Recommended listening: Music of Polynesia III: Easter Island and the Marquesas Islands
Story
Many times when we read that a place was "discovered", what really happened is that Europeans found out about a place where people had already been living for thousands of years. But when it comes to the great Polynesian explorers, they truly did discover lands where no human had ever walked before. As they voyaged through the Pacific, they pushed the bounds of human possibility by traversing vast expanses of ocean. Using their mastery of the stars, their intimate knowledge of the ocean's currents, and their familiarity with the habits of birds, they discovered islands teeming with animal and plant life. In a true spirit of adventure, they started new lives in these distant territories, coming to know and love them as home while also preparing them as bases for future voyages of exploration.
One such island was Ua Huka. Ua Huka is a steep, mountainous island covered in trees, part of what is currently known as the Marquesas Islands. It might have looked rather foreboding to the first arrivals, but they found a safe harbour in the beach at Hane. Archaeologists have excavated what used to be sand dunes in Hane and found the earliest evidence of human habitation on the island there. One of the surefire ways to spot human activity in Polynesian archaeology is to look for the turtles. Turtle nesting grounds were favoured spots for early settlers; with their predictable habits, turtles provided an easy target and a wealth of nutrients for human newcomers. It's estimated that turtles alone provided half of the protein in the diet of early Polynesian settlers. Aside from eating the meat, they used the bones and shells for tools and decoration, the remains of which provide clues to archaeologists about when people first started living there full-time.
It's thought that people first learned of Ua Huka as part of exploratory voyages in the 9th century, but it wasn't until about a hundred years later that we find the first evidence of people living there full-time. But what does it mean in human terms when we read things like "first anthropogenic layer" or "earliest human settlement"? Although these terms can be rather dry in the pages of an archaeological report, the world they hint at for those first inhabitants is a rich and exciting one. What the excavations at the dunes in Hane tell us is that around the year 1000, the first generation of people actually born on Ua Huka were growing up and having children and grandchildren of their own. Families worked together to make a new place home; children gathered round their grandmother hearing stories of when she first came to the island; new strategies for working the land developed into cultural traditions. Children are crucial to establishing a permanent human population. The one in this illustration is exploring the beach where her grandparents first landed and meeting the turtles who brought them there. In the background, her mother and a friend take a moment to pause in their busy lives and enjoy the sunshine together, catching up on each other's lives.
But with the establishment of human settlement on Ua Huka came new challenges, too. A thousand years ago, turtle populations were already starting to decline throughout Polynesia as human settlement expanded. When the family in this illustration were living around the sand dune in Hane, turtles were still abundant and there is no indication that there were restrictions on their use. Within just a hundred years, however, the turtle population would drop dramatically because of human hunting. While it's thought that turtle populations in East Polynesia have never fully recovered to what they were three thousand years ago, the people of Polynesia took quick notice of what was happening and adjusted their habits accordingly.
By the time this child's grandchildren were adults, conservation practices were being put in place in Ua Huka. People learned to make sure that females had a chance to lay multiple clutches of eggs before capturing them and to always leave some eggs behind when taking from a turtle nest. All of this was done to make sure that the turtle and human populations could continue to flourish together. Above all, the turtle's sacred status protected it from over-hunting in the centuries before contact with Europeans. Turtle meat on Ua Huka was reserved for high-status people and sacred occasions. In fact, turtles were held to be so sacred in the Marquesas that they were considered suitable substitutes for human sacrifice. The Marquesans recognised something of themselves in the way that turtles move between the water and the land, and it's thought that this is part of why they are believed to assist spirits with the passage to the next life.
A thousand years ago, the relationship between humans and turtles on Ua Huka was just beginning. Children growing up on the beach in Hane heard their grandparents' stories about the island they came from, but Ua Huka was the only island they knew. As they grew, they would learn to care for it and all its inhabitants, laying the foundations for Marquesan culture. The lessons they learned on Ua Huka and other Marquesan islands would serve future generations for the next millennium.
One such island was Ua Huka. Ua Huka is a steep, mountainous island covered in trees, part of what is currently known as the Marquesas Islands. It might have looked rather foreboding to the first arrivals, but they found a safe harbour in the beach at Hane. Archaeologists have excavated what used to be sand dunes in Hane and found the earliest evidence of human habitation on the island there. One of the surefire ways to spot human activity in Polynesian archaeology is to look for the turtles. Turtle nesting grounds were favoured spots for early settlers; with their predictable habits, turtles provided an easy target and a wealth of nutrients for human newcomers. It's estimated that turtles alone provided half of the protein in the diet of early Polynesian settlers. Aside from eating the meat, they used the bones and shells for tools and decoration, the remains of which provide clues to archaeologists about when people first started living there full-time.
