M Fitzpatrick
Biographic Data
| ID | 11337 |
|---|---|
| NAME | M Fitzpatrick |
| GIVEN NAMES | M |
| FAMILY NAME | Fitzpatrick |
| SIGNATURE | FITZPATRICK M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Oregon |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7392-6061 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 94 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 715 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 94 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2001 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 15 |
Zooarchaeological Analysis of an Atoll Assemblage From Central Micronesia
There has been a dearth of archaeological research on atolls in the central‐eastern Caroline Islands of Micronesia. This has limited our understanding of pre‐contact subsistence and settlement strategies in these more marginal and remote environments, particularly in regards to zooarchaeological data. Here, we present the first analysis of faunal material recovered from Mwoakilloa (Mokil) atoll with occupation dating between ca. 1700 calBP to the…
Leviathan’s Revenge: Seafaring Simulations, Deep History and the Rise of Computational Modelling
Chronology building in the Ancestral Florida Keys
Provenance of pottery from the Florida Keys: A geochemical pilot study
Island archaeology provides ecological and behavioral analogs for off-planet exploration and colonization
Ancient numismatists and the seasteading movement
I read with great interest how the Nordic krone, Venezuelan petro, and New Russian ruble alternative currencies emerged as a result of the US dollar's crash in 2040. As an archeologist and scholar of more traditional forms of currency (what might more accurately be termed exchange valuables)—and coupled with the knowledge of what has passed in the sixty years since these currencies developed—I would like to provide a temporal perspective on why t…
A probable case of leprosy from colonial period St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Southeastern Caribbean
Chemical analysis of glass beads in Palau, western Micronesia reveals 19th century inter-island exchange systems in transition
Collagen fingerprinting of Caribbean archaeological fish bones: Methodological implications for historical fisheries baselines and anthropogenic change
Petrographic analysis of Pre-Columbian pottery from Nevis, Eastern Caribbean
Rescue recovery of the earliest known burials from Barbuda, West Indies (ca. 3560–3220 cal years BP)
The majority of archaeological sites in the Caribbean are under threat from various natural and cultural processes. This is particularly true for the smaller and more vulnerable islands in the Lesser Antilles. Here we report on the 2001 rescue recovery of human skeletal remains that were observed to be actively eroding into the sea at Boiling Rock, an Archaic Age site along the southeast coast of Barbuda. Analysis of the remains, representing thr…
Temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis at Chelechol ra Orrak, Palau
Banking on Stone Money: Ancient Antecedents to Bitcoin
Centuries ago in western Micronesia, Yapese islanders sailed to the Palauan archipelago 250 miles away to carve their famous stone money disks(rai)from limestone and then transported them back for use as exchange valuables in various social transactions. Whileraiwere not strictly currency, their value is similar to other traditional and modern objects where worth is arbitrarily based on both real and perceived attributes. Recently, corollaries ha…
Stable Isotope Analysis of Human Diet at Chelechol ra Orrak, Palau
Stable isotope studies of early human populations in Remote Oceania, the last major region to be settled by humans, have the potential to shed light on our understanding of dietary adaptations to small island environments. However, little research has focused on western Micronesia, which was settled ca. 3500–3000 cal B.P., contemporaneous with the better-known Lapita culture. Human skeletal remains recovered from three archaeological sites in Pal…
Evaluating the efficacy of the mollusc Tridacna crocea for reconstructing ancient sea‐surface temperatures in the Rock Islands of Palau, Micronesia
Previous stable isotope studies for shellfish collected in waters surrounding the Palauan archipelago (north‐western tropical Pacific) have demonstrated that various local shellfish taxa may be reliable recorders of their ambient water temperatures from modern and archaeological contexts. In this study, we analysed stable oxygen isotope (δ18O) signatures of Tridacna crocea from the archaeological site of Metuker ra Bisech (B:IR‐2:24) to reconstru…
Archaeological Reconnaissance and the First Radiocarbon Dates From Simbo Island, Western Province, Solomon Islands
Recent archaeological fieldwork on the island of Simbo in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands has identified several new prehistoric sites. Here, we present the results of our research along with the first radiocarbon dates from Simbo. These dates and associated ceramic sherds provide a chronological and stylistic link to other islands with post-Lapita pottery and is an important step for understanding the human occupational history of th…
Island Archaeology, Model Systems, the Anthropocene, and How the Past Informs the Future
