The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology

ISSN: 1556-4894 (Print) 1556-1828 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/uica20

Islands as Model Environments

Robert J. DiNapoli & Thomas P. Leppard

To cite this article: Robert J. DiNapoli & Thomas P. Leppard (2018) Islands as Model
Environments, The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 13:2, 157-160, DOI:
10.1080/15564894.2017.1311285

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/15564894.2017.1311285

Published online: 25 Apr 2018.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 159

View Crossmark data

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=uica20
The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 13:157–160, 2018
Copyright C 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

ISSN: 1556-4894 print / 1556-1828 online

DOI: 10.1080/15564894.2017.1311285

Guest Editor’s Corner

Islands as Model Environments

Robert J. DiNapoli1 and Thomas P. Leppard1,2
1
Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
2
McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge,
Cambridge, UK

INTRODUCTION Fitzhugh and Hunt 1997; Rainbird 1999;

Islands have long been important locales for
the study of ecology and evolution. This
utility stems from several distinctive char-
acteristics of islands, such as their inherent
boundedness, relative isolation, and biogeo-
graphical variability. In addition, many of
the world’s island regions were colonized
by populations from similar mainland ar-
eas who then diversified along several di-
mensions of biological and cultural variabil-
ity. As such, the evolutionary histories of
human populations on islands offer unique
opportunities for exploring the causes and
consequences of biocultural diversity and
human interaction with natural environ-
ments (Kirch 1997). Early discussions of
the importance of islands for archaeology
focused on viewing them as “natural ex-
periments” or “cultural laboratories” where
we could study cultural change in suppos-
edly controlled, isolated environments (e.g.,
Clark and Terrell 1978; Evans 1973, 1977;
Goodenough 1957; Keegan and Diamond
1987; Kirch 1986; Mead 1957; Sahlins 1955;
Vayda and Rappaport 1963). This view of
islands as laboratories has, however, been
contested (e.g., Boomert and Bright 2007;
Terrell et al. 1997), namely on the grounds
that few islands were ever truly isolated
(see Fitzpatrick and Anderson 2008). In re-
cent years, island archaeologists have refor-
mulated the approach as one that instead
views island environments and the histories
of their prehistoric populations as models
of coupled human and natural systems, or
human ecodynamics (Kirch 2007a, 2007b;
Rick et al. 2013; Vitousek 2002). This spe-
cial issue continues in this vein and includes
several papers on the uses of islands as
model environments with case studies in
the Pacific, Mediterranean, and Caribbean.
ISLANDS AS MODELS
Scientific models serve as simplified rep-
resentations of a pattern or process to
aid in the explanation of the empirical
world. Although islanders are no more
simple or complex than their continental
counterparts, there are several characteris-
tics of islands that make the conception
of them as model environments especially
salient. First, the nature of islands as partic-
ularly discrete and circumscribed terrestrial

Received 1 March 2017; accepted 22 March 2017.

Address correspondence to Robert J. DiNapoli, Department of Anthropology, University of Ore-
gon, 308 Condon Hall, 1218 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1299, USA. E-mail:
rdinapol@cas.uoregon.edu

