Material Choice and Travel Time in Ancient Polynesia: An Experimental Perspective on Basalt Adze Exchange

Exchange of material between societies has long been a worldwide phenomenon (Ana tasio 1972; Braun J986; Brurnfiel 1987; Carlson 1994; Hatch et al. 1990; Hayden and Schulting 1997; Hutterer 1977; Kirch 2000; Stark and Arnold 1997; Summerhayes 2001; Weisler 1997). As a fundamental focus of archaeological study for decades, researchers investigate the organizational attributes of prehistoric exchange through the recovered material pattern found in the networks' different stages; raw material procurement (Neff 1998; Weisler 1997) commodity production (Torrence 1986), product distribution (Renfrew 1969), utilization and conumption (Earle 1982). But in the last twenty years, researcher began to emphasize the role of acquisition (Glascock 2002), because geochemical techniques provide a scientific and quantifiable means to source material, and have become increasingly accessible to archaeologists (Ericson and Baugh 1993). As a result, exchange research became more focused on the linking of two locales versus the study of cultural factors that perpetuate exchange networks.