Fa'ahia site, Huahine: Holocene, French Polynesia

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Reptilia - Phaethontiformes - Phaethontidae
Phaethon lepturus Daudin 1802
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 30 specimens
Reptilia - Phasianidae
Gallus gallus (Linnaeus 1758)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 12 specimens
Reptilia - Charadriiformes - Charadriidae
Pluvialis dominica (Mueller 1776)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 4 specimens
Reptilia - Charadriiformes - Laridae
Sterninae indet. Bonaparte 1838
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 4 specimens
Gygis alba (Sparman 1786)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 17 specimens
Anous stolidus (Linnaeus 1758)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 13 specimens
Anous minutus Boie 1844
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 2 specimens
Larus informal n. sp.
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 12 specimens
    = Larus utunui n. sp. Steadman 2002
Steadman 2002
Reptilia - Charadriiformes - Scolopacidae
Heteroscelus incanus (Gmelin 1789)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 1 specimen
recombined as Tringa incana
Numenius tahitiensis (Gmelin 1789)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 5 specimens
Reptilia - Procellariidae
Procellariidae indet. Vigors 1825
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 17 specimens
Pterodroma rostrata (Peale 1848)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 5 specimens
recombined as Pseudobulweria rostrata
Puffinus lherminieri Lesson 1839
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 11 specimens
Puffinus nativitatis Streets 1877
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 1 specimen
Pterodroma sp. Bonaparte 1856
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 3 specimens
Pterodroma alba (Gmelin 1789)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 3 specimens
Pterodroma heraldica (Salvin 1888)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 4 specimens
as Pterodroma arminjoniana
Puffinus pacificus (Gmelin 1789)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 5 specimens
recombined as Ardenna pacifica
Reptilia - Suliformes - Sulidae
Sula sp. Brisson 1760
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 12 specimens
Sula sula (Linnaeus 1766)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 23 specimens
Sula leucogaster (Boddaert 1783)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 9 specimens
Reptilia - Suliformes - Fregatidae
Fregata sp. Lacépède 1799
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 10 specimens
Fregata ariel (Gray 1845)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 17 specimens
Fregata minor (Gmelin 1789)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 5 specimens
Reptilia - Pelecaniformes - Ardeidae
Ardeola striata (Linnaeus 1758)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 5 specimens
recombined as Butorides striata
Egretta sacra (Gmelin 1789)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 11 specimens
Reptilia - Passeriformes - Sturnidae
Aplonis diluvialis n. sp. Steadman 1989
2 specimens
Reptilia - Passeriformes - Acrocephalidae
Acrocephalus caffer (Sparrman 1786)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 2 specimens
Reptilia - Psittaciformes - Psittaculidae
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 3 specimens
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 2 specimens
Reptilia - Columbiformes - Columbidae
Columbidae indet. Illiger 1811
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 1 specimen
Gallicolumba erythroptera (Gmelin 1789)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 9 specimens
recombined as Alopecoenas erythropterus
Macropygia arevarevauupa Steadman 1992
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 2 specimens
Ptilinopus purpuratus (Gmelin 1789)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 10 specimens
Ducula galeata (Bonaparte 1855)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 3 specimens
Ducula aurorae (Peale 1848)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 2 specimens
Gallicolumba nui Steadman 1992
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 3 specimens
Reptilia - Coraciiformes - Alcedinidae
Halcyon cf. tuta (Gmelin 1788)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 3 specimens
recombined as Todiramphus tutus
Reptilia - Gruiformes - Rallidae
Porphyrio mcnabi n. sp. Kirchman and Steadman 2006
Kirchman and Steadman 2006 3 specimens
Porzana tabuensis (Gmelin 1789)
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 3 specimens
recombined as Zapornia tabuensis
Gallirallus informal n. sp.
Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 47 specimens
    = Gallirallus storrsolsoni n. sp. Kirchman and Steadman 2006
Kirchman and Steadman 2006
see common names

Geography
Country:French Polynesia
Coordinates: 16.7° South, 151.0° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:16.7° South, 151.0° West
Basis of coordinate:estimated from map
Geographic resolution:outcrop
Time
Period:Quaternary Epoch:Holocene
10 m.y. bin:Cenozoic 6
Key time interval:Holocene
Age range of interval:0.01170 - 0.00000 m.y. ago
Age estimate:1145 ± 90 to 770 ± 90 YBP (14C)
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphic resolution:bed
Stratigraphy comments: The site lies below the modern water table at the edge of a northwest-facing coastal lagoon near the village of Fare. The stratigraphy is fairly uniform across the site. Layer I (thickness 10-20 cm) consists of humus, grass roots, and sand. Layer II (thickness 6-17 cm) is a yellowish-gray sand. All artifacts and bones are concentrated in Layer III, a brownish-gray silty sand 10-15 cm thick (Sinoto and McCoy, 1975: Table 1, Figures 3-5; Sinoto, 1979: Figures 3 and 4; Sinoto, 1983; Pigeot, 1986: Figures 3, 29-31). [This culturally and faunally rich stratum has been called Layer V at Vaito' otia and Layer III (or C) at Fa' ahia.] Layer III is darker, more organic, and siltier than the other layers. It intercepts the modern water table and is underlain by white, clean, culturally sterile beach sand (Layer IV). That the cultural layer is underwater today is due to regional tectonic subsidence. The radiocarbon (14C) chronology of Fa'ahia has not been summarized in detail. An unstated number of 14C dates on wood, charcoal, and whalebone collagen range from 1145 +/- 90 to 770 +/- 90 yr B.P. (Sinoto, 1983). Sinoto (1988: 114,127) stated that the site was occupied from A.D. 650-700 to A.D. 1150. It is likely that most bird bones from Fa' ahia predate A.D. 1000 because interisland comparisons of diagnostic lithic and shell artifacts suggest that most cultural activity at the site probably occurred in the earlier part of the occupational time interval. It also may be that the initial occupation of the Fa'ahia site slightly predates the earliest 14C date currently available.
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: unlithified silty sandstone
Environment:lagoonal
Geology comments: The culturally rich sediment at Fa'ahia (Layer III) seems to represent a mix of low energy beach and lagoonal deposits, with the organic silts of the latter being the key to long-term preservation of organic materials.
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Collection methods and comments
Reason for describing collection:archaeological analysis
Metadata
Database number:194675
Authorizer:M. Clapham Enterer:M. Clapham
Modifier:M. Clapham Research group:vertebrate
Created:2018-06-25 23:03:17 Last modified:2018-06-25 23:43:25
Access level:the public Released:2018-06-25 23:03:17
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
66155. D. W. Steadman. 1989. A new species of starling (Sturnidae, Aplonis) from an archaeological site on Huahine, Society Islands. Notornis 36:161-169 [M. Clapham/M. Clapham]

Secondary references:

66154 J. J. Kirchman and D. W. Steadman. 2006. New species of rails (Aves: Rallidae) from an archaeological site on Huahine, Society Islands. Pacific Science 60:281-297 [M. Clapham/M. Clapham]
66156 D. W. Steadman. 2002. A new species of gull (Laridae : Larus) from an archaeological site on Huahine, Society Islands. Proceedings of The Biological Society of Washington 115:1-17 [M. Clapham/M. Clapham]
66153 D. W. Steadman and D. S. Pahlavan. 1992. Extinction and biogeography of birds on Huahine, Society Islands, French Polynesia. Geoarchaeology 7:449-483 [M. Clapham/M. Clapham]