157
 Robert J. DiNapoli and Thomas P. Leppard
landscapes render them as distinct and sim-
plified forms of more general kinds of habi-
tat patches (Terrell 1999). This combination
of inherent boundedness and the tremen-
dous biogeographical variability of island
sizes, climates, geologies, and marine and
terrestrial ecologies provides a plethora of
arrangements of environmental parameters
in spatially delineated units. Comparative
documentation and explanation of the var-
ied prehistoric outcomes in these different
environmental configurations yields model
case studies of human ecodynamics (Kirch
1997, 2007a). Second, the relative isolation
of islands from the mainland causes there
to be a clear “starting point” for their pre-
histories, providing a definite temporal unit
to explore the settlement of and adapta-
tion to new landscapes (although we note
that, with regard to specifics, the issue of
initial colonization as opposed to exploita-
tion or seasonal occupation is, for many is-
lands, still a matter of contention or sub
judice [e.g., Dawson 2014 for the Mediter-
ranean]). Third, relative isolation has often
resulted in generally low-diversity, compar-
atively responsive, and thereby vulnerable
native biota, providing unrivaled opportuni-
ties for studying impacts on variable ecosys-
tems (Anderson 2002; Fitzpatrick and
Keegan 2007; Kirch and Hunt 1997; Losos
and Ricklefs 2010; MacArthur and Wilson
1967; Rick et al. 2013). In sum, the often
clear spatial and temporal boundaries of is-
land environments and their prehistories,
coupled with the varied mixture of physi-
cal and ecological parameters, result in suit-
able (or even ideal) model environments for
archaeological analyses.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SPECIAL
ISSUE
The articles presented in this special issue
examine many of these uses of islands as
model systems. The contribution by Ander-
son (2018) focuses on the very early human
dispersal into the Western Pacific and
offers a compelling argument that initial
colonization can be most parsimoniously
explained using a simple model of ecologi-
158 VOLUME 13 • ISSUE 2 • 2018
cal contingency—this research clearly has
broader implications for pre-Holocene
maritime dispersal more widely (see
Dennell et al. 2014; Runnels 2014). Cherry
and Leppard (2018) synthesize current
data on the initial pre-Neolithic settle-
ment of the Mediterranean and explore
the biogeographical patterns and strate-
gies for Neolithic colonization of new
environments. Their study, as well as the
contributions by Ramis (2018), Pilaar Birch
(2018), and Giovas (2018) provide ex-
amples of how the often low terrestrial
biodiversity of islands can make them
marginal for human subsistence, often ne-
cessitating the translocation of non-native
plant and animal foods, or so-called “trans-
ported landscapes.” Ramis (2018) and Pilaar
Birch (2018), working at opposite ends
of the Mediterranean, nonetheless under-
score in their contributions the relative
elasticity of Old World agropastoralism
(as contrasted with late hunter-gatherer
lifeways), permitting flexible adaptations to
some of the Mediterranean’s most marginal
islands, leading to the emergence of truly
anthropogenic biophysical systems. Issues
of human impacts are also taken up in the
articles by Harris and Weisler (2018) and
Giovas (2018). Harris and Weisler (2018)
review both modern and archaeological
studies on human impacts on marine
mollusks and provide an important contri-
bution to research on the effects of human
predation on coastal ecosystems. Similarly,
Giovas (2018) synthesizes recent research
on the island of Carriacou in the Caribbean
and documents a complex interplay of
human impacts, sustainable resource use,
and responses to climatic uncertainty. In
addition to the contributions by Giovas
(2018) and Harris and Weisler (2018),
DiNapoli et al. (2018) also provide a com-
parative examination of human adaptations
to small island ecosystems, in particular
environmental influences on cooperation
and competition over limited resources.
CONCLUSION
Although island archaeology has moved be-
yond the simplistic “islands as laboratories”