It's thought that people first learned of Ua Huka as part of exploratory voyages in the 9th century, but it wasn't until about a hundred years later that we find the first evidence of people living there full-time. But what does it mean in human terms when we read things like "first anthropogenic layer" or "earliest human settlement"? Although these terms can be rather dry in the pages of an archaeological report, the world they hint at for those first inhabitants is a rich and exciting one. What the excavations at the dunes in Hane tell us is that around the year 1000, the first generation of people actually born on Ua Huka were growing up and having children and grandchildren of their own. Families worked together to make a new place home; children gathered round their grandmother hearing stories of when she first came to the island; new strategies for working the land developed into cultural traditions. Children are crucial to establishing a permanent human population. The one in this illustration is exploring the beach where her grandparents first landed and meeting the turtles who brought them there. In the background, her mother and a friend take a moment to pause in their busy lives and enjoy the sunshine together, catching up on each other's lives.
But with the establishment of human settlement on Ua Huka came new challenges, too. A thousand years ago, turtle populations were already starting to decline throughout Polynesia as human settlement expanded. When the family in this illustration were living around the sand dune in Hane, turtles were still abundant and there is no indication that there were restrictions on their use. Within just a hundred years, however, the turtle population would drop dramatically because of human hunting. While it's thought that turtle populations in East Polynesia have never fully recovered to what they were three thousand years ago, the people of Polynesia took quick notice of what was happening and adjusted their habits accordingly.
By the time this child's grandchildren were adults, conservation practices were being put in place in Ua Huka. People learned to make sure that females had a chance to lay multiple clutches of eggs before capturing them and to always leave some eggs behind when taking from a turtle nest. All of this was done to make sure that the turtle and human populations could continue to flourish together. Above all, the turtle's sacred status protected it from over-hunting in the centuries before contact with Europeans. Turtle meat on Ua Huka was reserved for high-status people and sacred occasions. In fact, turtles were held to be so sacred in the Marquesas that they were considered suitable substitutes for human sacrifice. The Marquesans recognised something of themselves in the way that turtles move between the water and the land, and it's thought that this is part of why they are believed to assist spirits with the passage to the next life.
A thousand years ago, the relationship between humans and turtles on Ua Huka was just beginning. Children growing up on the beach in Hane heard their grandparents' stories about the island they came from, but Ua Huka was the only island they knew. As they grew, they would learn to care for it and all its inhabitants, laying the foundations for Marquesan culture. The lessons they learned on Ua Huka and other Marquesan islands would serve future generations for the next millennium.
Artist's Comments
At long last, a Polynesian entry in the Women of 1000 series! I really learned a lot researching for this illustration. The find on Ua Huka is actually really crucial for our understanding of Polynesian expansion, since it challenges recent assertions that the colonization of East Polynesia didn't begin until 1025. While a lot is still up in the air about how to interpret the timeline in other parts of East Polynesia and beyond, the radiocarbon dates from the Hane dune site in Ua Huka are hard to argue with!
It was really fun to draw something different with the composition for this one! I'm excited to keep trying new compositions because I really like how this one came out. It was definitely a challenge drawing a toddler, and drawing one at such close range, not to mention that turtle! But I am really happy with it. The hardest parts ended up being the mountains in the distance and figuring out how best to tell the story. I hope I managed to convey how special turtles are to the people of Ua Huka.
A friend of mine just had a long-awaited baby, so it was fun working on this amidst all of that excitement too! The women in the background are wearing skirts made of tapa cloth and are sporting traditional Marquesan women's tattoos. I used two pose references by SenshiStock and ImperialStarletStock. Thanks to everyone who helped me with this one! ~ September 16, 2019
It was really fun to draw something different with the composition for this one! I'm excited to keep trying new compositions because I really like how this one came out. It was definitely a challenge drawing a toddler, and drawing one at such close range, not to mention that turtle! But I am really happy with it. The hardest parts ended up being the mountains in the distance and figuring out how best to tell the story. I hope I managed to convey how special turtles are to the people of Ua Huka.
A friend of mine just had a long-awaited baby, so it was fun working on this amidst all of that excitement too! The women in the background are wearing skirts made of tapa cloth and are sporting traditional Marquesan women's tattoos. I used two pose references by SenshiStock and ImperialStarletStock. Thanks to everyone who helped me with this one! ~ September 16, 2019
Resources
Want to learn more about the women and other early people of the Marquesas? Here are some recommended resources.
