Aneityum

• Traditional Culture (1848)
  • Isolation
    Isolation

    Question	Response	Source
    Pre-Austronesian population	Absent: No evidence of human occupation prior to Austronesian settlement	Bellwood 1995: 109
    Hindu / Buddhist influence on supernatural belief	No evidence of influence and not in region of known contact (No evidence of Hindu / Buddhist influence on supernatural belief, and culture is unlikely to have had contact with Hindu or Buddhist societies at or prior to to the time focus in question.)	Cribb 2000: Map 2.21
    (Low) contact with other societies (SCCS v 787)	Frequent, through trade, warfare, travel, etc. (e.g. yearly or most years)	Spriggs 1985
    Islamic influence on supernatural belief	No evidence of influence and not in region of known contact (No evidence of Islamic influence on supernatural belief, and culture is unlikely to have had contact with Islamic societies at or prior to the time focus in question.)	Cribb 2000: Map 2.23
    Distance to closest landmass inhabited by a different culture (km)	63.7	Calculator 2014; Spriggs 1981: 11
    Distance to nearest continent (km)	1808	Calculator 2014; Spriggs 1981: 11

  • Physical Environment
    Location

    Question	Response	Source
    Longitude of culture’s location (°)	169.8	Spriggs 1981: 11
    Latitude of culture’s location (°)	-20.2	Spriggs 1981: 11

    Geographical Range of Culture

    Question	Response	Source
    Number of islands inhabited by culture	One	Spriggs 1981: 11

    Features of Island with Largest Culture Population

    Question	Response	Source
    Island type (island with largest culture population or largest island if unknown)	Volcanic high island (an oceanic island of volcanic origin, e.g. Hawaii)	Spriggs 1981: 11
    Maximum elevation (meters)	852	Spriggs 1981: 12
    Island Size (km²)	160	Spriggs 1981: 12

  • Social Environment
    Social Environment

    Question	Response	Source
    Estimate of culture population size at relevant time focus	4000	Spriggs 1981: 70-92
    Importance of Patrilateral descent (V.2)	High (Patrilateral descent plays an important role in determining social status and / or group membership, and is more important than any other form of descent.)	Spriggs 1981: 58
    Polygamy (SCCS 861)	Monogamy preferred, but exceptional cases of polygyny	Spriggs 1981: 59
    Estimated population of largest political community	100-999	Spriggs 1981: 57, 90
    Political Authority	Supralocal (encompasses multiple local groups)	Spriggs 1981: 58-60, 64-65, 6.15

    Conflict

    Question	Response	Source
    (No) internal warfare (between communities of the same society) (SCCS v 773)	Occasional, at least every generation	Spriggs 1981: 63-64
    (No) external warfare (with other societies) (SCCS v 774)	Rare or never	Spriggs 1981: 55-66; Spriggs 1985

  • Subsistence and Economy
    Subsistence and Economy

    Question	Response	Source
    Metalworking	Absent	Spriggs 1981: 31

    Land-based means of subsistence

    Question	Response	Source
    Animal husbandry as a source of food	Minor	Spriggs 1981: 19, 3.2
    Land-based hunting performed by individuals	Minor	Spriggs 1981: 19-20, 3.2
    Land-based gathering	Principal	Spriggs 1981: 3.2
    Land-based hunting performed by one or more groups	Minor	Spriggs 1981: 19-20, 3.2
    Agriculture / Horticulture	Principal (more important than any other source of food)	Spriggs 1981: 86, 3.2

    Water-based means of subsistence

    Question	Response	Source
    Water-based gathering	Medium	Spriggs 1981: 20, 3.2
    Fishing and water-based hunting performed by one or more groups	Medium	Spriggs 1981: 20, 3.2, 3.3
    Fishing and water-based hunting performed by individuals	Medium	Spriggs 1981: 20, 3.2

    Commercial Activity

    Question	Response	Source
    Trade / wage labour as a source of food	Absent	Spriggs 1981: 3.9

• Post Contact History (1848-2014)
  • Religious History
    Conversion

    Question	Response	Source
    Was a foreign religion adopted through a top-down (those high in the social hierarchy converted first, followed by the general population) or a bottom-up (the general population converted first, followed by those high in the social hierarchy) process?	Primarily a bottom-up process.	Spriggs 1981: 63, 6.2
    Use of force in conversion	Low (most communities adopted the new religion either voluntarily or due to pressure from other communities of the same culture)	Spriggs 1985
    Adoption of a world religion	Present and predominant (At one time or another during the post-contact period, at least 75% of the indigenous population practiced a world religion.)	Spriggs 1985
    Resident missionary involvement in conversion process	Present, and from non-Austronesian societies (Resident foreign missionaries, at least one of whom was from a non-Austronesian society, played an important role in the conversion process.)	Spriggs 1985

    Syncretic Movements

    Question	Response	Source
    Syncretic religious movements	Absent	Spriggs 1985

  • Secular History
    Economic Changes

    Question	Response	Source
    Exportation of goods to other cultures	Present and substantial (At one time or another during the post-contact period, exports were a primary focus of economic activity for over 10% of the population.)	Spriggs 1981: 31-32