view, islands continue to be used as mod-
els for coupled human and natural sys-
tems, or human ecodynamics. Island en-
vironments have the potential to serve as
useful case studies for a range of impor-
tant topics in world prehistory, especially
when approached comparatively. The arti-
cles in this issue demonstrate the potential
of islands as models for broader archaeolog-
ical topics, such as historical ecology, pop-
ulation dispersals, interaction, subsistence
change, conflict and territoriality, impacts
on native biota, and sociocultural evolution.
They also, we suggest, hint at how pro-
cesses, which have been enacted in minia-
ture on islands throughout the Holocene,
may operate on a global scale. It is not
inaccurate to suggest that the dynamics
of the current planetary biodiversity crisis
(Ceballos et al. 2015) parallel, albeit on
scales separated by orders of magnitude,
microcosmic invasion/extinction processes
on islands during human colonization. At a
time in which archaeology must loudly and
explicitly re-state its relevance and its con-
nections to research questions that cross
academic boundaries, our ability to under-
stand the social and cultural repercussions
of ecodynamic processes (rather than artifi-
cially separating historical ecology from po-
litical ecology) in comparative terms will be
vital. On that basis, we optimistically note
that in a recent review of island archaeol-
ogy, Fitzpatrick et al. (2015) note the use
of the ‘model environments’ framework as
one of the main developments in the field
over the last 10 years, and we hope this vol-
ume stimulates further development of this
framework in the years to come.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank Scott M. Fitzpatrick and Todd
Braje for inviting us to guest edit this spe-
cial issue of JICA, and to all the partici-
pants of the 2016 Society for American Ar-
chaeology symposium in Orlando, FL, ti-
tled “Model Environments: Human Ecody-
namics on Islands.”
THE JOURNAL OF ISLAND AND COASTAL ARCHAEOLOGY
Islands as Model Environments
REFERENCES
Anderson, A. 2002. Faunal collapse, land-
scape change and settlement history in Re-
mote Oceania. World Archaeology 33(3):
375–390.
Anderson, A. 2018. Ecological contingency ac-
counts for earliest seagoing in the western
Pacific Ocean. The Journal of Island and
Coastal Archaeology 13(2):224–234.
Boomert, A. and A. Bright. 2007. Island archaeol-
ogy: in search of a new horizon. Island Studies
Journal 2:3–26.
Ceballos, G., P. R., Ehrlich, A. D., Barnosky,
A., García, R. M., Pringle, and T. M.
Palmer. 2015. Accelerated modern human–
induced species losses: Entering the sixth
mass extinction. Science Advances 1(5).
doi:10.1126/sciadv.1400253
Cherry, J. F. and T. P. Leppard. 2018. Pattern-
ing and its causation in the Pre-Neolithic col-
onization of the Mediterranean islands (Late
Pleistocene to Early Holocene). The Journal
of Island and Coastal Archaeology 13(2):
191–205.
Clark, J. T. and J. Terrell. 1978. Archaeology
in Oceania. Annual Review of Anthropology
7:293–319.
Dawson, H. 2014. Mediterranean Voyages: The
Archaeology of Island Colonisation and
Abandonment. Institute of Archeology Publi-
cations 62. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.
Dennell, R. W., J. Louys, H. J. O’Regan, and D. M.
Wilkinson. 2014. The origins and persistence
of Homo floresiensis on Flores: Biogeograph-
ical and ecological perspectives. Quaternary
Science Reviews 96:98–107.
DiNapoli, R. J., A. E. Morrison, C. P. Lipo, T. L.
Hunt, and B. G. Lane. 2018. East Polynesian
islands as models of cultural divergence: The
case of Rapa Nui and Rapa Iti. The Journal of
Island and Coastal Archaeology. 13(2):206–
223.
Evans, J. D. 1973. Islands as laboratories of cul-
tural change. In The Explanation of Culture
Change: Models in Prehistory (C. Renfrew,
ed.):517–520. London: Duckworth.
Evans, J. D. 1977. Island archaeology in the
Mediterranean: Problems and opportunities.
World Archaeology 9(1):12–26.
Fitzhugh, B. and T. L. Hunt. 1997. Introduc-
tion: Islands as laboratories: Archaeological re-
search in comparative perspective. Human