The use of islands as ‘model systems’ has become particularly relevant for examining a host of important issues in archaeology and other disciplines. As papers in this special issue of the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology demonstrate, islands can serve as critical and ideal analytical platforms for observing human populations in the past and their evolutionary histories within complex and insular human ecodynamics. In this paper we addre…
Radiocarbon dating and Bayesian modelling of one of Remote Oceania's oldest cemeteries at Chelechol ra Orrak, Palau
New archaeological insights from petrographic analysis of ceramics from the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Panama
New Investigations of Early Prehistoric Settlement on Yap, Western Caroline Islands
Δ 18 O Analyses of the Humpbacked Conch ( Gibberulus gibberulus ): Evaluating a Proxy for Reconstructing Sea-Surface Temperature at Chelechol ra Orrak, Palau
In Palau, Micronesia, marine resources, particularly shellfish, played a vital role in human subsistence for millennia. Despite the vast array of molluscan species in archaeological assemblages, there is a dearth of data on nearshore palaeoecology or prehistoric shellfish foraging practices. In this study, we analysed stable oxygen isotopes (δ18O) values present in the calcium carbonate shell of Gibberulus gibberulus from the Chelechol ra Orrak a…
Were Hominins in California ∼130,000 Years Ago
In a controversial study published in Nature, Holen et al. (2017) claim that hominins fractured mastodon bones and teeth with stone cobbles in California ∼130,000 years ago. Their claim implies a human colonization of the New World more than 110,000 years earlier than the oldest widely accepted archaeological sites in the Americas. It is also at odds with genetic and fossil evidence for the dispersal of anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) o…
Reconstructing prehistoric fishing zones in Palau, Micronesia using fish remains: A blind test of inter‐analyst correspondence
Archaeologists routinely reconstruct the types of marine environments fished by past human societies in order to understand economic systems, foraging behaviour, maritime technology and seafaring abilities. These reconstructions are based on ecological data provided by archaeofish identifications, but can be problematic where coarse‐grained designations, such as inshore or pelagic, are used, or the influence of fish behaviour and life history tra…
Disproving claims for small-bodied humans in the Palauan archipelago
Prey body size and anthropogenic resource depression: The decline of prehistoric fishing at Chelechol ra Orrak, Palau
Oceans, Islands, and Coasts: Current Perspectives on the Role of the Sea in Human Prehistory
Archaeological studies of island and coastal societies have advanced significantly over the years. Long marginalized as relatively recent developments, coastal, maritime, and island adaptations are now recognized as having a much longer and more complex history. Consequently, the archaeology of island and coastal societies has become increasingly relevant to a variety of important anthropological and historical topics. In this paper, we discuss s…
Archeology, deep history, and the human transformation of island ecosystems
Recent Progress, Trends, and Developments in Island and Coastal Archaeology
In the first issue of the Journal of Island & Coastal Archaeology published 10 years ago, Erlandson and Fitzpatrick (2006) outlined eight topics which demonstrated why island and coastal archaeology were relevant to understanding a host of issues related to human cultural and biological evolution across time and space. Here, we evaluate recent trends and developments in island and coastal archaeology and discuss how research over the last decade …
Evidence for size increase in an exploited mollusc: Humped conch (Strombus gibberulus) at Chelechol ra Orrak, Palau from ca. 3000–0 BP
Prehistoric migration in the Caribbean: Past perspectives, new models and the ideal free distribution of West Indian colonization
Historically, archaeologists have pursued two basic approaches to prehistoric Caribbean colonization: those relying on historical narratives and those informed by theoretical modelling. With few exceptions, the latter have not been widely employed. Here, we introduce a behavioural ecology model used in Pacific archaeology, the ideal free distribution (IFD), to understand Caribbean migration and island settlement as a form of adaptive behaviour. W…
Intensifying collection and size increase of the tessellated nerite snail (Nerita tessellata) at the Coconut Walk site, Nevis, northern Lesser Antilles, AD 890–1440
Prehistoric fishing in Palau, Micronesia: Evidence from the Northern Rock Islands
We report on an assemblage of well preserved fish remains recovered from the site of Chelechol ra Orrak in the Rock Islands of Palau. This is only the second such study to date in Palau and one of the few for the region, indicating the need to better understand the role marine resources played in the adaptation and development of early Micronesian societies. Results demonstrate that Palauans were fishing by at least 1700 BP, several hundred years…
Sr and Pb isotopic investigation of mammal introductions: Pre-Columbian zoogeographic records from the Lesser Antilles, West Indies
Early human burials in the western Pacific: Evidence for c.3000 year old occupation on Palau
