Petrography and geologic provenance of sand tempers in prehistoric potsherds from Fiji and Vanuatu, South Pacific

Indigenous sand tempers in prehistoric potsherds from Fiji, Vanuatu, and neighboring islands of the eastern Solomon outliers and northern Melanesian borderland have diverse compositions reflecting the varied geology of different islands in patterns controlled by regional geotectonic relations. Mineralogical compositions of noncalcareous temper sands reflect the nature of the bedrock sources on different islands. Temper analysis indicates that the ceramic assemblages recovered from most archaeological sites within the region were made locally or nearby, but also documents interisland ceramic transfer in widely varying volumes over distances as much as several hundred kilometers. Contrasts in island geology allow exotic wares to be identified without ambiguity but to varying degrees of specificity in terms of islands of origin. Rare sherds of New Caledonian wares have been collected in prehistoric context from several islands in Vanuatu, but there is as yet no temper evidence for prehistoric ceramic transfer between Vanuatu and Fiji.