Mid-sequence colonization and occupation at Nukubalavu, Vanua Levu, Fiji

Author(s): Justin Cramb; Sharyn Jones; Alison Weisskopf

Year: 2015

Summary

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 of colonization focused on somewhat marginal areas including small islands, tombolo, and seemingly isolated or separate sea bound land formations such as that found at Bourewa, Vorovoro, and Nukubalavu. We also describe recent archaeological work on Nukubalavu on Vanua Levu where a house foundation yielded organic material suitable for radiocarbon dating, zooarchaeological remains, Late Lapita and Mid-Sequence ceramics, coral files, charred and waterlogged archaeobotanical remains, and subsurface features.

SAA 2015 abstracts made available in tDAR courtesy of the Society for American Archaeology and Center for Digital Antiquity Collaborative Program to improve digital data in archaeology. If you are the author of this presentation you may upload your paper, poster, presentation, or associated data (up to 3 files/30MB) for free. Please visit http://www.tdar.org/SAA2015 for instructions and more information.

Cite this Record

Mid-sequence colonization and occupation at Nukubalavu, Vanua Levu, Fiji. Sharyn Jones, Justin Cramb, Alison Weisskopf. Presented at The 80th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, California. 2015 ( tDAR id: 395142)

Keywords

General
Fiji Lapita Vanua Levu

Geographic Keywords
Oceania

Spatial Coverage

min long: 111.973; min lat: -52.052 ; max long: -87.715; max lat: 53.331 ;