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Reconsideration of sea level and landscape for first L apita settlement at N ukuleka, K ingdom of T onga

2016; Wiley; Volume: 51; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/arco.5087

2204-1907

David V. Burley,

Geology and Paleoclimatology Research

ABSTRACT Palaeo‐sea‐level estimation and palaeo‐shoreline mapping of the Fanga ‘Uta/Fanga Kakau Lagoons on Tongatapu was undertaken by W.R. Dickinson in 1999. First Lapita settlement of Tonga occurred by c.2850 calBP on what is today the Nukuleka Peninsula, at the entrance to this lagoon system. Additional archaeological survey, excavation and LiDAR data challenge the 1999 portrayal of Nukuleka as a contracted peninsula tied to the Tongatapu mainland. Rather, first landfall took place on the coastal flats and shoreline of an elongate palaeo‐islet formed from the remnants of an earlier mid‐Holocene sandspit. The recovery of decorated Lapita ceramics in several contexts within a Lapita‐age tidal range implies the presence of stilt‐house occupation, as documented for the Lapita cultural complex in Near Oceania.