ABSTRACT
The cultural settlement of the large province of Southern Melanesia through West Polynesia occurred within a few centuries of 1100–800 B.C. The rapid and widespread dispersal has been attested in numerous archaeological layers containing dentate-stamped Lapita pottery of a shared ancestral tradition spreading throughout these Remote Oceanic islands. The ancient context of Lapita may be examined through the artistic design system of the decorated pottery, through the associated linguistic and biological lines of evidence, or through the apparent social-ecological interactions of the communities responsible for creating this archaeological horizon. The site records have shown massive cultural impacts in transforming the remote island environments and rendering them to meet cultural ends, described here as a siege of ecological imperialism that framed much of the cultural setting.
