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| | History of Polynesian Archaeology |
 | | In his 1832 “Notice sur les Iles du Grand Océan,” Dumont d’Urville set Polynesia apart from Melanesia, the islands of the southwestern Pacific from New Guinea to Fiji, and from Micronesia, islands north of the equator ranging from the Marianas and Palau in the west to the Marshall Islands in the east. |
 | | The greatest impetus to Polynesian archaeology, however, occurred in 1920 when geologist Herbert E. Gregory acceded to the directorship of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, convened the first international Pan-Pacific Science Conference, and proclaimed the study of Polynesian archaeology and anthropology should be a major research priority (Kirch 2000:20-24). |
 | | The rejuvenation of stratigraphic archaeology in Polynesia, and its expansion beyond Polynesia into the western Pacific, was initially driven by a strong culture-historical orientation, encouraged by rapid success in defining considerable time depth and sequences of material culture change (whether in ceramic styles, or in fishhooks and stone adzes). |
| sscl.berkeley.edu /~oal/background/polyhist.htm (5333 words) |
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