The author reports the oldest human skeletal assemblage found so far in the pacific Islands: at the site of Chalechol Ra Orrak on Palau, Micronesia
Communication and Understanding in Parent-Adolescent Relationships
This research examined communication and parent-adolescent understanding, including understanding about family conflicts, adolescent self-concepts, and immediate thoughts (or empathic accuracy). Fifty parent-adolescent triads completed questionnaires, held a discussion, and reported on immediate thoughts during the discussion using video-assisted recall methods. Alternative measures of understanding produced distinct results. Parental understandi…
Petrography and Provenance of Sand Temper Within Ceramic Sherds from Carriacou, Southern Grenadines, West Indies
Petrographic descriptions and point counts of sherds from archaeological sites on Carriacou, the largest of the Grenadine Islands, show them to exhibit wide textural (temper to matrix ratio) and compositional variability. The major mineralogical components include plagioclase feldspar, pyroxene (augite), amphibole (hornblende), opaque minerals, and various volcaniclastic fragments, the latter exhibiting mostly either lathwork or microlitic textur…
Were Hominins in California ∼130,000 Years Ago
In a controversial study published in Nature, Holen et al. (2017) claim that hominins fractured mastodon bones and teeth with stone cobbles in California ∼130,000 years ago. Their claim implies a human colonization of the New World more than 110,000 years earlier than the oldest widely accepted archaeological sites in the Americas. It is also at odds with genetic and fossil evidence for the dispersal of anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) o…
Marginalization of the Margins: The Importance of Smaller Islands in Human Prehistory
Across the world's seas and oceans, archaeological research focused on islands has generally privileged those that are larger in size. Explanations for this phenomenon range from the (mis)perception by scholars that prehistoric peoples were more attracted to the presumed greater number and diversity of resources typically available on larger islands, to the ephemeral aspect of archaeological evidence on smaller land areas. These are coupled with …
Temporal trends in prehistoric fishing in Palau, Micronesia over the last 1500 years
Previous research at the Chelechol ra Orrak site in Palau, Micronesia suggested that fishing may have declined prehistorically over the past two thousand years. Here we discuss the analysis of an additional suite of archaeofish remains recovered from the site that significantly expands the size of the previous assemblage, providing a more robust interpretation of prehistoric fishing in the archipelago. Results indicate that although all phases of…
Preliminary investigations of the Chelechol ra Orrak Cemetery, Republic of Palau: I, skeletal biology and paleopathology
The Pacific Islands were the last major geographic region settled by humans. The physical remains of these settlers, who probably arrived within the last 4500 years, are rare. At the Chelechol ra Orrak site in the Palau archipelago of Micronesia, the discovery of a cemetery dating to near 3000 BP presents an opportunity to examine what portends to be a large sample of the earliest peoples to inhabit the western Pacific. This report is intended as…
Islands of Isolation: Archaeology and the Power of Aquatic Perimeters
Isolation has contributed over time to the development of humans culturally and biologically. The concept of isolation was popular in earlier anthropological and archaeological discussions of island settlement, but it has waned in favor of models emphasizing interaction. Although many islanders around the world developed sophisticated techniques for seafaring, these did not assure them of constant access to other peoples or places. Using case stu…
The Role of Small Islands in Marine Subsistence Strategies: Case Studies from the Caribbean
Archaeological investigation of Omis Cave: A Yapese stone money quarry in Palau
Stone money disks, predominantly quarried in Palau, were part of a complex political economy on Yap and obtained through a series of exchange relations with Palauan clans or villages. Though ethnographic and ethnohistorical records provide some insight into this exchange relationship, a lack of archaeological data has prevented a better understanding of the methods involved in stone money production and how quarry sites were used by Yapese. I pre…
Evidence for inter-island transport of heirlooms: Luminescence dating and petrographic analysis of ceramic inhaling bowls from Carriacou, West Indies
Examining Prehistoric Migration Patterns in the Palauan Archipelago: A Computer Simulated Analysis of Drift Voyaging
A number of recent genetic, linguistic, and archaeological studies have attempted to ascertain the origin of settlers to the Palauan archipelago, but it remains a complex and debated issue. To provide additional insight into colonization strategies and settlement patterns, we conducted computer simulations of drift voyages to the Palauan archipelago based on historically recorded winds and currents. Drift voyages were considered here as drifting …
On the Relative Isolation of a Micronesian Archipelago during the Historic Period: The Palau Case-Study
