Prehistoric fishing in Palau, Micronesia: evidence from the Northern Rock Islands

We report on an assemblage of well preserved fish remains recovered from the site of Chelechol ra Orrak in the Rock Islands of Palau. This is only the second such study to date in Palau and one of the few for the region, indicating the need to better understand the role marine resources played in the adaptation and development of early Micronesian societies. Results demonstrate that Palauans were fishing by at least 1700 BP, several hundred years earlier than previously recorded, and that they exploited a wide range of fish taxa, primarily from inner reef and lagoonal habitats. Our study also suggests that the diversity of fish decreased over time, perhaps due to overharvesting and/or changes in subsistence patterns, similar to what other researchers have reported in the Pacific.