Renewed excavations at Motu Paeao, Maupiti Island, French Polynesia : preliminary results

Earlier research in the ancient burial ground at Motu Paeao, on Maupiti Island, French Polynesia, by Emory and Sinoto had produced a diverse range of material culture of Archaic East Polynesian type, similar to that known from Wairau Bar in New Zelanad. Typological considerations suggested that the Motu Paeao burials dated to about the Ninth Century AD, the age of one radiocarbon determination from the site. In the light of recent radiocarbon determinations indication a Thirteenth Century age for Wairau Bar, investigations were renewed at Motu Paeao. These uncovered four burial areas. Determinations on samples of human bone gelatin and marine shell indicate that the site dates to the Thirteenth to Fifteenth centuries AD, with a most probable use in the Fifteenth Century. (author)