Contact between Europeans and Pacific Islanders beginning in the early 1500s was both accidental and intentional. Many factors played a role in determining when contacts occurred, but some islands remained virtually isolated from European influence for decades or even centuries. We use Palau as a case-study for examining why this archipelago was free from direct European contact until 1783, despite repeated attempts by the Spanish to reach it fro…
Intensified mollusk exploitation on Nevis (West Indies) reveals ~six centuries of sustainable exploitation
Testing the efficacy and reliability of common zooarchaeological sampling strategies: A case study from the Caribbean
Ceramic petrography and cultural interaction in Palau, Micronesia
The maritime transport of prehistoric megaliths in Micronesia
This paper examines Micronesian examples of megalithic transport, focusing particularly on the ocean transport of the famous stone money disks quarried in Palau by Yapese Islanders and moved back to Yap prior to European contact. Using a combination of climatic, oceanographic, ethnohistorical, ethnographic, and archaeological data, we examine the maritime technologies that the Yapese could have used to transport stone money across several hundred…
Archaeological investigation of Omis Cave: A Yapese stone money quarry in Palau
Stone money disks, predominantly quarried in Palau, were part of a complex political economy on Yap and obtained through a series of exchange relations with Palauan clans or villages. Though ethnographic and ethnohistorical records provide some insight into this exchange relationship, a lack of archaeological data has prevented a better understanding of the methods involved in stone money production and how quarry sites were used by Yapese. I pre…
A massive undertaking: Examining Stone Money in Its Archaeological Context
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Ceramic petrography and cultural interaction in Palau, Micronesia
Early human burials in the western Pacific: Evidence for c.3000 year old occupation on Palau
The author reports the oldest human skeletal assemblage found so far in the pacific Islands: at the site of Chalechol Ra Orrak on Palau, Micronesia
A Preliminary Report on the Excavation at Grand Bay, Carriacou, West Indies, June 28th-July 31st 2004
Continued Archaeological Investigations at Grand Bay, Carriacou, West Indies (May 23rd-July 22nd 2005), and the Impact of Hurricanes and Other Erosive Processes
Prehistoric fishing in Palau, Micronesia: Evidence from the Northern Rock Islands
We report on an assemblage of well preserved fish remains recovered from the site of Chelechol ra Orrak in the Rock Islands of Palau. This is only the second such study to date in Palau and one of the few for the region, indicating the need to better understand the role marine resources played in the adaptation and development of early Micronesian societies. Results demonstrate that Palauans were fishing by at least 1700 BP, several hundred years…
Communication and Understanding in Parent-Adolescent Relationships
This research examined communication and parent-adolescent understanding, including understanding about family conflicts, adolescent self-concepts, and immediate thoughts (or empathic accuracy). Fifty parent-adolescent triads completed questionnaires, held a discussion, and reported on immediate thoughts during the discussion using video-assisted recall methods. Alternative measures of understanding produced distinct results. Parental understandi…
The Archaeology of Islands and Coastlines
Welcome to the inaugural issue of the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology (JICA). For several years we have worked with numerous colleagues and staff from Taylor & Francis/Routledge to establ
Compositional analysis of Yayoi-Heian period ceramics from Okinawa: Examining the potential for provenance study
In Okinawa, locally produced pottery dates back to the Initial Jomon period ( ̃6500 14C yr B.P.). Later in time, especially during the Early Yayoi-Heian period ( ̃300 B.C.–A.D. 300), ceramic assemblages appear to contain mainland (Japan) Yayoi pottery. A greater number of these sherds present in Okinawa over time coincide with an increasing amount of interaction with mainland Japan, as evidenced by other exchange items. In this preliminary study,…
Metal Tools and the Transformation of an Oceanic Exchange System
Coastal Erosion and Site Destruction on Carriacou, West Indies
Archaeological investigations on the island of Carriacou in the southern Lesser Antilles, west Indies, have revealed prehistoric sites dating from CAL A.D. 400 to 1400. Grand Bay is one of the largest and archaeologically richest sites on the island and in the region, but is rapidly succumbing to erosion from natural forces and human activities. A similar problem affects the site of Sabazan. Both sites are located on the windward east coast of th…
Preliminary investigations of the Chelechol ra Orrak Cemetery, Republic of Palau: I, skeletal biology and paleopathology
The Pacific Islands were the last major geographic region settled by humans. The physical remains of these settlers, who probably arrived within the last 4500 years, are rare. At the Chelechol ra Orrak site in the Palau archipelago of Micronesia, the discovery of a cemetery dating to near 3000 BP presents an opportunity to examine what portends to be a large sample of the earliest peoples to inhabit the western Pacific. This report is intended as…
