The Archaeology of Rural Settlement and Class in a Pre-WWII Japanese Plantation on Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Author: Dixon, Boyd

Source: International Journal of Historical Archaeology, Volume 8, Number 4, December 2004 , pp. 281-299(19)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

A large body of literature today exists on the events of World War II in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands located in the Western Pacific, written mostly by the victors of the conflict and their descendants. In contrast, no first-hand Japanese accounts have been translated into English from the pre-war period of sugarcane plantations in these islands, between 1914 and 1944. To fill this void in the literature, archaeologists working on the island of Tinian have begun to contract Japanese historians to conduct interviews with former Okinawan residents of the pre-war plantations and synthesize information from primary historical documents. What has become evident by this exercise is that many memories of the pre-war plantation system in the islands reflect a spirit of relative egalitarianism among the Okinawan laborers, while the rural archaeological record suggests evidence of an emerging economic class structure.

Keywords: Tinian; Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; World War II; Japan

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10761-004-2614-z

Affiliations: 1: PBS&J, 6504 Bridge Point Parkway, Suite 200, Austin, Texas, 78730, Email: bmdixon@pbsj.com

Publication date: 2004-12-01