On the Beach in Remote Oceania

Abstract

The character and date of the earliest settlement of the remote Pacific Islands remains an important research objective. Tracing human origins in “Remote Oceania” reveals a series of west-to-east migrations, ultimately from southern coastal China before 6,000 years BP (Bellwood et al. 2011 ). In the far west of Micronesia, the Mariana Islands have become known as the home of the oldest archaeological sites of Remote Oceania, dated 3,500–3,300 years BP. We are only now achieving some clarity on where to find sites, in a manner that conforms to CRM constraints.