Temporal Variation in Polynesian Fishing Strategies: The Southern Cook Islands in Regional Prespective

Abstract

Geographic variability in Polynesian fishhook assemblages has long been recognized but largely unexplained. West Polynesian assemblages are typically small in number, relatively uniform in morphology, and often manufactured from Turbo. Those from East Polynesia are comparatively large and morphologically varied, and Pinctada margaritifera is the preferred raw material. Drawing on both geographically dispersed assemblages and the temporal sequence from Aitutaki, Cook Islands, I suggest that these assemblage differences stem from both structural properties of the two shell species and their differential availability through time and across the region. I also examine two sets of selective conditions, one that initially led to an increase in the frequency of angling in East Polynesia and a second that subsequently fostered a decline in angling on Aitutaki and possibly elsewhere in the region. KEYWORDS: Polynesian fishing, southern Cook Islands, fishhooks, technological variation, culture process.