article

Tongan archaeology and the Tongan past: 2850-150 BP

Journal of world prehistory12 (3)Published In 1998 • Pages: 337-392

By: Burley, David V..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Burley provides "a synthesis of Tongan culture history for the period 2850-150 BP [2900 BP-200 BP or 900 BC-1800 AD] and report[s] upon the efforts and different approaches that have been applied by archaeologists over the past three-quarters of a century." (page 339). Burley describes four phases: Early Eastern Lapita Ceramic Period (this was not indexed for Outline of Cultural Materials codes), Polynesian Plain Ware Ceramic Period, the aceramic Formative Development Period, and Complex Centralized Chiefdom Period. He has the Early Eastern Lapita Ceramic Period ending at 2700 BP Burley describes the ceramics and possible reasons for their disappearance; settlement patterns and subsistence and how they changed over time; the chiefly tradition, its trappings, and its genealogical/ancestral lists; the political landscape; and Tongan monumental architecture.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Reviews and critiques
Identification
Ceramic technology
Settlement patterns
Sociocultural trends
Community heads
traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Tongan
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2009
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Oceania
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Polynesia
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Archaeologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Sarah Berry; 2008
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1990 plus
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
2700 BP-200 BP
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Tonga
NotesAdditional notes
David V. Burley
Includes bibliographical references (p. 383-392)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
87655790
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Tonga--Antiquities