Integrating Archaeology and Ethnohistory: The Development of Exchange Between Yap and Ulithi Western Caroline Islands

Combining archaeological and ethnohistorical evidence from the islands of Yap and Ulithi, two islands in the Western Caroline Islands, this study reveals a history of more than 1300 years of interaction between the island populations. Drawing on ceramic evidence in particular, Descantes traces the history of this extensive Micronesian exchange system, examining factors such as population pressure, resource limitations and history in the growth and intensification of exchange. Descantes also considers the impact of European contact, although the main focus is on the years prior to this, and sets the evidence within the context of wider Pacific island exchange models.