Changing role of nearshore-marine foods in the subsistence economy of inland upland communities during the last millennium in the tropical Pacific Islands: Insights from the Bā River Valley, Northern Viti Levu Island, Fiji

Abstract

Although the Fiji Islands have been settled for more than 3000 years, the prehistoric settlement history of the 750-km2 Bā River Valley in northern Viti Levu Island is largely unknown. Investigations of two former upland settlement sites (Tubabaka and Vatusōsoso) in defensive locations, more than 10 km from the coast, and occupied perhaps AD 1250–1850, are reported here. At both sites, shellfish remains are abundant and dominated by nearshore-marine species that would have required round-trip journeys of at least 11·5–13 hours to obtain. Patterns of marine-shellfish consumption varied through time in a similar manner at both sites, increasing during their early occupation and declining later. This is likely to demonstrate the gradual adaptation of former coastal dwellers living at these sites to inland subsistence.