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.
Classifying Pacific islands
An earth-science-based classification of islands within the Pacific Basin resulted from the preparation of a database describing the location, area, and type of 1779 islands, where island type is determined as a function of the prevailing lithology and maximum elevation of each island, with an island defined as a discrete landmass composed of a contiguous land area ≥1 ha (0.01 km2) above mean high-water level. Reefs lacking islands and short-lived (<20 years) transient islands are not included. The principal aim of the classification is to assess the spatial diversity of the geologic and geomorphic attributes of Pacific islands. It is intended to be valid at a regional scale and based on two attributes: five types of lithology (volcanic, limestone, composite, continental, surficial) and a distinction between high and low islands. These attributes yielded eight island types: volcanic high and low islands; limestone high and low islands; composite high and low islands; reef (including all unconsolidated) islands; and continental islands. Most common are reef islands (36 %) and volcanic high islands (31 %), whereas the least common are composite low islands (1 %). Continental islands, 18 of the 1779 islands examined, are not included in maps showing the distribution of island attributes and types. Rationale for the spatial distributions of the various island attributes is drawn from the available literature and canvassed in the text. With exception of the few continental islands, the distribution of island types is broadly interpretable from the proximity of island-forming processes. It is anticipated the classification will become the basis for more focused investigation of spatial variability of the climate and ocean setting as well as the biological attributes of Pacific islands. It may also be used in spatial assessments of second-order phenomena associated with the islands, such as their vulnerability to various disasters, coastal erosion, or ocean pollution as well as human populations, built infrastructure and natural resources.
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.
Disruption of coastal societies in the Pacific Islands from rapid sea-level fall about AD 1300: new evidence from northern Viti Levu Island, Fiji
This paper reports preliminary findings of a study in northern Viti Levu Island (Fiji) intended to test the model of the AD 1300 Event. This holds that around AD 1250-1350, during the transition between the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age, there was a rapid climate-driven sea-level fall of 70-80 cm which created a food crisis for coastal dwellers throughout the tropical Pacific Islands and led to conflict and the abandonment of open coastal settlements in favour of those in more defensible locations. Two main areas were targeted - the Ba River Valley and adjoining Vatia Peninsula (plus offshore islands) - and inland/offshore sites in defensible locations, particularly in caves, ridge-top rockshelters, and isolated hilltops, were surveyed and test excavations made. Results show that while some of these sites were established during the AD 1300 Event, most were established shortly afterwards, which is exactly what the model predicts. It is concluded that prehistoric populations in Fiji (and similar island groups) were affected by the food crisis during the AD 1300 Event and did respond in ways that profoundly and enduringly altered contemporary trajectories of societal evolution. This study has great implications for the preservation of the record of prehistoric settlement in Fiji (and other tropical Pacific Island groups) because, as a consequence of this climate-forced migration from coasts to inland/upland sites, large amounts of sediment were released from island interiors and carried to their coasts where they buried earlier settlements or redistributed their material signature. Since European arrival in such places around 150 years ago, a second wave of coastal sedimentation, largely driven by plantation agriculture development had similar effects. The current rise of sea level around Pacific Island coasts is the latest in a series of (largely human) threats to the preservation of their cultural heritage.
Pacific Islanders' understanding of climate change: Where do they source information and to what extent do they trust it?
The experience of environmental stress and attitudes towards climate change was explored for 1226 students at the University of the South Pacific, the foremost tertiary institution serving the independent nations of the Pacific. Students sourced information regarding climate change from media including television, radio, and newspapers; the community (typically via their village, church, and extended family); the University and their friends; and in addition to regional agencies such as the Pacific Community. Most students concluded that they could not believe all of the informations provided by these sources. The findings demonstrate that most students-the future elite of the region-rank global environmental change as the highest future risk. Although nearly all respondents believed that climate change was happening, more than half of respondents believed that the risk was exaggerated and only one-third believed that science would find an answer, suggesting a lack of trust in scientific sources of information. Results also showed that these attitudes varied across demographic factors such as age, region, and gender. The understanding of contemporary attitudes towards global environmental change among a cohort that is likely to include future national leaders in the Pacific Islands region presents unique opportunities for long-range planning of intervention and support strategies. Of particular note for effective intervention and support is the breadth and trustworthiness of various information sources including Pacific Island leaders.
Times of Sand: Sedimentary History and Archaeology at the Sigatoka Dunes, Fiji
The orthodox archaeological sequence at the Sigatoka Dunes site (VL 16/1) in Fiji proposes three phases of occupation spanning Fijian prehistory, each associated with a period of dune stability. It has been taken as the standard model of Fijian prehistory for more than 30 years. Recently, however, it has been argued that there is no stratigraphic support for three discrete levels and that the occupation history was fragmented, complex, and continuous within a volatile dune system. We present new data, from optical and radiocarbon dating, to argue that a three-phase model, although somewhat more complex in detail, remains the most robust interpretation of site history. The longest stable phase (Level 2) began 2500–2300 cal yr B.P. and is possibly associated with relatively low ENSO frequency. Substantial sand dune accumulation began after ~1300 cal yr B.P.
Defending the Defensible: A Rebuttal of Scott Fitzpatrick's (2010) Critique of the AD 1300 Event Model with Particular Reference to Palau
In a recent article [Journal of Pacific Archaeology, vol 1(2), 2010], Scott Fitzpatrick contends that the AD 1300 event model is unhelpful as a key to understanding environmental and societal change in the Pacific during the past 1500 years. We reject this contention on the grounds that there are ample and persuasive grounds for supposing otherwise. The AD 1300 event model proposes that climate change (especially cooling) and sea-level fall affected most of the Pacific Basin during the transition between the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age, and that the impacts of these changes on food resources were so profound that they led to enduring impacts on human societies in this region, particularly Pacific Islands. We aver that the AD 1300 event model remains a powerful tool for understanding last-millennium environmental and societal change in the Pacific Islands and that all the charges Fitzpatrick levels against it can be readily dismissed.
Island Formation
To understand how islands form, continental islands must be distinguished from oceanic islands, the former being pieces of continents with the connection submerged, the latter being younger islands that originated exclusively within the ocean basins. However they appear today - low or high, limestone or volcanic - all oceanic islands began life as ocean-floor volcanoes. Those that have not yet reached the ocean surface (and many never do so) are referred to as seamounts, whereas those that were once emergent but have since been submerged are often distinctively flat-topped and are called guyots.
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.
Promoting Sustainability on Vulnerable Island Coasts: A Case Study Smaller Pacific Islands
Covering nearly one-third of the Earth's surface, the Pacific Ocean is largely water yet also contains myriads of islands (Figure 12.1): a few larger ones like Hokkaido (Japan) and New Caledonia, and a host of smaller ones. Most smaller islands are arranged in clusters, many classified as archipelagic (such as Fiji and the Galapagos), others within groups that are more linear (like the Hawaiian Islands and most in French Polynesia). Only a few islands are truly isolated (like Nauru and Niue). Most islands are located in the southwest quadrant of the Pacific and in lower latitudes, where the processes by which islands originate and endure are most active (Nunn, 1994). Owing to this concentration, most smaller islands have tropical climates and, largely on account of their comparative smallness and remoteness, most such islands are also considered part of the 'developing world'. Islands are innately more vulnerable to many of the most powerful forces of environmental changes because of their insularity. Islands have larger coastal length to land area ratios than continents. On account of their shapes, many smaller Pacific Islands have some of the highest such ratios of any of the world's landmasses (Table 12.1).