Islands and cultures : how Pacific Islands provide paths toward sustainability / Kamanamaikalani Beamer, Te Maire Tau, Peter M. Vitousek ; with Atholl Anderson, Oliver A. Chadwick, T. Kaeo Duarte, Sonia Haoa, Patrick V. Kirch, Natalie Kurashima, Thegan N. Ladefoged, Noa K. Lincoln, Pamela A. Matson, Christopher M. Stevenson, Mehana Blaich Vaughan, Kawika B. Winter.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-220) and index.
Contents:
Introduction -- Part I: Background. Who are the Polynesians and what is Polynesia? -- Polynesian islands as model social-environmental systems -- Part II: Narratives of islands and societies. Hawai'i -- Rapa Nui (Easter Island) rock gardens -- Tikopia: a 3,000 year journey toward sustainability -- Mahinga kai nō Tonganui (New Zealand): Making a living in South Polynesia, 1250-1800 -- Part III: Comparisons and syntheses. The hidden pā of knowledge and the mind of Māori -- Similarities and differences in island social-environmental systems -- Sustainability in Polynesian island societies
Summary:
"Humans began to settle the area we know as Polynesia between 3,000 and 800 years ago, bringing with them material culture, including plants and animals, and ideas about societal organization, and then adapting to the specific biophysical features of the islands they discovered. The authors of this book analyze the formation of their human-environment systems using oral histories, biophysical evidence, and historical records, arguing that the Polynesian islands can serve as useful models for how human societies in general interact with their environments. The islands' clearly defined (and relatively isolated) environments, comparatively recent discovery by humans, and innovative and dynamic societies allow for insights not available when studying other cultures. Kamana Beamer, Te Maire Tau, and Peter Vitousek have collaborated with a dozen other scholars, many of them Polynesian, to show how these cultures adapted to novel environments in the past and how we can draw insights for global sustainability today."--Publisher description.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.