the Outer Islands', Yap State Fishing Authority, Manuscript of file at MARC (Mangilao 1987).45 See J. Mulvaney and J. Kamminga, Prehistory of Australia (St Leonards 1999), 34–5, 294.46 See P. Kirch, On the Road of the Winds: an archaeological history of the Pacific Islands before European contact (Berkeley 2000), 290, 295, 298.47 John Peterson, pers. comm., 2010.48 See Frank Quimby, 'The hierro commerce: culture contact, appropriation and colonial entanglement in the Marianas, 1521–1668', Journal of Pacific History, 46 (2011), 1–26.49 W. Jeffrey, 'How the Federated States of Micronesia is making underwater archaeology work for them', paper given at the conference entitled 'Pacific Island Archaeology in the 21st Century: Relevance and Engagement' (Koror, Palau 2010), 1–3 July 2009.