Abstract
One of the central themes of indigenous Polynesian historical narratives involves voyaging, navigation and patterns of inter-island cultural connection. One of the ways archaeologists have long looked at these questions through the lens of material culture studies-distributions of artefact and assemblage traits in time and space. Here we examine patterns of historical interaction inferred from the application of the commensal model with those derived from more traditional archaeological approaches. We suggest that the most reliable and nuanced models of past cultural interaction in Eastern Polynesia will result from a creative synthesis of molecular zooarchaeology and traditional archaeological and zooarchaeological methods.
Au sein des narrations historiques des Indig & egrave;nes Polyn & eacute;siens, un th & egrave;me central concerne le voyage, lanavigation et la modalit & eacute; des relations insulaires. Longtemps les arch & eacute;ologues ont consid & eacute;r & eacute; ces questions & agrave; travers les & eacute;tudes de la culture mat & eacute;rielle - la distribution des objets et les caract & eacute;ristiques des assemblages dans le temps et l'espace. Ici nous examinons les sch & eacute;mas d'interaction historique d & eacute;duits de l'application de la mod & eacute;lisation commensale, en relation avec ceux d & eacute;riv & eacute;s d'approches arch & eacute;ologiques plus traditionnelles. Nous sugg & eacute;rons que les mod & egrave;les les plus fiables et nuanc & eacute;s proviennent de la synth & egrave;se cr & eacute;ative de l'arch & eacute;ozoologie mol & eacute;culaire et des m & eacute;thodes traditionnelles arch & eacute;ologiques et d'arch & eacute;ozoologiques