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The first settlement of Remote Oceania: the Philippines to the Marianas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Hsiao-chun Hung ,
Mike T. Carson ,
Peter Bellwood ,
Fredeliza Z. Campos ,
Philip J. Piper ,
Eusebio Dizon ,
Mary Jane Louise A. Bolunia ,
Marc Oxenham  and
Zhang Chi
Hsiao-chun Hung*
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Anthropology, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Department of Archaeology and Natural History, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia
Mike T. Carson
Affiliation:
Micronesian Area Research Center, University of Guam, Mangilao, GU 96923, USA
Peter Bellwood
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Anthropology, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia
Fredeliza Z. Campos
Affiliation:
School of Humanities, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong S.A.R., P. R. China
Philip J. Piper
Affiliation:
Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines
Eusebio Dizon
Affiliation:
Archaeology Division, National Museum of the Philippines, Manila 1000, Philippines
Mary Jane Louise A. Bolunia
Affiliation:
Archaeology Division, National Museum of the Philippines, Manila 1000, Philippines
Marc Oxenham
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Anthropology, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia
Zhang Chi
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
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The authors compare pottery assemblages in the Marianas and the Philippines to claim endorsement for a first human expansion into the open Pacific around 1500 BC. The Marianas are separated from the Philippines by 2300km of open sea, so they are proposing an epic pioneering voyage of men and women, with presumably some cultivated plants but apparently no animals. How did they manage this unprecedented journey?

Keywords

OceaniaMarianasNeolithic PhilippinesAustronesian
Type
Debate
Information
Antiquity , Volume 85 , Issue 329 , September 2011 , pp. 909 - 926
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2011

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