Dating the appearance of Lapita pottery in the Bismarck Archipelago and its dispersal to Remote Oceania

ABSTRACT The Bayesian calibration program OxCal v.4.1.5 is applied to two chronological datasets for early Lapita derived from two comprehensive reviews. The two datasets are supplemented by published ages for early Lapita sites in two key island groups within Remote Oceania: Vanuatu and Fiji. The analyses provide statistically robust chronologies for the emergence of Lapita on Mussau at 3470–3250 cal BP and in the rest of the Bismarck Archipelago at 3360–3240 cal BP. After a period of 130–290 years, Lapita dispersed to Vanuatu by 3250–3100 cal BP and to Fiji by 3130–3010 cal BP.