Vanuatu in the vanguard
New frontiers in Lapita zooarchaeology
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24033978 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Stuart Hawkins (Australian National University, corresponding author), Stuart Bedford (Australian National University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 5 |
| Publication date | 2026-08-13 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2813-432X • E-ISSN: 2813-432X |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fearc.2026.1849249 |
| OpenAlex | W7202372470 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 115 |
This review synthesizes zooarchaeological evidence for Lapita subsistence strategies (c. 3200–2700 BP) across the Southwest Pacific, with particular focus on Vanuatu and the transformative contributions of the Teouma site. It examines how Lapita colonists adapted to diverse island ecologies, the impact of human arrival on native faunal diversity, and the methodological and theoretical challenges that have shaped our understanding. This paper highlights the dynamic, regionally variable nature of Lapita subsistence evidence and identifies priorities for future research. The Teouma assemblage demonstrates that when well-preserved sites are located and excavated with fine-grained recovery methods and analysed using sophisticated zooarchaeological methods within robust human behavioural ecology theoretical frameworks, Lapita zooarchaeology can move beyond basic taxonomic lists to address questions of resource depression, foraging efficiency, animal management, and sociopolitical complexity. Archaeological science techniques could in future provide additional advances in Lapita zooarchaeology.
Assemblage (archaeology) · Faunal assemblage · Foraging · Human ecology · Subsistence agriculture · Taphonomy · Zooarchaeology · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Primate Behavior and Ecology
Terrestrial engagements by terminal Lapita maritime specialists on the southern Papuan coast
Historical Ecology in the Pacific Islands
The benefits of costly signaling
Phylogeny and ancient DNA of Sus provides insights into neolithic expansion in Island Southeast Asia and Oceania
Genomic insights into the peopling of the Southwest Pacific
Prehistoric Extinctions of Pacific Island Birds
Multi-isotopic analysis of first Polynesian diet (Talasiu, Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga)
Earliest Evidence for Pit Cultivation Provides Insight on the Nature of First Polynesian Settlement
Derivation and Application of a Food Utility Index (FUI) for European Wild Boar ( Sus scrofa L.)
Evidence for introduced taro (Colocasia esculenta) and lesser yam (Dioscorea esculenta) in Lapita-era (c. 3050–2500 cal. yr BP) deposits from Bourewa, southwest Viti Levu Island, Fiji
Bayesian re-evaluation of Lapita settlement in Fiji
Lapita Burials, a New Lapita Cemetery and Post-Lapita Burials from Malakula, Northern Vanuatu, Southwest Pacific
Faunal Extinction and Human Habitation in New Caledonia
The Power of Paradigms
Further Investigations at the Naigani Lapita site (VL 21/5), Fiji
Vertebrate Taphonomy
The effects of resource depression on foraging efficiency, diet breadth, and patch use in southern New Zealand
Pacific Seascapes, Canoe Performance, and a Review of Lapita Voyaging with Regard to Theories of Migration
The archaeology of forest exploitation and change in the tropics during the Pleistocene
Discussion of screen size and resource depression
Freshwater fishing among Lapita people
Early settlement and subsistence on Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga
Consistency and Variation in the Focus, Intensity and Archaeological Histories of Lapita and post-Lapita Fisheries in Ha’apai, Kingdom of Tonga
Evidence for Social and Cultural Change in Central Vanuatu Between 3000 and 2000 BP
The Commensal Model for Human Settlement of the Pacific 10 Years on—What Can We Say and Where to Now
The Evolution of Migration
Deconstructing the Lapita Cultural Complex in the Bismarck Archipelago
Late-Holocene bats of Mé Auré Cave, New Caledonia
New Direction In Human Colonisation of The Pacific
Prehistoric Butchery and Consumption of Birds in the Kingdom of Tonga, South Pacific
Dietary change in Fijian prehistory
Behavioral ecology and the future of archaeological science
A short note on banana (Musa) phytoliths in Lapita, immediately post-Lapita and modern period archaeological deposits from Vanuatu
The influence of time averaging and space averaging on the application of foraging theory in zooarchaeology
Lapita subsistence strategies and food consumption patterns in the community of Teouma (Efate, Vanuatu)
Radiocarbon dating of burials from the Teouma Lapita cemetery, Efate, Vanuatu
Differential recovery of Pacific Island fish remains
[Diversity, Continuity and Change in the History of the Bismarck Archipelago] the Lapita Cultural Complex
[Special Section on Volcanic Glass] the Contribution of Use-Wear/Residue Studies of Obsidian Artefacts for Understanding Changes in Settlement and Subsistence Patterns in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea
The Beginning of Southern Melanesian Prehistory
Declining foraging efficiency and moa carcass exploitation in southern New Zealand
First Lapita Settlement and its Chronology in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga
Plant Remains From Waterlogged Sites In The Arawe Islands, West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea
Lapita diet and subsistence strategies on W atom I sland, P apua N ew G uinea
Tracking the Dynamics of human Colonisation and Adaptation in Central Vanuatu
Exploitation and utilization of tropical rainforests indicated in dental calculus of ancient Oceanic Lapita culture colonists
Northern Vanuatu as a Pacific Crossroads
Fish feeding behaviour and fish capture
Ancient mitogenomes of Lapita pigs confirm continuity of the Pacific Clade in Remote Oceania
Starch residues on undecorated Lapita pottery from Anir, New Ireland
Lapita on the Periphery. New data on old problems in the Kingdom of Tonga
By all means let us complete the exercise
Microfossil analysis of Lapita deposits in Vanuatu reveals introduced Araceae (aroids)
Late Quaternary hominin–bat (Chiroptera) interactions in the Asia‐Pacific
Availability of shellfish resources on prehistoric Tongatapu, Tonga
Holocene mammal faunas from archaeological sites in island Melanesia
Geographical Influences on Settlement-Location Choices by Initial Colonizers
An isotopic analysis of Late Lapita and State Period diets in Tonga
The Pigs of Island Southeast Asia and the Pacific
Counting your chickens
Changing fish use on Mangaia, southern Cook Islands
Toward a Political Ecology in Early South India
Man the Showoff? Or the Ascendance of a Just-so-Story
Lapita Migrants in the Pacific's Oldest Cemetery
Political Economy in Prehistory
Lapita Colonization across the Near/Remote Oceania Boundary
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |