Identification of Carbonized Breadfruit ( Artocarpus altilis ) Skin: Refining Site Function and Site Specialization in the Society Islands, East Polynesia

Abstract

Using systematic flotation, we recovered small carbonized fragments of breadfruit skin (exocarp) from a house site dated to the late prehistoric period on the island of Mo'orea in the Society Islands archipelago (East Polynesia). Our find is the first record of the fruit of breadfruit from Oceanic archaeobotanical material. Utilizing direct ethnographic analogy, our analysis of the archaeological breadfruit remains, including their context and morphology, and their comparison with experimentally charred modern reference samples of breadfruit exocarp, suggests that these remains resulted from the practice of roasting breadfruit. Taken as a whole, these data provide evidence for the practice of breadfruit roasting in the past. More importantly, the evidence contributes new information on site function in the context of a larger study concerning late prehistoric household variability. The case study broadly supports how paleoethnobotanical data can provide supporting evidence for inferring site function and site specialization.

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