The marae of Taputapuātea (Ra’iatea, Society Islands) in 2016: nature, age and origin of coral erected stones
The Taputapuatea marae of Ra’iatea is an emblematic landmark known throughout the world and sacred place for the Ma’ohi of Eastern Polynesia and the centre of a vast political-religious-cultural network in the Polynesian triangle. The erected stones constituting the ahu have been described as “limes...
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| Publicado en: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/jso, |
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| Auteurs principaux: | , , , |
| Formato: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Idioma: | Anglais |
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Journal de la société des océanistes
2020
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| Acceso en liña: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Résumé: | The Taputapuatea marae of Ra’iatea is an emblematic landmark known throughout the world and sacred place for the Ma’ohi of Eastern Polynesia and the centre of a vast political-religious-cultural network in the Polynesian triangle. The erected stones constituting the ahu have been described as “limestone slabs” without precision by previous authors. These are in fact microatolls: corals (Porites) living in very shallow water and developing laterally, with a growth in height being limited by the lowest tide at the time of growth. A total of 38 samples were U/Th dated, of which 19 microatolls result in ages between 3 and 5 millennia. These are fossil microatolls that existed at a Holocene sea level of 0.80 m higher than today, when the Polynesians had not yet arrived. Other samples (molluscs, coral filling blocks) date back to the construction of the marae during the 17th-18th centuries. We hypothesize that the erected microatolls of the ahu were collected by Polynesians at the site and that others are still underground. |
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