"Reinvestigating a key site for Polynesian prehistory: New results from the Hane dune site, Ua Huka (Marquesas)" by Eric Conte and Guillaume Molle
This is the article I based this illustration on. It goes into detail about what was found in the earliest human occupation layers of the dune in Hane and explains how these findings contribute to the ongoing debate about the chronology of Polynesian expansion. This article by Melinda S. Allen also contributes to the debate by examining the evidence for the theory that the Marquesas were an important launching point for the exploration and settlement of Hawai'i.
"Three millennia of human and sea turtle interactions in Remote Oceania" by Melinda S. Allen
Allen here outlines the way that human populations have interacted with turtle populations across three thousand years in East Polynesia, from the knock-on effects of ancient hunting in West Polynesia to the conservation strategies employed by Marquesans and other East Polynesians today. Her analysis includes an examination of how gender roles developed in relation to turtle consumption in East Polynesia. You can learn more about current turtle conservation efforts in Polynesia at Te mana o te moana.
Marquesan creation story
A short telling of the Marquesan creation story about how the islands came into being when Atanua asked her husband Oatea, "What is life without a house?" Here you can also read about other important stories for Marquesans, with comparisons to stories from other Polynesian islands. These include native traditions about the islands' first human inhabitants, who in one story conquered the spirits living there before.
The History of Tattooing by Wilfrid Dyson Hambly
This book includes some Marquesan tattoo designs which I adapted to include in this illustration. Women in the Marquesas had different tattooing practices than the men. Marquesan tattoos have always been unique to the individual, and there are many layers of meaning behind the designs that I'm likely not aware of, but I used these as visual models. I also used these diagrams.
Tapa Cloth: Prestigious Fabric Throughout the Ages
This introduction to tapa cloth is well-illustrated and explains the varied uses of the cloth throughout history. Fatu Hiva is the only one of the Marquesan islands that still produces tapa cloth. You can read more in the book Pacific Tapa by Roger Neitch and Mike Pendergrast and see more images online here. Barkcloth is made differently in different parts of Polynesia - you can read about that here. In some cultures, women made tapa, while in others it was traditionally associated with men, but everyone wore it.
"Reinvestigating a key site for Polynesian prehistory: New results from the Hane dune site, Ua Huka (Marquesas)" by Eric Conte and Guillaume Molle
This is the article I based this illustration on. It goes into detail about what was found in the earliest human occupation layers of the dune in Hane and explains how these findings contribute to the ongoing debate about the chronology of Polynesian expansion. This article by Melinda S. Allen also contributes to the debate by examining the evidence for the theory that the Marquesas were an important launching point for the exploration and settlement of Hawai'i.
"Three millennia of human and sea turtle interactions in Remote Oceania" by Melinda S. Allen
Allen here outlines the way that human populations have interacted with turtle populations across three thousand years in East Polynesia, from the knock-on effects of ancient hunting in West Polynesia to the conservation strategies employed by Marquesans and other East Polynesians today. Her analysis includes an examination of how gender roles developed in relation to turtle consumption in East Polynesia. You can learn more about current turtle conservation efforts in Polynesia at Te mana o te moana.
Marquesan creation story
A short telling of the Marquesan creation story about how the islands came into being when Atanua asked her husband Oatea, "What is life without a house?" Here you can also read about other important stories for Marquesans, with comparisons to stories from other Polynesian islands. These include native traditions about the islands' first human inhabitants, who in one story conquered the spirits living there before.
The History of Tattooing by Wilfrid Dyson Hambly
This book includes some Marquesan tattoo designs which I adapted to include in this illustration. Women in the Marquesas had different tattooing practices than the men. Marquesan tattoos have always been unique to the individual, and there are many layers of meaning behind the designs that I'm likely not aware of, but I used these as visual models. I also used these diagrams.
Tapa Cloth: Prestigious Fabric Throughout the Ages
This introduction to tapa cloth is well-illustrated and explains the varied uses of the cloth throughout history. Fatu Hiva is the only one of the Marquesan islands that still produces tapa cloth. You can read more in the book Pacific Tapa by Roger Neitch and Mike Pendergrast and see more images online here. Barkcloth is made differently in different parts of Polynesia - you can read about that here. In some cultures, women made tapa, while in others it was traditionally associated with men, but everyone wore it.