Small, remote islands, such as low coral atolls, with nutrient-poor, biogenic soils for food crops and vulnerability to extreme weather, have long been considered marginal environments for human habitation. Yet, four decades of archaeological research in the atoll archipelago of the Marshall Islands, eastern Micronesia have demonstrated sustained human occupation there for over two millennia. Here, we present a fine-grained analysis of mollusc remains from four recently excavated archaeological sites (4476 total MNI / 14843 total NISP) combined with mapping and analysis of extant benthic habitats, on Ebon Atoll, Marshall Islands. We examine spatial and temporal variability in mollusc foraging practices from prehistoric village sites and ephemeral camp sites across the windward–leeward exposure gradient. Our analysis demonstrates that foragers targeted a rich assemblage of taxa from different habitats, reflecting a foraging strategy that was adapted to local environmental conditions. Human foraging over 2000 years documented no observable human impacts to molluscs or nearshore intertidal marine ecosystems, challenging previous notions of atolls as marginal, exceptionally difficult settings for human habitation.

中文翻译：

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两千年在马绍尔群岛埃本环礁觅食的软体动物：太平洋环礁上持续的海洋资源利用

小而偏远的岛屿，例如低珊瑚环礁，其营养贫乏的生物土壤适合种植粮食作物且易受极端天气影响，长期以来一直被认为是人类居住的边缘环境。然而，密克罗尼西亚东部马绍尔群岛环礁群岛长达四年的考古研究表明，人类在那里持续占据了两千年以上。在这里，我们对来自马绍尔群岛埃本环礁的四个最近挖掘的考古遗址（4476 个 MNI / 14843 个 NISP）的软体动物遗骸进行了细粒度分析，并结合了对现存底栖栖息地的制图和分析。我们研究了史前村庄遗址和临时营地跨越迎风-背风暴露梯度的软体动物觅食实践的时空变异性。我们的分析表明，觅食者的目标是来自不同栖息地的丰富分类群，反映了一种适应当地环境条件的觅食策略。2000 多年来，人类觅食记录了没有可观察到的人类对软体动物或近岸潮间带海洋生态系统的影响，挑战了以前认为环礁是人类居住的边缘、异常困难的环境的概念。