Bourewa Lapita Settlement
Bourewa
Fiji · Western Division, Nadroga-Navosa, Viti Levu
In brief
Bourewa, on the southwestern coast of Viti Levu, is one of the important excavation sites for Fiji's earliest settlements. The excavation project's director places its beginnings at approximately 1150 BC and states that its inhabitants built platforms on stilts over the coral reef.
What was found?
- 1Decorated Lapita pottery
Pottery fragments bearing fine dentate-stamped decoration and face motifs were found during excavations. The motifs are used to investigate Bourewa's connections with Western Lapita traditions.
- 2Dacite tools and adzes
A substantial proportion of the stone tools were made from locally available dacite. Scrapers and adzes document tool production for different tasks.
- 3Shell rings and beads
Rings, beads, and worked pieces made from marine shell were recovered. Traces of reworking show that some ornaments were repaired or reshaped during use.
- 4Composite fishhook fragment
A fragment of a composite fishhook made from Trochus niloticus shell was found. Researchers state that it may have been associated with offshore fishing.
- 5Dense shell accumulation
Layers of densely packed shell refuse were excavated at the settlement. These document food consumption and provide dating samples.
What does it point to?
Life at Bourewa was closely connected with coastal and reef resources. Pottery, stone tools, and worked shells show that communities drawing their food from the sea possessed a range of manufacturing skills.
What did it teach us?
- It revealed that the present-day coastal settlement was situated in an offshore island setting when it was founded.
- It documented that Lapita communities used shellfish both as a food source and as raw material for tools and ornaments.
- Studies of ceramic decoration and raw materials enabled cultural connections and local production to be investigated together.
Record
- Culture
- Lapita
- Team / historical
- Patrick Nunn, Roselyn Kumar and Sepeti Matararaba
- Coordinates
- -18.0859°, 177.3004°
Sources
- patricknunn.org
- getty.edu
- southpacificislands.travel
- Archaeology in Oceania
- Patrick Nunn — Oceanic Explorations içindeki araştırma bölümü
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- Sigatoka Sand Dunes Archaeological Site 22 km
- Teouma Lapita Cemetery 944 km
- Pouerua Archaeological Landscape 1,950 km
- Wairau Bar Settlement and Cemetery 2,622 km
- Leluh Archaeological Site 3,039 km
- Taputapuātea Marae Complex 3,322 km
- —
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- 12.000
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