Berkeley Geochronology Center, Berkeley, CA 94709, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Jul 27;107(30):13234-9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1005063107. Epub 2010 Jul 7.
In Polynesia, the complex Society Islands chiefdoms constructed elaborate temples (marae), some of which reached monumental proportions and were associated with human sacrifice in the 'Oro cult. We investigated the development of temples on Mo'orea Island by 230Th/U dating of corals used as architectural elements (facing veneers, cut-and-dressed blocks, and offerings). The three largest coastal marae (associated with the highest-ranked chiefly lineages) and 19 marae in the inland 'Opunohu Valley containing coral architectural elements were dated. Fifteen corals from the coastal temples meet geochemical criteria for accurate 230Th/U dating, yield reproducible ages for each marae, and have a mean uncertainty of 9 y (2sigma). Of 41 corals from wetter inland sites, 12 show some diagenesis and may yield unreliable ages; however, the majority (32) of inland dates are considered accurate. We also obtained six 14C dates on charcoal from four marae. The dates indicate that temple architecture on Mo'orea Island developed rapidly over a period of approximately 140 y (ca. AD 1620-1760), with the largest coastal temples constructed immediately before initial European contact (AD 1767). The result of a seriation of architectural features corresponds closely with this chronology. Acropora coral veneers were superceded by cut-and-dressed Porites coral blocks on altar platforms, followed by development of multitier stepped altar platforms and use of pecked basalt stones associated with the late 'Oro cult. This example demonstrates that elaboration of ritual architecture in complex societies may be surprisingly rapid.
在波利尼西亚，复杂的社会群岛酋长国建造了精心制作的寺庙（玛拉埃），其中一些达到了巨大的规模，并与“奥罗”教的人祭有关。我们通过对用作建筑元素（贴面、切割和修整的石块以及祭品）的珊瑚进行 230Th/U 年代测定，研究了莫雷阿岛上寺庙的发展。对三个最大的沿海玛拉埃（与最高等级的主要世系有关）和内陆“奥普诺胡”山谷的 19 个有珊瑚建筑元素的玛拉埃进行了年代测定。来自沿海寺庙的 15 块珊瑚符合精确 230Th/U 年代测定的地球化学标准，为每个玛拉埃提供了可重复的年龄，平均不确定性为 9 年（2sigma）。来自较潮湿内陆地点的 41 块珊瑚中，有 12 块显示出一些成岩作用，可能产生不可靠的年龄；然而，大多数（32）内陆日期被认为是准确的。我们还从四个玛拉埃获得了六个基于木炭的 14C 日期。这些日期表明，莫雷阿岛上的寺庙建筑在大约 140 年的时间里迅速发展（约公元 1620-1760 年），最大的沿海寺庙在与欧洲人首次接触（公元 1767 年）之前立即建造。建筑特征的排序结果与这一年代学密切相关。在祭坛平台上，珊瑚贴面被切割和修整的多孔珊瑚块取代，随后发展了多层台阶祭坛平台，并使用了与晚期“奥罗”教有关的啄刻玄武岩石块。这个例子表明，复杂社会中仪式建筑的精致化可能非常迅速。
