Geoarchaeology Shell‐Dense Island Off Culasawani, Vanua Levu Island, Fiji: Midden or Muddle?

Patrick Nunn; Frank R Thomas; Mereia Fong Lomavatu; Michelle McKeown; Mereoni Camailakeba; Elia Nakoro; Meli Nanuku; Niko Tokainavatu; Aaron Lomavatu; Roselyn Kumar

doi:10.1002/gea.70052

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Geoarchaeology Shell‐Dense Island Off Culasawani, Vanua Levu Island, Fiji: Midden or Muddle?

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Geoarchaeology Shell‐Dense Island Off Culasawani, Vanua Levu Island, Fiji: Midden or Muddle?

Patrick Nunn, Frank R Thomas, Mereia Fong Lomavatu, Michelle McKeown, Mereoni Camailakeba, Elia Nakoro, Meli Nanuku, Niko Tokainavatu, Aaron Lomavatu and Roselyn Kumar

Geoarchaeology, Vol.41(2), pp.1-8

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.70052

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Abstract

Fiji

midden island

Pacific islands

radiocarbon ages

shell midden

shellfish

Investigations of a 3000 m2 shell-dense island surrounded by mangroves off the coast of Culasawani, a very lightly inhabited part of northern Vanua Levu Island in Fiji, suggest it is likely to be a ‘midden island’ rather than a (tsunami) wave deposit. Building an island that reaches 60 cm above mean high tide, the shell-dense deposit (70%–90% shell) averages 20–40 cm thick and appears unstratified, characteristics that initially suggested that it was a wave deposit. Subsequent investigations included four 1 × 1 m test pits and showed all shellfish remains in the island sediments to be from edible species and associated with pottery fragments. Ten radiocarbon ages cluster around a median age of 1190 cal BP (760 CE/AD) with a range of 1530–910 cal BP (420–1040 CE/AD). The clustering of these ages and the nature of the shellfish remains lead to the preferred interpretation of this shell-dense island as a true ‘midden island’, created either by people living on/above the site or by people who processed shellfish there before transporting its flesh elsewhere for consumption. If the Culasawani island is a midden island, then this is the first to be recorded in the South Pacific west of Papua New Guinea.

Details

Title: Geoarchaeology Shell‐Dense Island Off Culasawani, Vanua Levu Island, Fiji: Midden or Muddle?
Authors: Patrick Nunn (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast
Frank R Thomas - University of the South Pacific
Mereia Fong Lomavatu - Fiji National University
Michelle McKeown - University College Cork
Mereoni Camailakeba - Fiji Museum
Elia Nakoro - Fiji Museum
Meli Nanuku - Fiji Museum
Niko Tokainavatu - Fiji Museum
Aaron Lomavatu - Fiji National University
Roselyn Kumar - University of the Sunshine Coast
Publication details: Geoarchaeology, Vol.41(2), pp.1-8
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Date published: 2026
DOI: 10.1002/gea.70052
ISSN: 1520-6548
Copyright note: © 2026 The Author(s). Geoarchaeology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
Grant note: HORIZON EUROPE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions. Grant Number: 873207
Organisation Unit: Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre; Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research; School of Law and Society; Sustainability Research Cluster
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991214549902621
Output Type: Journal article

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