Trees Knots and Outriggers

<ul> <li> The book is combination of structuralist and ecological work to a classic area for the discipline the Kula Ring. Although structuralist or structuralist-inspired work is common in this area ecological work is not.</li> <li> The book is the product of engaged interdisciplinary research: social anthropology archaeology linguistics biological systematics geochemistry (stable isotopes) and climate issues especially ENSO El Niño Southern Oscillation.</li> <li> Although focused on one island and set of island-cultures the study is explicitly a regional systems analysis. If at first take the region is the Kula Ring as a regional system and then the Austronesian world and second take the analysis is situated between and among forms running from China to Australia.</li> <li> If on the one hand the book is first a what-book it is also a ‘how-did-he-learn-that’ book. There is a designed biographical and very human component to the book’s story. </li></ul>