Application of the Ideal Free Distribution Model to Pacific Island Settlement Patterns

The Samoan Islands are a key archipelago for understanding the broader settlement chronology of the Remote Oceanic region. Using an integrated set of spatial and Bayesian models, this chapter evaluates the utility of the ideal-free distribution framework for understanding habitat use and settlement pattern on the high Pacific Island of Tutuila, American Samoa. The results not only demonstrate the utility of simple human behavioral ecology models for explaining the archaeological record, but also point out how the process of model development and refinement can result in the generation of new and unexpected hypotheses.