Seven Lapita sites on the Rove Peninsula of Viti Levu in Fiji or on islets close offshore include the earliest known Lapita site in Fiji at Bourewa. Petrographic study of 53 Rove sherds shows that 95 per cent contain closely related hybrid temper sands (mixed terrigenous and calcareous grains) collected locally from the shores of the ancestral Tuva River estuary and adjacent Vusama paleoisland. Terrigenous detritus was derived from the Wainimala orogen that forms the bedrock of southwest Viti Levu and is exposed throughout the drainage basin of the Tuva River. Skeletal and pelletal (micritic) calcareous detritus was derived from the broad offshore reef fringing the Rove Peninsula. In most Rove sherds, calcareous temper grains have been largely or entirely removed by dissolution to leave vacuoles of sand size and shape that are visible megascopically as tiny pits on sherd surfaces. Tempers of indigenous Rove wares did not vary substantially from site to site on the peninsula or over time during its Lapita occupation. Three sherds containing non-local volcanic sand as temper reflect ceramic transfer of exotic wares during later phases of Rove prehistory from Lapita settlements elsewhere in Fiji, probably on Kadavu and the north coast of Viti Levu.

In 2003 the authors discovered and excavated a Lapita site at Naitabale close to the southern end of Moturiki Island (central Fiji). Today the site is 350 m inland from the coast, but in Lapita times it was located behind the active beach ridge. A large collection of potsherds (including 92 dentate-stamped or incised Lapita sherds), shell, and animal bones was recovered, together with a human burial. Sherd decorations show affinities with the Western Lapita Province rather than the Eastern Lapita Province (which includes Fiji). Temper analyses of 45 Lapita sherds do not show any unmistakably exotic (to Fiji) pottery, but 29 percent are nonlocal to Moturiki and nearby islands. Fish bones are mostly from inshore species (dominated by Scaridae), while nonfish vertebrates are dominated by turtle and include dog and chicken. Shellfish remains are dominated by gastropods, mostly 'Strombus' spp. (43 percent of gastropod MNI). The surf clam ('Atactodea striata') accounts for 38 percent of bivalve MNI, with 'Anadara antiquata' and 'Gafrarium peetinatum' each representing 14 percent of the bivalve MNI. The skeleton is that of a woman (Mana) 161-164 cm tall who died at 40-60 years of age. Six radiocarbon dates from bones overlap 2740-2739 cal. years B.P. (790-789 B.C.). The mandible lacks antegonial notches but is not a proper rocker jaw. The cranium was better preserved than any Lapita-associated skeleton hitherto described, which allowed the head to be reconstructed. Stable-isotope analyses show that her diet contained significant amounts of reef foods but was probably dominated by terrestrial plants. The Lapita occupation of Naitabale is likely to have begun by 2850 cal. years B.P. (900 B.C.). Radiocarbon dates and pottery decorative styles both suggest Naitabale was first occupied within the early part of the Lapita history of Fiji.