Palaeoenvironmental evidence for human settlement of New Caledonia

Abstract

Abstract Human occupation sites dating back to the late Pleistocene have been uncovered in the Bismarck Archipelago and northern Solomon Islands. Beyond this region to the east, however, no archaeological site pre‐dates 3500 BP. This dramatic discontinuity in time raises the question of whether an earlier migration beyond the Solomons may have taken place and it is this possibility that has been examined for New Caledonia. Sediment from Saint Louis Lac in the south of the main island was analysed for indirect indicators of human impact. Changes in charcoal influx and vegetation indicative of disturbance (ferns and grass) were examined. These were analysed in conjunction with the site's changing stratigraphy, sedimentation rates and mineral magnetic properties. Grass pollen and fern spores abruptly increase around 3000 BP which corresponds with a significant change in charcoal influx. Human activity, within the vicinity of Saint Louis Lac, is therefore interpreted as commencing around 3000 BP, a finding in close accordance with New Caledonia's current archaeological record.

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