Human settlement of Oceania marked the culmination of a global colonization process that began when humans first left Africa at least 90,000 years ago. The precise origins and dispersal routes of the Austronesian peoples and the associated Lapita culture remain contentious, and numerous disparate models of dispersal (based primarily on linguistic, genetic, and archeological data) have been proposed. Here, through the use of mtDNA from 781 modern and ancient Sus specimens, we provide evidence for an early humanmediated translocation of the Sulawesi warty pig (Sus celebensis) to Flores and Timor and two later separate human-mediated dispersals of domestic pig (Sus scrofa) through Island Southeast Asia into Oceania. Of the later dispersal routes, one is unequivocally associated with the Neolithic (Lapita) and later Polynesian migrations and links modern and archeological Javan, Sumatran, Wallacean, and Oceanic pigs with mainland Southeast Asian S. scrofa. Archeological and genetic evidence shows these pigs were certainly introduced to islands east of the Wallace Line, including New Guinea, and that so-called ''wild'' pigs within this region are most likely feral descendants of domestic pigs introduced by early agriculturalists. The other later pig dispersal links mainland East Asian pigs to western Micronesia, Taiwan, and the Philippines. These results provide important data with which to test current models for human dispersal in the region.domestication ͉ mtDNA ͉ Pacific colonization ͉ phylogeography

Recent observations of fishing, the ethnohistoric literature, the archaeological fishing tool kit, marine environments adjacent to the site, and the fish bone assemblage were considered to understand fishing strategies on the makatea island of Rurutu, Austral Islands, French Polynesia. Excavations totalling 53.5 m2 at the Peva dune site (ON1) were conducted in 2003. The sandy, calcareous deposits from Area 2 (33 m2) were dry sieved through 3.2 mm mesh and 5,011 fish bones weighing 2,229.7 g were retained for analysis. Two distinct cultural layers were identified. Archaic period layer D had 20 fish families inventoried from a total of 141 minimum numbers of individuals (MNI) and 1,081 numbers of identified specimens (NISP). Average bone weight was 0.42 g and median vertebra width between 5–6 mm (n=747). The Classic period layer A, associated with a marae complex, contained only seven fish families, a MNI of 24 and NISP of 403. Average bone weight was 0.63 g and median vertebra width between 10–11 mm (n=107). While a broad spectrum fish capture strategy is inferred for the Archaic, selective larger fish, including an order of magnitude increase in shark, were likely prestige items used in ritual offerings during the Classic period. Comparisons of the archaeological assemblages from five makatea islands show that in all but one case, sites are dominated by groupers, unlike many other Pacific island sites where parrotfish are most frequent. This, alone, might be the unique signature of makatea assemblages.

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Five bones, representing one adult of the Pacific Flying Fox, Pteropus tonganus, were recovered from an archaeological site on Rurutu (151 21 0 W, 22 27 0 S), Austral Islands, French Polynesia, making this the most eastern extension of the species. For the first time, flying fox bones from cultural deposits were directly dated by accelerator mass spectrometry, yielding an age of death between A.D. 1064 and 1155. Their stratigraphic position in an Archaic period archaeological site and the absence of bones in the late prehistoric to historic layers point to extirpation of the species. No flying fox bones were found in prehuman deposits and human transport of the species cannot be ruled out.

The Atiahara site is the first and only excavated site on Tubuai Island (Austral archipelago, French Polynesia). It was accidently discovered in 1994 and has been excavated on several occasions since then, over a surface of 197 m 2 . This paper aims to present a compilation of the data available from the excavations, with a specific focus on stratigraphy, a spatial analysis of preserved occupations and new radiocarbon dates. We report a short dating sequence running from 1215 to 1390 CE, which makes the Atiahara site one of the earliest settlements in the Austral Islands. Finally, we mention the potential for tackling important topics in Polynesian archaeology through this key site, including the evolution of material culture and fishing strategies, socio-economic dynamics within a central Polynesian domestic context and possible climate variability in the region. RÈSUMÈLe site d'Atiahara est le premier, età ce jour le seul, fouillé sur l'île de Tubuai (Archipel des Australes, Polynésie française). Découvert fortuitement en 1994, il a fait l'objet de plusieurs opérations archéologiques, et ce sur 197 m 2 . L'objectif de cet article est de présenter une synthèse des données spatiales et stratigraphiques récoltées au cours des différents terrains, ainsi que les datations radiocarbones effectuées sur des charbons issus des différents niveaux archéologiques. La séquence chronostratigraphique mise enévidence est relativement courte, avec des occupations domestiques datant entre 1215 et 1390 CE, ce qui fait d'Atiahara l'un des plus anciens sites de peuplement connu dans l'archipel des Australes. Nousévoquons les différents aspects qui devrontêtre abordés prochainementà travers l'étude de cet habitat côtier, et notamment les activités artisanales, les stratégies de subsistance, etéventuellement les perturbations du climat au cours de la première moitié du second millénaire de notreère.

The Peva dune site on Rurutu, Austral Islands, excavated in 2003, has yielded a rich archaeological assemblage containing artifacts and both vertebrate and invertebrate fauna from two distinct stratigraphic layers. The lower layer dates from the East Polynesian Archaic period (c. A.D. 1000–1450), and the upper layer from the Classic period (c. eighteenth and nineteenth centuries A.D.), during which time the site was a ceremonial marae. The two layers are entirely distinct, separated by a thick deposit of sterile beach sand. This article analyzes the major temporal trends in Rurutu's artifact and faunal assemblages, and discusses them in terms of both the general efflorescence of East Polynesian culture, and the more specific emergence of a uniquely Austral culture, which impressed early European visitors as being quite unique.

We identify 70 bird bones from the Peva dune site, Rurutu, Austral Islands. These bones represent 10 species, dominated by the extant White-tailed

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