PASTAtolls

Pacific atolls are at the forefront of debates about effects of global warming and sea-level rise. The resilience capacities of atoll-dwelling populations often dominate discussions although with none or very little consideration for the long history of human occupation and adaptation to the hostile and restricting environmental conditions of these peculiar islands. To shed light on such complex processes, the PASTAtolls project offers a multidisciplinary and multifocal approach of atolls’ socio-ecosystems in Central-East Polynesia (today’s French Polynesia) over the long term. While the ecology of Polynesian atolls is well documented, dedicated Human and Social Sciences (SHS) research remains rare and heterogenous. The atolls’ societies have long been considered unable to achieve social complexity due to the supposedly constraining environments. Such environmental determinism was recently challenged thanks to archaeological and anthropological studies mostly led by members of our team. However, our knowledge on relationships and dynamics between humans and atolls is by far too incomplete. Our project aims at filling this gap by apprehending the unique lifeways of atoll-dwelling populations, both past and present, at a time when they are facing new challenges, especially climate changes. The project is fourfold: 1. Refining the chronology of geological history and human occupation on the Polynesian atolls; 2. Documenting the timing and processes of plants and animals’ introductions and their impact on ecosystems; 3. Reconstructing traditional knowledge and technical know-how now threatened of disappearance; 4. Examining symbolic representations of atolls environments through the investigation of ancient ritual practices. PASTAtolls is a 4-yr Collaborative Research Project (PRC), with eight partners. For the first time, it brings together specialists in archaeology, anthropology, linguistics, palaeoecology and geomorphology with long experience on Polynesian atolls. Our multidisciplinary approach, structured in eight work-packages, will be deployed on five targeted atolls in three different archipelagos, characterized by various environmental conditions and cultural backgrounds (from west to east: Teti’aroa, Niau, Anaa, Takume and Temoe). Several field seasons will allow for data collection through archaeological excavations, palaeoecological studies, and ethnographic and linguistic works. While questions and issues tackled in this project are of primary concern to the Humanities, they also participate in the diachronic perspective on biodiversity, which biologists are lacking. They will further increase our knowledge about the resilience mechanisms of Pacific populations in the face of global challenges.