Human occupations of caves of the Rove peninsula, southwest Viti Levu island, Fiji
Geoarchaeological investigations of limestone caves along the Rove Peninsula, where several Lapita-era (1150-750 BC) sites dating from the earliest period of Fiji's human history have been found, was undertaken by a team from the University of the South Pacific and the Fiji Museum. Surface collection and excavation in the largest cave – Qaranibourewa – was hindered by large amounts of ceiling collapse and no trace of human occupation earlier than about AD 1000 was found. The second-largest cave – Qaramatatolu – had a cave fill 190 cm thick but this was determined to be all of recent origin, having accumulated as a result of being washed down through a hole in the cave roof from a settlement above that probably existed AD 750-1250. The shell faunal remains from the Qaramatatolu excavation all suggest an open-coast location, quite different from the mangrove forest that fronts the area today. This mangrove forest probably formed only within the last few hundred years.
Climate anxiety does not need a diagnosis of a mental health disorder
In a recent Correspondence in The Lancet Planetary Health, Sampaio and Sequeria1 state that "climate anxiety is not yet considered a mental health disorder" and might be a risk factor for mental disorders, which is something that we contest. The authors further claim that "climate anxiety occurs mainly in lower-income countries located in areas that are more directly affected by climate change",1 which we regard as doubly incorrect: first, there are no substantial differences in climate anxiety between countries with different average incomes,2 and second, it is misleading to aver that lower income countries are more directly affected by climate change. Rather, the issue is one of impact visibility and adaptation capacity.
"Na Neitou Qele Ga Qo" ("This Is Our Only Land"): Adaptation to the Effects of Climate Change in Rural Indigenous Fijians
It has long been recognized that the Pacific Small Island Developing States are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, emphasizing the urgency with which adaptation planning and efforts need to be realized. History supports the resiliency of Pacific peoples, though a number of challenges to adaptive capacity have been noted in the previous literature, which has largely focused on low-lying atoll nations. To provide a different perspective, we interviewed 71 Indigenous and other traditional Fijians living in rural villages across a range of geographical locations to collect information on observed environmental changes, and adaptation efforts and challenges. Following an inductive thematic analysis, results identified changing patterns of consumption and production related to unpredictable and extreme weather patterns, with impacts on both overall food security and the financial viability of these communities. A number of physical adaptations to the villages themselves had been effected, which were costly and met with equivocal success. Consideration of migration to different geographical locations was minimal and undesirable. We provide recommendations for the culturally responsive, co-production of knowledge, resilience building, and adaptation planning with Indigenous and other traditional communities that meaningfully integrates scientific knowledge and respect for the wishes of these communities
Coastal Evolution in the Asia-Pacific Region
As in most parts of the world, the proportion of coastal lands (relative to non-coastal lands) varies immensely throughout the Asia-Pacific region. For example, in some of the most distant parts of this vast region such as the tropical Indian Ocean or Pacific Islands, every piece of land is coastal in the sense that it is affected directly by coastal processes. Yet for the largest land areas in the region, coasts by any definition comprise only a small proportion of the total land area. Such statements may be misleading, however, because, in terms of their importance to humans as locations for settlement, economic activities, and food production, coasts are generally more valuable than most other land areas of comparable size in the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, coasts are more vulnerable to change than other land types, whose degree of natural resilience is commonly greater. As elsewhere in the world, the positions and the characters of Asia Pacific coasts have changed through time. These changes have sometimes brought about profound alterations to the lifestyles of coastal-dwelling humans in the region, yet also presented new opportunities for their descendants. In the same way, it is clear that changes within the past 100 years--a time of unprecedented increases in human population pressure on most parts of the Asia-Pacific coastal zone--have been more rapid than at most earlier times, causing widespread disruption to human lifestyles and posing significant challenges for the next hundred years; challenges this book is trying to help solve. Coastal changes can occur at a variety of scales, but it is useful, when assessing coastal history, to separate local from regional changes.
Osteological Description of the Lapita-associated Human Skeleton Discovered on Moturiki Island, Fiji
Very little is known about the nature of the first humans to occupy the western South Pacific Islands, the so-called Lapita people. This is a final report on the osteological analysis of the skeleton named Mana, which was excavated at a Lapita Culture Complex site called Naitable on Moturiki Island in central Fiji in 2002. The Mana skeleton was reasonably well preserved. The skull is without doubt the best preserved of the Lapita-associated human skeletons ever described. Its major parts were nearly intact and reconstructed to an almost complete state. The skeleton proved to be an approximately 40-60 year old female. Radiocarbon dating of bone from the skeleton, and other archaeological considerations, place the burial around the middle of the first millennium BC (around 700 BC). In the present paper, osteological features of the cranium, mandible and infracranial skeleton of Mana are described very precisely for detailed comparative studies in the future.
