The Chronology of Coastal Morphogenesis and Human Settlement on Aitutaki, Southern Cook Islands, Polynesia

Abstract

Twenty-seven 14C determinations from Aitutaki, southern Cook Islands inform on human settlement and Holocene coastal processes. I examine sedimentary, radiometric and archaeological data from Aitutaki with reference to regional evidence for a minor Holocene sea-level regression, which are in general agreement. Related processes of shoreline progradation and aggradation created near-shore environments conducive to human habitation, directly evidenced by ca. AD 900–1200. Nevertheless, biotic materials associated with this early cultural stratum suggest human colonization prior to this time. Archaeological preservation and recovery also may have been affected by changing sea level and related sedimentary processes.