Sampling for Provenance: Tailings from Prehistoric Stone Quarries in the South Pacific

Abstract

Stone is a principal component in archaeological assemblages across the Pacific. It provided a major element in architecture, used as trade goods, and was fashioned into implements and ornaments, monolithic monuments, statues, money, and emblematic symbols of victory, status and ethnicity. In short, stone is a pervasive element in the economic, social, and political fabric of Pacific cultural traditions. However, provenance of rock quarries, the source of this raw material, has received limited attention in Oceania. Provenance studies have been sidestepped or short-changed in the rush to analyse artifactual materials. Here we establish a foundation for more robust provenance studies and field sampling strategies through a discussion of (1) quarry identification and (2) sampling within prospective sources. A model of quarry identification, sampling, and characterization is drawn from work on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), and the fundamental precepts are outlined for future sampling experiments and provenance work in stone quarries generally.