Erromango

• Traditional Culture (1860)
  • Isolation
    Isolation

    Question	Response	Source
    Pre-Austronesian population	Absent: No evidence of human occupation prior to Austronesian settlement	Bellwood 1995: 109
    Christian influence on supernatural belief	No evidence of influence but in a region where contact is likely (No evidence of Christian influence on supernatural belief, but culture is known to have had (or is likely to have had) contact with Christian societies at or prior to the time focus in question.)
    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: 2.21
    (Low) contact with other societies (SCCS v 787)	Frequent, through trade, warfare, travel, etc. (e.g. yearly or most years)	Spriggs and Wickler 1989: 84, 86
    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: 2.23
    Distance to closest landmass inhabited by a different culture (km)	35.7	Calculator 2014
    Distance to nearest continent (km)	1802	Calculator 2014

  • Physical Environment
    Location

    Question	Response	Source
    Longitude of culture’s location (°)	169.2	2014
    Latitude of culture’s location (°)	-18.8	2014

    Geographical Range of Culture

    Question	Response	Source
    Number of islands inhabited by culture	One	Humphreys 1926: 123-192

    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 and Wickler 1989: 70
    Maximum elevation (meters)	886	Spriggs and Wickler 1989: 70
    Island Size (km²)	902	Spriggs and Wickler 1989: 70

  • Social Environment
    Social Environment

    Question	Response	Source
    Estimate of culture population size at relevant time focus	7000	McArthur 1981: 11; Spriggs and Wickler 1989: 86
    Importance of Matrilateral descent (V.2)	Low (Matrilateral descent plays little or no role in determining social status and / or group membership.)	Humphreys 1926: 129
    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.)	Humphreys 1926: 129
    Polygamy (SCCS 861)	Limited polygyny (< 20% of married males)	Spriggs and Wickler 1989: 84
    Marital residence (SCCS 69)	Patrilocal or virilocal - with husband's kin	Humphreys 1926: 141-146
    Estimated population of largest political community	1,000-9,999	Spriggs and Wickler 1989: 83, 86
    Political Authority	Supralocal (encompasses multiple local groups)	Humphreys 1926: 132-134

    Conflict

    Question	Response	Source
    (No) conflict (social or political) within the local community (SCCS v 767)	Moderate (Conflict occurs frequently but is seldom violent, or is violent but occurs only occasionally.)
    (No) internal warfare (between communities of the same society) (SCCS v 773)	Common, at least every five years	Humphreys 1926: 148-150
    (No) external warfare (with other societies) (SCCS v 774)	Common, at least every five years	Humphreys 1926: 148-150; Robertson 1902: 22-46

  • Subsistence and Economy
    Subsistence and Economy

    Question	Response	Source
    Metalworking	Absent	Humphreys 1926: 150-165

    Land-based means of subsistence

    Question	Response	Source
    Animal husbandry as a source of food	Minor	Humphreys 1926: 134-141, 150-165
    Land-based hunting performed by individuals	Absent	Humphreys 1926: 155
    Land-based gathering	Absent	Humphreys 1926: 134-141, 150-165
    Land-based hunting performed by one or more groups	Minor	Humphreys 1926: 155
    Agriculture / Horticulture	Principal (more important than any other source of food)	Humphreys 1926: 151

    Water-based means of subsistence

    Question	Response	Source
    Water-based gathering	Minor	Humphreys 1926: 138-141, 150-165
    Fishing and water-based hunting performed by one or more groups	Major	Humphreys 1926: 139, 153-155
    Fishing and water-based hunting performed by individuals	Major	Humphreys 1926: 139, 153-155

    Commercial Activity

    Question	Response	Source
    Trade / wage labour as a source of food	Minor	Humphreys 1926: 150-165

• Post Contact History (1860-2014)
  • Religious History
    Conversion

    Question	Response	Source
    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)	Crowley 2001
    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.)	Crowley 2001
    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.)	Crowley 2001

    Syncretic Movements

    Question	Response	Source
    Syncretic religious movements	Absent	Crowley 2001

  • Secular History
    Demographic and Social Changes

    Question	Response	Source
    Language shift	Medium (The indigenous language remained an important means of communication for the duration of the post-contact period, but at one time or another the indigenous population used a non-indigenous language to roughly the same extent.)	Crowley 2001: 241
    Foreign education systems	Low (At no time during the post-contact period did more than 25% of indigenous children receive a basic non-indigenous education.)

    Economic Changes

    Question	Response	Source
    Exportation of goods to other cultures	Present but minor (At one time or another exports were part of the local economy, but were never a primary focus of economic activity for more than 10% of the population .)

    Modern Infrastructure

    Question	Response	Source
    Air travel	Present, local only (At no time during the post-contact period did most members of the culture have access to international air travel, but at one time or another most members of the culture had access to domestic air travel.)	2016
    Sea port	Absent (At no time during the post-contact period did most members of the culture have access to a sea port.)	2016