The Archaeology of Micronesia

This book presents the first book-length archaeological study of Micronesia.

In this archaeological study of Micronesia, Paul Rainbird surveys the development of the islands beginning with the earliest process of human colonisation and places this development within the broader context of Pacific Island studies. The book draws on a wide range of archaeological, anthropological and historical sources.This was the first book-length archaeological study of Micronesia, a collection of island groups in the Western Pacific Ocean. Drawing on a wide range of archaeological, anthropological and historical sources, the author explores the various ways that the societies of these islands have been interpreted since European navigators first arrived there in the sixteenth century. Considering the process of initial colonisation on the island groups of Marianas, Carolines, Marshalls and Kiribati, he examines the histories of these islands and explores how the neighbouring areas are drawn together through notions of fusion, fluidity and flux. The author places this region within the broader arena of pacific island studies and addresses contemporary debates such as origins, processes of colonisation, social organisation, environmental change and the interpretation of material culture. This book will be essential reading for any scholar with an interest in the archaeology of the Pacific.