geosciences Article Identifying 3000-Year Old Human Interaction Spheres in Central Fiji through Lapita Ceramic Sand-Temper Analyses Roselyn Kumar 1,* , Patrick D. Nunn 2 and Elia Nakoro 3 1 Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, QLD 4558, Australia 2 School of Law and Society/Australian Centre for Pacific, Islands Research, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, QLD 4558, Australia; [email protected] 3 Historical Archaeology Department, Head, Fiji Museum, Government Buildings, Suva P.O. Box 2023, Fiji; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: Petrographic analyses of sand tempers in Pacific Island potsherds reveal information about ancient human interactions within archipelagic contexts. By comparison with bedrock mineralogy, analyses of 45 sherds from the Lapita settlement at Naitabale on Moturiki Island (central Fiji) show that most sherds were manufactured locally but that a minority is exotic. Using ternary plots of LF- QF-FM (LF—lithic fragments; QF—quartz + feldspar; FM—ferromagnesian), it is shown that exotic material (either pots or temper sands) most likely came from elsewhere in Fiji, probably southeast Viti Levu Island, central Lau, Lomaiviti and Kadavu. Geoscientific analyses of archaeological samples therefore gives us insights into how people likely interacted within the Fiji Archipelago three millennia ago. Citation: Kumar, R.; Nunn, P.D.; Keywords: Pacific; Fiji; ceramic mineralogy; sand temper; prehistoric interaction Nakoro, E. Identifying 3000-Year Old Human Interaction Spheres in Central Fiji through Lapita Ceramic Sand-Temper Analyses. Geosciences 2021, 11, 238. https://doi.org/ 1. Introduction 10.3390/geosciences11060238 For most of the three millennia or so that the island groups of the western Pacific Ocean have been occupied by people, they manufactured and used pottery, some of which Academic Editors: Michael G. was decorated in ways that have proved diagnostic of particular places and times [1]. This Petterson and Jesus Martinez-Frias pottery was also made with locally-sourced sand, used as temper, from the mineralogical analysis of which more precise information about the movements of both pots and potters Received: 13 April 2021 can be obtained. Accepted: 28 May 2021 The use of sand as temper in ceramics to reconstruct the movements of people and their Published: 31 May 2021 pots through the Pacific Islands early in their human history was pioneered by geoscientist William R. Dickinson and archaeologist Richard Shutler [2–5], both now deceased. Mainly Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral through petrographic analyses, these authors showed that it was possible to examine the with regard to jurisdictional claims in mineral composition of potsherds and determine whether raw materials (volcanic sand) published maps and institutional affil- were typical of the geology of rocks in the area where the pottery was recovered (in other iations. words, the pottery was made locally) or whether the sand temper did not derive from the local geology (in other words, the pottery was likely to be imported or exotic). If a particular piece of pottery was exotic, then it was often possible to identify its place (island) of manufacture through its mineral composition. Examples of exotic potsherds identified Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. in this way come from the Marquesas and Tonga [5], Solomon Islands [6] and Tuvalu [7] in Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. the Pacific and among islands in the West Indies [8]. This article is an open access article Cross-disciplinary research of this kind at the interface between geoscience and ar- distributed under the terms and chaeology can improve our understanding of how people, especially in maritime worlds, conditions of the Creative Commons moved around many thousands of years ago, allowing us to ponder the implications of Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// this. The study presented here explains how the characterization of ancient ceramic sand creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ temper using petrographic analyses, complemented by scanning electron microscopy, was 4.0/). Geosciences 2021, 11, 238. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11060238 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/geosciences Geosciences 2021, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 12 moved around many thousands of years ago, allowing us to ponder the implications of Geosciences 2021, 11, 238 this. The study presented here explains how the characterization of ancient ceramic 2sand of 11 temper using petrographic analyses, complemented by scanning electron microscopy, was used to reconstruct exchange (trade) networks in central Fiji through an analysis of theused sand to reconstruct temper of Lapita-era exchange (trade)potsherds networks from the in site central at Naitabale Fiji through on Moturiki an analysis Island of the in centralsand temper Fiji [9]. of Lapita-era potsherds from the site at Naitabale on Moturiki Island in central Fiji [9]. 