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In Surplus and in Scarcity: Agricultural Development, Risk Management, and Political Economy on Ofu Island, American Samoa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Seth Quintus ,
Melinda S. Allen  and
Thegn N. Ladefoged
Seth Quintus*
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58102 USA
Melinda S. Allen
Affiliation:
Anthropology, School of Social Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand
Thegn N. Ladefoged
Affiliation:
Anthropology, School of Social Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand
*
seth.quintus@ndsu.edu
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Abstract

Much attention has been paid to the role of increased food production in the development of social complexity. However, increased food production is only one kind of agricultural process, and some changes in agronomic practices were geared toward stabilizing production or counteracting periodic shortfalls. The intersection between these latter strategies and sociopolitical development are poorly understood, while the long-term value of risk management strategies is often hypothesized but empirically not well demonstrated. We address these issues using recent archaeological data from the Samoan Archipelago, Polynesia. We investigate variability in, and the development of, one type of agricultural infrastructure: ditch- and-parcel complexes. In the context of Samoa’s high-volume rainfall, recurrent cyclones, and steep topography, these novel risk management facilities offered production stability and, by extension, long-term selective benefits to both emergent elites and the general populace. Their effectiveness against known hazards is demonstrated by hydrologicai modeling, while their long-term success is indicated by increased distribution and size over time. Additionally, based on their morphologies, funetional properties, chronology, and spatial patterning, we argue that this infrastructure could have been effectively used by emergent elites to gain political advantage, particularly in conjunction with environmental perturbations that created production bottlenecks or shortfalls.

Se ha prestado mucha atención al papel del aumento de la producción de alimentos en el desarrollo de la complejidad social. Sin embargo, el aumento de la producción de alimentos es sólo un tipo de desarrollo y algunos cambios en las prácticas agrícolas se orientan hacia la estabilización de la producción o a contrarrestar el déficit periódico. La intersección entre estas últimas estrategias y el desarrollo socio-político son poco conocidos, mientras que el valor a largo plazo de las estrategias de gestión de riesgos son a menudo hipótesis empíricas pero no bien demostradas. Abordamos estos temas utilizando los últimos datos arqueológicos del archipiélago de Samoa, Polynesia. Investigamos la variabilidad, y el desarrollo de un tipo de infraestructura agrícola: los complejos de acequias y parcelas.. En el contexto del alto volumen de precipitaciones, los ciclones recurrentes, y la topografía escarpada de Samoa, estas nuevas instalaciones de gestión de riesgos ofrecen estabilidad en la producción y beneficios selectivos de extensión a largo plazo de ambas élites emergentes y la población en general. Su eficacia contra riesgos conocidos se demuestra mediante la modelización hidrológica, mientras que su éxito a largo plazo se indica mediante una mayor distribución y tamaño a lo largo del tiempo. Además, sobre la base de sus morfologías, sus propiedades funcionales, cronología y patrón espacial, sostenemos que las élites emergentes podrían haber utilizado efectivamente esta infraestructura para ganar ventajas políticas, en particular en relación con perturbaciones ambientales que crearon cuellos de botella en la producción

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 81 , Issue 2 , April 2016 , pp. 273 - 293
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 by the Society for American Archaeology.

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