Human responses to climate change around AD 1300: A case study of the Sigatoka Valley, Viti Levu Island, Fiji
In the Sigatoka Valley on Viti Levu Island in Fiji, three independent studies of last-millennium environmental and human-societal changes suggest that these were driven largely by the climate and sea-level changes of the AD 1300 Event. Establishment dates for interior fortified hilltop (or cave) settlements show that a significant number were established during or shortly after the AD 1300 Event, probably in response to primarily food shortages arising from sea-level fall (affecting coastal populations) and water-table fall (affecting coastal and inland populations). Charcoal concentrations in valley-floor sediments formed as a result of largely human burning of vegetation associated with the establishment of inland hilltop settlements; radiocarbon dates from these charcoals also suggest significant numbers of such settlements being established during or shortly after the AD 1300 Event. The main dune at the Sigatoka River mouth is underlain by the 'Level 3' palaeosol, dated to the AD 1300 Event, which implies that thereafter an abrupt and sustained increase in suspended fluvial sediment, associated in increased inland population, began to build the high dunes visible today. This study provides a well-constrained example of the effects that the AD 1300 Event had on Pacific Islands and their people.
Reconstructing the Lapita-era Geography of Northern Fiji: a Newly-discovered Lapita Site on Yadua Island and its Implications
Questions concerning the earliest human occupation of northern Fiji were addressed by geoarchaeological survey on the island of Yadua. Yadua lies at the entrance to an ocean passage that early seafarers might have followed into central Fiji where some early Lapita sites exist. Evidence for a Lapita presence was discovered on Yadua at a small coastal flat called Vagairiki, likely to have been occupied by Lapita people around 2600 cal yr BP because of available freshwater and one of the few fringing reefs existing in the area at the time. It is concluded that the Lapita people reached Yadua and other parts of northern Fiji in a post-founder phase of Fiji history.
Colonization of the Lapita peoples in Fiji: implication for the "express train to Polynesia" hypothesis
Archaeological excavations at the Bourewa site in southwestern Viti Levu, the Fiji Islands, produced some important achievements to understand the prehistory of the Lapita peoples in Oceania. Radiocarbon dates showed the antiquity of the site around 1200 BC, which is contemporary with some earlier Lapita sites in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, the western regions of the Lapita distribution. An obsidian artifact obtained from the site was sourced to the Kutau-Bao quarry in Papua New Guinea, 4200 km away in a straight line. These evidences suggest that the initial settlement of the site was founded by direct colonizer from Papua New Guinea. Thus, these finds support the 'express-train' model presented by J. Diamond, in which the Lapita peoples arrived from the west and spread rapidly eastwards without measurable pause.
“Io, Keimami Leqataka Vakalevu Na Vei Gauna Mai Muri” (“We are Worried About the Future Generation”): Experiences of Eco-Grief in Rural Indigenous Fijians
The impacts of climate change are particularly strong in Pacific Small Island Developing States. However, empirical data on mental health and well-being in the context of climate change and climate anxiety in the region remains limited. The aim of this research was to understand the emotional experiences of climate change and its impact on well-being in rural Fiji. Seventy-one Indigenous and traditional Fijian adults from seven rural villages were interviewed. Data were analyzed using an inductive latent thematic analysis. Evident was the experience of ecological grief among Indigenous and traditional Fijians. In particular, grief experiences were related to losses of species and resources, which impacted ways of life and led to the loss of culture, traditions, and customs. Anticipatory grief was also evident, relating to the loss of lifestyle for future generations, and the loss of traditional and ancestral homes through potential migration. Results provide new data from the Global South and contribute to the limited exploration of mental health in relation to climate change in the Pacific region. The results highlight the experience of ecological grief among Pacific Islanders, and underscore the significance of culture loss due to climate change and anticipatory grief.
Lapita on an island in the mangroves? The earliest human occupation at Qoqo Island, southwest Viti Levu, Fiji
In November–December 2004 a research team from the University of the South Pacific and the Fiji Museum undertook geoarchaeological investigations along the coast of the Rove Peninsula, part of southwest Viti Levu Island (Figure 1A) where evidence for Lapita-era occupation had been found on previous occasions (Kumar et al., 2004; Nunn et al., 2004). The main target was the extensive, early-period site at Bourewa but we were also shown a collection of pottery from nearby Qoqo Island (by owner Peter Jones) that included a dentate-stamped sherd that led to mapping and excavation of that island's coastal flat. Qoqo is a bedrock island (40,000 m²) reaching 32 m above sea level, located in the 7.3 km² mangrove swamp at the mouth of the Tuva River (Figure 1B). The island comprises two hills surrounded, particularly along their eastern side, by a 20-50 m broad coastal flat that also connects them (Figure 1C). At the time of Lapita arrival in Fiji, sea level was higher (+1.5 m, cal 3000 BP, Nunn 2005) and the hills on Qoqo are interpreted as recently-separated islands connected by a tombolo, the approximate form of which can be reconstructed today (Figure 1C).