New precise dates for the ancient and sacred coral pyramidal tombs of Leluh (Kosrae, Micronesia)

Zoe T Richards¹, Chuan-Chou Shen², Jean-Paul A Hobbs³, Chung-Che Wu², Xiuyang Jiang⁴, Felicia Beardsley⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Aquatic Zoology, Western Australian Museum, Welshpool, Western Australia 6015, Australia.
² High-Precision Mass Spectrometry and Environment Change Laboratory (HISPEC), Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan ROC.
³ Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia 6845, Australia.
⁴ High-Precision Mass Spectrometry and Environment Change Laboratory (HISPEC), Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan ROC. ; College of Geography Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, China.
⁵ College of Arts and Sciences, University of La Verne, La Verne, CA 91750, USA.

PMID:26601144
PMCID: PMC4643814
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1400060

New precise dates for the ancient and sacred coral pyramidal tombs of Leluh (Kosrae, Micronesia)

Zoe T Richards et al. Sci Adv.2015.

.2015 Mar 13;1(2):e1400060.

doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1400060. eCollection 2015 Mar.

Authors

Zoe T Richards¹, Chuan-Chou Shen², Jean-Paul A Hobbs³, Chung-Che Wu², Xiuyang Jiang⁴, Felicia Beardsley⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Aquatic Zoology, Western Australian Museum, Welshpool, Western Australia 6015, Australia.
² High-Precision Mass Spectrometry and Environment Change Laboratory (HISPEC), Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan ROC.
³ Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia 6845, Australia.
⁴ High-Precision Mass Spectrometry and Environment Change Laboratory (HISPEC), Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan ROC. ; College of Geography Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, China.
⁵ College of Arts and Sciences, University of La Verne, La Verne, CA 91750, USA.

PMID:26601144
PMCID: PMC4643814
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1400060

Abstract

Monumental tombs within ancient civilizations worldwide hold precious clues for deciphering the architectural skill, acumen, and industry of prehistoric cultures. Most tombs were constructed from abiotic materials-stone, soil, and/or clay, predominately-and were built to permanently inter royalty or high-status individuals. On the island of Kosrae in the central Pacific, monumental tombs were constructed with scleractinian coral and were confined to the prehistoric island capital of Leluh, where they served as temporary mortuary processing points. Like other prehistoric tombs, the Leluh tombs were dated by association-from the remnants of the temporarily interred. We present new dates for three sacred tombs using high-precision U-Th dates from 24 corals collected directly from the structural materials. The results suggest that the tombs were built about 700 years ago during the 14th century, about three centuries earlier than previously reported. The new dates redefine the peak occupation of Leluh and place its ruling paramountcy at the leading edge of the developing trans-oceanic political hierarchies, as well as the social and economic systems that dominated the civilizations in this part of the world.

Keywords: Chronology; Coral; High-Precision Mass Spectrometry; Monumental Tombs; Mortuary structures; Pacific Ocean Occupation; Pyramids; U-Th Dating; X-ray Diffractometry; coral reefs.

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Figures

**Fig. 1. Maps of Kosrae and Lelu Island.**
The ancient city ofLeluh was built up as a man-made extension on the lagoon island ofLelu on the eastern side of Kosrae, Micronesia. (A) Location of Kosrae in the north-west Pacific Ocean. (B) Map of Kosrae with theLeluh ruins, located inLelu Island. (C) General schematic of the ancient city ofLeluh onLelu Island. (D) An enlarged map of the selected area inLeluh [red square in (C)] with the three tombs examined in this study:*Inol-1*, twin tomb 1—*Bat*, and twin tomb 2—*Lūrūn*.

**Fig. 2. Truncated coral pyramid tombs.**
(A)*Inol-1*. (B) Twin tomb 1—*Lūrūn*. (C) Twin tomb 2—*Bat*. (D) General shape and dimensions (in meters) of theInsaru tombs and crypts. U-Th-dated, coral-inferred minimum construction ages are given by tomb. Photographs by Jean-Paul Hobbs.

**Fig. 3. Corals of theLeluh tombs.**
(A) Six genera of scleractinian corals in situ on the outer wall of tombInol-1. (B) Collecting a sample ofPorites from inside the crypt of twin tomb 1—*Lūrūn.* Photographs by Zoe Richards.

**Fig. 4. Determined coral U-Th dates from the three sacred tombs, including twin tomb 1—*Lūrūn* (circles), twin tomb 2—*Bat* (triangles), andInol-1 (squares), ofInsaru.**

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. C. Scarre,The Human Past (Thames and Hudson, London, ed. 3, 2013).
1. G. R. H. Wright,Ancient Building Technology (Brill Publishing, Leiden-Boston-Koln, 2009), vol. 3.
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1. Saliège J.-F., Person A., Paris F., Preservation of¹³C/¹²C original ratio and¹⁴C dating of the mineral fraction of human bones from Saharan Tombs, Niger. J. Arch. Sci. 22, 301–312 (1995).
1. Scarre C., Rocks of ages: Tempo and time in megalithic monuments. Euro. J. Arch. 13, 175–193 (2010).

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New precise dates for the ancient and sacred coral pyramidal tombs of Leluh (Kosrae, Micronesia)

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New precise dates for the ancient and sacred coral pyramidal tombs of Leluh (Kosrae, Micronesia)

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

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References

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