Sand tempers in indigenous Lapita and Lapitoid Polynesian Plainware and imported protohistoric Fijian pottery of Ha'apai (Tonga) and the question of Lapita tradeware

Abstract

Abstract The Lapita site at Faleloa on Foa Island in the Ha'apai Group of central Tonga lies near the southeastern end of the belt of Lapita sites spread through island Melanesia and western Polynesia during the millennium 1500–500 BC. Temper sands in Faleloa Lapita sherds closely resemble modern placer sands on beaches of islands within Ha'apai, and document local manufacture without intrusion of tradeware. Other Lapita and Lapitoid (Polynesian Plainware) sherds from nearby islands in Ha'apai contain similar local tempers that differ only in reflecting lesser placer concentrations of ferromagnesian mineral grains. Imported protohistoric sherds from Fiji contain distinctly different temper sand clearly exotic to Tonga. Although suggestions that Lapita pottery was largely tradeware are not supported by available petrographic information, Lapita pottery transport should be tested further by additional study of sand tempers in other Lapita collections using systematic sampling strategies to select sherds for microscopic analysis. The varied geotectonic environment of different island groups within the Lapita region ensures that far‐travelled wares can be identified by temper analysis.