The maritime transport of prehistoric megaliths in Micronesia
This paper examines Micronesian examples of megalithic transport, focusing particularly on the ocean transport of the famous stone money disks quarried in Palau by Yapese Islanders and moved back to Yap prior to European contact. Using a combination of climatic, oceanographic, ethnohistorical, ethnographic, and archaeological data, we examine the maritime technologies that the Yapese could have used to transport stone money across several hundred…
Oceans, Islands, and Coasts: Current Perspectives on the Role of the Sea in Human Prehistory
Archaeological studies of island and coastal societies have advanced significantly over the years. Long marginalized as relatively recent developments, coastal, maritime, and island adaptations are now recognized as having a much longer and more complex history. Consequently, the archaeology of island and coastal societies has become increasingly relevant to a variety of important anthropological and historical topics. In this paper, we discuss s…
Human impacts and adaptations in the Caribbean Islands: An historical ecology approach
Archaeological investigations demonstrate that peoples first settled the Caribbean islands approximately 6000–7000 years ago. At least four major, and multiple minor, migrations took place over the next millennia by peoples from Mesoamerica and South America who practised various subsistence strategies and had different levels of technology. For decades, researchers have been interested in investigating how these groups adapted to and impacted in…
Straw Boats and the Proverbial Sea: A Response to ‘Island Archaeology: In Search of a New Horizon’
In a recent ISJ paper, “Island Archaeology: In Search of a New Horizon”, Boomert and Bright (2007) argue that the field of “island archaeology” should be replaced by an “archaeology of maritime identity”. We disagree and counter that although islands share many physical, biological, and cultural similarities with continental coasts, coastal zones also grade uninterruptedly into riverine, lacustrine, and terrestrial landscapes, raising questions a…
Archaeology’s Contribution to Island Studies
Archaeology has, and will continue to make, some important contributions to the broad field of ‘island studies’. In this essay, I discuss four major topics in island archaeology that are helping to shape the way we think about islands. These include: (1) seafaring and the human maritime diaspora; (2) the effects of aquatic boundaries and isolation; (3) historical ecology and the impacts of humans on island ecosystems; and (4) climate change, sea …
Archaeological Research in the Grenadine Islands, West Indies
The Grenadines, part of the Lesser Antilles, are a chain of six major and numerous smaller islands in the southern Caribbean located approximately 200 km north of Venezuela and which stretch for ab
Highlighting the Significance of Island and Coastal Archaeology
With this first issue of Volume 2 of the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology (JICA), we enter our second year as editors of the only international, peer-reviewed journal fully dedicated to is
On the Relative Isolation of a Micronesian Archipelago during the Historic Period: The Palau Case-Study
Contact between Europeans and Pacific Islanders beginning in the early 1500s was both accidental and intentional. Many factors played a role in determining when contacts occurred, but some islands remained virtually isolated from European influence for decades or even centuries. We use Palau as a case-study for examining why this archipelago was free from direct European contact until 1783, despite repeated attempts by the Spanish to reach it fro…
A Fall from Grace? National Unity and the Search for Naval Power and Colonial Possessions 1848--1884
Traditionally, German naval and colonial agitation has been discussed as a late nineteenth-century development that signaled the cooption of many German liberals to a conservative policy of imperialism. This has been posited by many historians as antithetical to the true nature and objectives of political liberalism. Those few commentators that have noted the naval and colonial agitation of liberals during the early and mid-nineteenth century hav…
Seafaring simulations and the origin of prehistoric settlers to Madagascar
Maritime interregional interaction in Micronesia: Deciphering multi-group contacts and exchange systems through time
Islands of Isolation: Archaeology and the Power of Aquatic Perimeters
Isolation has contributed over time to the development of humans culturally and biologically. The concept of isolation was popular in earlier anthropological and archaeological discussions of island settlement, but it has waned in favor of models emphasizing interaction. Although many islanders around the world developed sophisticated techniques for seafaring, these did not assure them of constant access to other peoples or places. Using case stu…
Geography (73 works) · Archaeology (71 works) · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies (63 works) · History (53 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (44 works) · History (36 works) · Geology (30 works) · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology (30 works) · Biology (29 works) · Ecology (21 works)