Archaeological Investigations on the Small Islands of Aiwa Levu and Aiwa Lailai, Lau Group, Fiji

Bird, mammal and reptile remains

“…BP, confirming its early presence in the Lau Group (Jones et al 2007). The rarity of chicken bone from Lapita and post-Lapita sites in Fiji (Thomas et al 2004;Burley 2005;Cochrane 2006;Jones et al 2007;Nunn et al 2007) contrasts with its frequency in archaeological deposits in Tonga, Niue and Rapa Nui, suggesting that Gallus gallus may have been semi-domesticated in Fiji, with feral populations present on many islands.…”

“…The two species of Rattus introduced to Fiji in prehistory (R. exulans and R. praetor) both appear to be early introductions and have been found in several Lapita sites, such as Votua and Qaranipuqa in the Lau Group, and on Viti Levu, although R. praetor has not so far been reported from the Yasawas or Aiwa Islands (Cochrane 2006;Jones et al 2007). At the Qaranipuqa site on Lakeba, both R. praetor and R. exulans were found together in Layers P-T, which overlie Layers U-X (White et al 2000) that contain abundant remains of extinct land birds, especially Megapodius alimentum and Ducula lakeba.…”

“…BP (Burley 2005). The age of the pig and dog remains found at two sites on Aiwa Levu and Aiwa Lailai is not reported (Jones et al 2007). Thus, it is still uncertain when the pig and dog were introduced to Fiji, and whether these species had a major role in the decline of native species in Fiji.…”

The fish bone remains

“…However, in the two Aiwa Islands in the Lau Group, the Aiwa 1 site fish bone NISP of 2111 represented 19 families, dominated, in order, by the Serranidae, Acanthuridae, Balistidae, Scaridae, Diodontidae, Labridae and Lethrinidae, which was different from the Dau rock shelter (NISP=1575, 14 families) and Cave 2 assemblage (NISP=1180, 17 families), where the Scaridae and Acanthuridae were the main taxa taken (O'Day et al 2003). A summary of fish bone from 12 sites on Nayau Island in the Lau Group based on %NISP (Jones et al 2007) indicates that the Scaridae (8%) were less important than the Acanthuridae (34%), Balistidae (19%) and Diodontidae (16%). Another site in the Lau Group, the Qaranilaca Cave on Vanuabalavu dating to the second millennium BP, had a fish bone NISP of 1073 from at least 16 families, with the Scaridae and Carangidae having the highest MNI, followed by the Labridae, Balistidae, Lethrinidae and Serranidae.…”

A Long-Term Perspective on Biodiversity and Marine Resource Exploitation in Fiji's Lau Group

“…People living on Lakeba and Nayau maintain dryland and wetland agricultural crops (especially taro, cassava, sweet potato, and yam). Conversely, Aiwa supports diverse native forests with little if any area suitable for agriculture ( Jones et al 2007b). The archaeological sites on these four islands span central Lau's prehistoric occupation, extending from the Lapita period to European contact in 1774 (Best 1984, Jones 2007.…”