A Radiocarbon Chronology of Yapese Stone Money Quarries in Palau

Fitzpatrick, S.M. (2002). "A Radiocarbon Chronology of Yapese Stone Money Quarries in Palau". Micronesica. Mangilao, GU: University of Guam. 34 (2): 227–242. ISSN 0026-279X.

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Abstract: A suite of new radiocarbon dates (including two conventional and nineteen AMS) provide the first chronology of Yapese stone money quarries in western Micronesia. Early ethnohistoric records doc- ument the Yapese carving of their large disks of ‘money’ in the limestone Rock Islands of Palau while oral traditions suggest it was also taking place prior to European contact. However, there has been no archaeo- logical data to substantiate the antiquity of this exchange system. Recent archaeological excavation at three quarry sites has addressed this issue. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal, shell, and human bone, in conjunction with oral traditions and ethnohistorical accounts, suggest these stone money quarries were multi-component and that quarrying activity was taking place at least several hundred years prior to European contact and intensified shortly thereafter.