Ecology 25(3):379–383.
Fitzpatrick, S. M. and A. Anderson. 2008. Islands
of isolation: Archaeology and the power of
159
 Robert J. DiNapoli and Thomas P. Leppard
aquatic perimeters. The Journal of Island and
Coastal Archaeology 3(1):4–16.
Fitzpatrick, S. M. and W. F. Keegan. 2007. Hu-
man impacts and adaptations in the Caribbean
Islands: An historical ecology approach. Earth
and Environmental Science Transactions
of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 98(01):
29–45.
Fitzpatrick, S. M., T. C. Rick, and J. M. Erlandson.
2015. Recent progress, trends, and develop-
ments in island and coastal archaeology. The
Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology
10(1):3–27.
Giovas, C. M. 2018. Pre-Columbian Amerindian
lifeways at the Sabazan site, Carriacou, West
Indies. The Journal of Island and Coastal Ar-
chaeology 13(2):161–190.
Goodenough, W. 1957. Oceania and the problem
of controls in the study of cultural and human
evolution. Journal of the Polynesian Society
66:146–155.
Harris, M. and M. Weisler. 2018. Prehistoric hu-
man impacts to marine mollusks and inter-
tidal ecosystems in the Pacific Islands. The
Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology
13(2):235–255.
Keegan, W. F. and J. M. Diamond. 1987. Colo-
nization of islands by humans: A biogeograph-
ical perspective. Advances in Archaeological
Method and Theory 10:49–92.
Kirch, P. V. 1986. Introduction: The archaeology
of island societies. In Island Societies: Archae-
ological Approached to Evolution and Trans-
formation (P. V. Kirch, ed.):1–5. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Kirch, P. V. 1997. Microcosmic histories: Island
perspectives on “global” change. American
Anthropologist 99(1):30–42.
Kirch, P. V. 2007a. Three islands and an
archipelago: Reciprocal interactions between
humans and island ecosystems. Earth and
Environmental Science Transaction of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh 98:85–99.
Kirch, P. V. 2007b. Hawaii as a model system for
human ecodynamics. American Anthropolo-
gist 109(1):8–26.
Kirch, P. V. and T. L. Hunt. 1997. Historical
Ecology in the Pacific Islands: Prehistoric
160 VOLUME 13 • ISSUE 2 • 2018
Environmental and Landscape Change. New
Haven: Yale University Press.
Losos, J. B. and R. E. Ricklefs. 2010. The Theory
of Island Biogeography Revisited. Princeton:
Princeton University Press.
MacArthur, R. H. and E. O. Wilson. 1967. The
Theory of Island Biogeography. Princeton:
Princeton University Press.
Mead, M. 1957. Introduction to Polynesia as a
laboratory for the development of models in
the study of cultural evolution. Journal of the
Polynesian Society 66:145.
Pilaar Birch, S. E. 2018. From the Aegean to the
Adriatic: Exploring the earliest Neolithic is-
land fauna. The Journal of Island and Coastal
Archaeology 13(2):256–268.
Rainbird, P. 1999. Islands out of time: Towards
a critique of island archaeology. Journal of
Mediterranean Archaeology 12(2):216–234.
Ramis, D. 2018. Animal exploitation in the
early prehistory of the Balearic Islands. The
Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology
13(2):269–282.
Rick, T. C., P. V. Kirch, J. M. Erlandson, and
S. M. Fitzpatrick. 2013. Archeology, deep his-
tory, and the human transformation of island
ecosystems. Anthropocene 4:33–45.
Runnels, C. N. 2014. Early Palaeolithic on the
Greek Islands? Journal of Mediterranean Ar-
chaeology 27(2):211–230.
Sahlins, M. 1955. Esoteric efflorescence in Easter
Island. American Anthropologist 57:1045–
1052.
Terrell, J. E. 1999. Comment on Paul Rainbird,
“Islands out of time: Towards a critique of is-
land archaeology.” Journal of Mediterranean
Archaeology 12:240–245.
Terrell, J. E., T. L. Hunt, and C. Gosden. 1997. The
dimensions of social life in the Pacific: Human
diversity and the myth of the primitive isolate.
Current Anthropology 38(2):155–195.
Vayda, A. P. and R. A. Rappaport. 1963. Island cul-
tures. In Man’s Place in the Island Ecosystem
(F. R. Fosberg, ed.):133–144. Honolulu: Bishop
Museum Press.
Vitousek, P. M. 2002. Oceanic islands as model
systems for ecological studies. Journal of Bio-
geography 29(5–6):573–582.