Fiji (Other Keyword)
1-6 (6 Records)
Microfossil analysis provides a valuable proxy for inferring prehistoric environmental conditions as well as direct evidence for the presence of agricultural domesticates and other important subsistence cultigens. However, the body of reference material for identifying individual plant morphotypes is lacking. Here we present our preliminary efforts at assessing the efficacy of modern herbarium specimens as a key for identifying archaeological sedimentary and calculus-derived microfossils. We...
Microfossil analysis of sediments from a Qaraqara terrace site, Viti Levu, Fiji (2017)
Microfossils in archaeology are defined as the floral and faunal-derived microscopic biogenic particles that preserve long after the original organism has died and decayed. Some such examples are silica phytoliths, starches, pollens and spores, calcium oxalates, and plant cellular tissue like trichomes and stomata. This type of analysis is a valuable proxy for inferring prehistoric environmental conditions and landscape change over time, as well as direct evidence for the presence of certain...
Mid-sequence colonization and occupation at Nukubalavu, Vanua Levu, Fiji (2015)
Inspired by Bill Dickinson’s broad and multifaceted perspective on the archaeological record of human colonization in the Pacific Islands, we present both new data from Vanua Levu, Fiji—informed in part by Bill’s ceramic petrography from the site of Nukubalavu and reflections on the thalassic pattern of colonization in the central Pacific Islands. While a sea focus in the Pacific Islands is unremarkable, some Lapita, Late Lapita, and Mid-sequence occupations of Fiji reveal an intriguing pattern...
Nukubalavu 1: A Preliminary Examination of Mid-Sequence Ceramics and Culture Change on Vanua Levu, Fiji (2015)
We present new data from the ceramic assemblage from the site of Nukubalavu 1 in Natewa Bay on Vanua Levu, Fiji. The site was excavated in the summers of 2013 and 2014; it is one of the only excavated sites on the island of Vanua Levu. Over 29,400 sherds were analyzed, many of which are diagnostic, typical of stylistic phases in the Fijian ceramic sequence. The assemblage includes Late Lapita (ca. 2500 BP), Fijian Plainware (ca. 2500-2100 BP), and Navatu (ca. 2100-900 BP) phases of the Fijian...
Nukubulavu: An examination of Fijian Mid-sequence ceramics on Vanua Levu, Fiji (2017)
This paper reports on excavations from field seasons in 2013 and 2014 when major excavations on the main landmass of Vanua Levu, Fiji were conducted at the beach site of Nukubulavu. This site is positioned on a small peninsula in the island’s southeastern Natewa Bay region. Nukubulavu produced ceramic assemblages that extend to all of Fiji’s known culture history. The team also documented a deeply buried probable house floor with diagnostic artifacts that indicate intensive occupation during...
Push and Pull Factors in Inland Settlement (2017)
Archaeological investigation along the coastlines of the islands of the Western Pacific have documented the distinct deposits of human colonizers and their descendants. Recent research has indicated that the first colonists were marine foragers, but also directed their forays into the interiors of islands to collect reptiles, bats, and birds. The research presented here reveals how predictive modeling and directed survey can aid in the detection of post-colonization sites located in the...