Evidence for Forest Clearance and Food Production in Lapita and Post-Lapita Fiji

Summary

Investigations at the site of Qaraqara have sought to determine the antiquity of forest clearance and food production in Fiji. Located over 25 km inland from the coast, archaeological excavation has indicated that the site was used for habitation and cultivation, producing a ceramic-rich deposit that extends to a depth of 250 cm. Geoarchaeological analyses of sediment cores from Qaraqara reached 500 cmbs, and document the formation of stable soils by 3000 BP, during the Lapita period. Plant microfossils identified through scanning electron microscopy analysis trace a synchronous decline in forest taxa, and a concurrent marked increase in grass taxa, providing a context for the sudden appearance of cultivated banana (Musa sp.) phytoliths. Radiocarbon dates obtained from identified charcoal and ceramic residues, as well as phytoliths and indicators for soil formation and stable carbon isotopes, further trace the history of habitation and food production at Qaraqara for the following millennium. Combined, these data provide critical evidence for the clearance of forest in the interior of Viti Levu, and the immediate commencement of food production in the late Lapita period.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21276