ABSTRACT
Prehistoric East Polynesia was never part of the truly global community, but many of the processes that underpin and drive globalization were incorporated into the region’s social fabric from the beginning. These processes are concerned with connectedness, as globalization has been dened simply as a form of connectivity (Robertson 2014; see also Feinman this volume, Jennings this volume, Knappett this volume). Connectedness is about the establishment and maintenance of social and economic ties between communities and, in most parts of the world, it is described as emerging out of social, demographic and technological processes. East Polynesia is fundamentally dierent, as connectivity was introduced in nished form by the rst settlers. This distinction is important because the East Polynesian case highlights the pivotal role of connectivity as a colonization strategy, as a condition of geography and as a process contributing to long-term sustainability. Furthermore, determining the spatial, temporal and diverse nature of connectedness between island societies at the scale of island, archipelago and broader region is essential for understanding prehistoric East Polynesian culture change. Indeed, the hallmark of East Polynesian societies was the expansive and diverse nature of community inter-connections, a trait inherited from Austronesian forebears.
