COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF A CULTURAL DEPOSIT BEHIND THE CHARLES WONG BAKERY, LEVUKA, FIJI

Summary

A Chinese bakery was built in the 1920s on fill that enlarged the narrow strip of land on the southeast side of the Island of Ovalau in the Fijian Archipelago, on which much of the town of Levuka is built. Since the beach was narrow in this area, many of the first commercial structures were built on fill. The bakery is located to the north of Charlie Wong’s house. Cultural deposits that appear to represent a midden behind the house, excavated in 2007, were examined to identify likely local vegetation at the time they accumulated, which is assumed to be associated with use of this bakery during the 1920s, when it was built. This date of occupation is substantiated by artifacts recovered at the site. Pollen, phytolith, starch, macrofloral, protein residue, and FTIR analyses were conducted on fill from Test Units 1 (2007) and 2 (2008), which represent the midden associated with the house. Both samples, collected approximately 40 cm apart, represent deposits originating between 1920 and 1930.

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• PaleoResearch Institute

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