Fa'ahia site, Huahine: Holocene, French Polynesia
List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Reptilia
- Phaethontiformes
- Phaethontidae
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Phaethon lepturus
Daudin 1802
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 30 specimens | ||||||||
Reptilia
- Phasianidae
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Gallus gallus
(Linnaeus 1758)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 12 specimens | ||||||||
Reptilia
- Charadriiformes
- Charadriidae
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Pluvialis dominica
(Mueller 1776)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 4 specimens | ||||||||
Reptilia
- Charadriiformes
- Laridae
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Sterninae indet.
Bonaparte 1838
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 4 specimens | ||||||||
Gygis alba
(Sparman 1786)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 17 specimens | ||||||||
Anous stolidus
(Linnaeus 1758)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 13 specimens | ||||||||
Anous minutus
Boie 1844
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 2 specimens | ||||||||
Larus informal n. sp.
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 12 specimens | ||||||||
= Larus utunui n. sp.
Steadman 2002
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Steadman 2002 | |||||||||
Reptilia
- Charadriiformes
- Scolopacidae
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Heteroscelus incanus
(Gmelin 1789)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 1 specimen | ||||||||
recombined as Tringa incana | ||||||||||
Numenius tahitiensis
(Gmelin 1789)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 5 specimens | ||||||||
Reptilia
- Procellariidae
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Procellariidae indet.
Vigors 1825
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 17 specimens | ||||||||
Pterodroma rostrata
(Peale 1848)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 5 specimens | ||||||||
recombined as Pseudobulweria rostrata | ||||||||||
Puffinus lherminieri
Lesson 1839
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 11 specimens | ||||||||
Puffinus nativitatis
Streets 1877
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 1 specimen | ||||||||
Pterodroma sp.
Bonaparte 1856
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 3 specimens | ||||||||
Pterodroma alba
(Gmelin 1789)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 3 specimens | ||||||||
Pterodroma heraldica
(Salvin 1888)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 4 specimens | ||||||||
as Pterodroma arminjoniana | ||||||||||
Puffinus pacificus
(Gmelin 1789)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 5 specimens | ||||||||
recombined as Ardenna pacifica | ||||||||||
Reptilia
- Suliformes
- Sulidae
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Sula sp.
Brisson 1760
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 12 specimens | ||||||||
Sula sula
(Linnaeus 1766)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 23 specimens | ||||||||
Sula leucogaster
(Boddaert 1783)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 9 specimens | ||||||||
Reptilia
- Suliformes
- Fregatidae
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Fregata sp.
Lacépède 1799
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 10 specimens | ||||||||
Fregata ariel
(Gray 1845)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 17 specimens | ||||||||
Fregata minor
(Gmelin 1789)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 5 specimens | ||||||||
Reptilia
- Pelecaniformes
- Ardeidae
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Ardeola striata
(Linnaeus 1758)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 5 specimens | ||||||||
recombined as Butorides striata | ||||||||||
Egretta sacra
(Gmelin 1789)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 11 specimens | ||||||||
Reptilia
- Passeriformes
- Sturnidae
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Aplonis diluvialis n. sp.
Steadman 1989
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2 specimens | |||||||||
Reptilia
- Passeriformes
- Acrocephalidae
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Acrocephalus caffer
(Sparrman 1786)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 2 specimens | ||||||||
Reptilia
- Psittaciformes
- Psittaculidae
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Vini vidivici
Steadman and Zarriello 1987
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 3 specimens | ||||||||
Vini sinotoi
Steadman and Zarriello 1987
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 2 specimens | ||||||||
Reptilia
- Columbiformes
- Columbidae
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Columbidae indet.
Illiger 1811
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 1 specimen | ||||||||
Gallicolumba erythroptera
(Gmelin 1789)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 9 specimens | ||||||||
recombined as Alopecoenas erythropterus | ||||||||||
Macropygia arevarevauupa
Steadman 1992
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 2 specimens | ||||||||
Ptilinopus purpuratus
(Gmelin 1789)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 10 specimens | ||||||||
Ducula galeata
(Bonaparte 1855)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 3 specimens | ||||||||
Ducula aurorae
(Peale 1848)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 2 specimens | ||||||||
Gallicolumba nui
Steadman 1992
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 3 specimens | ||||||||
Reptilia
- Coraciiformes
- Alcedinidae
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Halcyon cf. tuta
(Gmelin 1788)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 3 specimens | ||||||||
recombined as Todiramphus tutus | ||||||||||
Reptilia
- Gruiformes
- Rallidae
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Porphyrio mcnabi n. sp.
Kirchman and Steadman 2006
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Kirchman and Steadman 2006 | 3 specimens | ||||||||
Porzana tabuensis
(Gmelin 1789)
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 3 specimens | ||||||||
recombined as Zapornia tabuensis | ||||||||||
Gallirallus informal n. sp.
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Steadman and Pahlavan 1992 | 47 specimens | ||||||||
= Gallirallus storrsolsoni n. sp.
Kirchman and Steadman 2006
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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] |