Skeletal and Dental Health of Precontact Marquesans: The Bioarchaeology of the Human Skeletons from Ha‘atuatua, Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands

Precontact Marquesans exhibited generally good health, contrary to expectations of increased disease and warfare during the Expansion Period. Analysis of 81 skeletons from Ha'atuatua, Nuku Hiva, revealed few signs of significant palaeopathology in adults and no marked sex differences in health indicators. While subadults showed evidence of infection, anemia, or metabolic disease, with many dying in infancy, their health patterns mirrored those observed in other East Polynesian populations. The study suggests that the precontact inhabitants were robust, with males comparable in stature to other East Polynesians. Elevated stress fractures in adults may indicate labor-intensive activities related to landscape changes and megalithic construction. This bioarchaeological research challenges previous assumptions about health and lifestyle during this period.

Pietrusewsky, M., Douglas, M. T., & Ikehara-Quebral, R. M. (2020). Skeletal and Dental Health of Precontact Marquesans: The Bioarchaeology of the Human Skeletons from Ha‘atuatua, Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands. Asian Perspectives, 59(2), 244–298. https://doi.org/10.1353/asi.2020.0015