Linton — The Marquesas Islands 269 



rarily at peace, and some stories indicate that visits paid by one tribe to another 

 were not unknown. Such fetes and visits frequently ended in a general fight, but 

 they gave an opportunity for the exchange of ideas and objects, and tended to 

 break down any cultural differences which may have existed. Still more im- 

 portant factors in the establishment of cultural unity were the local industrial 

 specialization, and the trade which certainly existed in pre-European times. At 

 present it is difficult to determine the extent of specialization and trade. All the 

 larger valleys, at least, were able to manufacture the objects that they used, but 

 because of better materials, or of superior technical skill, particular valleys or 

 islands were recognized as preeminent in the making of objects of a certain class. 

 Thus some stone adzes were vmcjuestionably manufactured almost everywhere in 

 the group, but those made on the island of Ei Ao were of better material and 

 were regularly exported. The great size of the Ei Ao workshops would seem 

 to indicate quantity production, and it is evident that the workmen specialized in 

 the finer and less bulky forms. Similarly the islands of Ua Huka and Ua Pou 

 contained large deposits of rock suited to the manufacture of popoi pounders and 

 exported many of these implements to other islands. The natives of Nuku Hiva 

 knew how to manufacture a special kind of yellow paint or dye which was highly 

 valued in the other islands, while those of Fatu Hiva were famed for their skill 

 as carvers. There seems to have been no formal trade; there was no regular 

 medium of exchange and even the existence of definite barter is doubtful. The 

 transfer was in the nature of a gift exchange. 



The material culture of the Marquesas as a whole was almost uniform, 

 a fact the more remarkable in view of the dialectal differences between the North- 

 ern Division and the Southern Division of the group, and even between different 

 tribes on the same island. The local differences which exist have been pointed out 

 in the body of this report. The long contact between Europe and the Marcjuesas 

 has resulted in the almost complete destruction of the native culture and the in- 

 formation obtainable regarding ancient customs and materials is often fragment- 

 ary. The use of certain objects in museum collections has been entirely for- 

 gotten and only the names of many other artifacts are remembered. 



SCOPE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



The scope of the present paper has been purposely restricted to an account 

 of the material culture of the Marquesas. Certain obvious similarities and differ- 

 ences between the Marquesan culture and that found in other Polynesian islands 

 have been pointed out, but a thorough comparative study has not been attempted. 

 Detailed descriptions of the preparation of food and of the ritualistic observances 

 accompanying the various industries have been omitted. They are discussed by 

 my colleague, E. S. Craighill Plandy (32). 



[9] 



