Direct dating of colonial-era coral building materials using the U-Th method in the Mangareva Islands, French Polynesia

In colonial settings, missionary construction projects often dramatically transformed local architectural styles and settlement patterns. The relatively young age of these activities means that colonial chronologies are often based on documentary evidence or artefact typologies rather than chronometric determinations. Here, the author explores the use of uranium-thorium dating for coral blocks from a series of missionary-style buildings with unknown construction dates in the Mangareva Islands, French Polynesia. Although some samples reveal years/decades of inbuilt age that may reflect methods of material acquisition, the dates provide new information on the construction activities of a population of Polynesian Catholic converts.