2. The Lapita people in the Pacific Islands 2. TheThe Lapita Pacific People Islands in east the of Pacific the main Islands group of Solomon Islands were uninhabited until aboutThe 3300 Pacific years Islands BP (1350 east BCE) of the when main a group group of of seafaring Solomon people, Islands speaking were uninhabited Austronesian until languages,about 3300 yearsbegan BP to (1350move BCE) from when island a groupto island, of seafaring out from people, “Near speaking Oceania” Austronesian to “Remote Oceania”languages, (Figure began 1). to These move peoples from island are known to island, collectively out from as “Near the Lapita Oceania” people. to “RemoteNot only wereOceania” they (Figureaccomplished1). These seafarers peoples but are they known also collectively followed largely as the Lapitamarine-subsistence people. Not onlylive- lihoods,were they focused accomplished on nearshore seafarers marine but foraging they also, followedsupplemented largely by marine-subsistence some horticulture. liveli-They favouredhoods, focused near-ocean on nearshore habitation, marine often foraging, in stilt houses supplemented above fringing by some reefs, horticulture. and made They pot- tery,favoured some near-ocean of which they habitation, decorated often intricat in stiltely houses and aboveuniquely fringing using reefs, a technique and made known pottery, as dentatesome of stamping, which they which decorated is considered intricately a anddistin uniquelyguishing using feature a technique of Lapita-era known earthenware as dentate [10,11].stamping, which is considered a distinguishing feature of Lapita-era earthenware [10,11]. Figure 1. TheThe earliest earliest (Lapita) (Lapita) settlers settlers on isla islandsnds in in the the southwest southwest Pacific Pacific moved moved out out from from the the Bismarck Bismarck Archipelago Archipelago (Papua New Guinea) about 3300 years ago (cal BP), bypassed the main group of Solomon Islands, to occupy Nendö (eastern outer Solomons), New Caledonia and Vanuatu, before crossing at least 900 km of open ocean to reach Fiji perhaps 3050 years ago, and reaching Samoa and Tonga before the end of Lapita culture (marked by the end of pottery decoration) about 2500 ago, and reaching Samoa and Tonga before the end of Lapita culture (marked by the end of pottery decoration) about years ago. 2500 years ago. The spread ofof the the Lapita Lapita people people through through the the western western tropical tropical Pacific Pacific was was comparatively compara- tivelyrapid andrapid must and havemust involved have involved cross-ocean cross-ocean journeys journeys of 900 kmof 900 or more.km or The more. Lapita The peopleLapita peoplereached reached the Fiji Islandsthe Fiji aroundIslands 3050around BP (11003050 BCE),BP (1100 probably BCE), settling probably first settling at Bourewa first inat Bourewasouthwest in Viti southwest Levu Island Viti Levu [12– 15Island]. The [12–15]. Lapita The era Lapita in Fiji, era that in is Fiji, the that time is during the time which dur- ingthe which Lapita the people Lapita remained people remained recognisable recognisable as a distinctive as a distinctive cultural group,cultural is group, 3050–2500 is 3050– BP 2500(1100–550 BP (1100–550 BCE). It BCE). is possible It is possible that after that havingafter having established established themselves themselves at Bourewa, at Bourewa, the theLapita Lapita people people began began moving moving along along the the south south coast coast of of Viti Viti Levu Levu reaching reaching thethe islandsislands of central Fiji around 2900 BP (950 BCE) (Figure 22A).A). LapitaLapita settlementssettlements areare knownknown toto havehave existed in central Fiji on the islands of Moturiki, Naigani and Ovalau [[9,16,17].9,16,17]. The site at Naitabale on the south coast of Moturiki Isla Islandnd (Figure 22B)B) waswas discovereddiscovered andand excavatedexcavated inin 2002 byby aa researchresearch team team from from the the University University of of the the South South Pacific Pacific and and the the Fiji Fiji Museum Museum [9] [9]of whichof which the the authors authors were were part. part. The Naitabale Lapita site was the focus of a study of sand temper that involved the analysis of 45 sherds that were certain (because of their dentate-stamped decoration) to be Lapita in age. Of this total, 15 were analysed by Kumar [18] and 30 were analysed by Dickinson [19]. This paper discusses results of the analysis of Naitabale ceramic sand- temper analyses and explores the implications of these for the reconstruction