Lapita people (jan 1, 1500 BC – jan 1, 500 BC)
Description:
Originated in New Caledonia; spread out across MelanesiaLapita =/= original name
Hopped around Melanesia sprinkling agricultural societies and moving on. Based culturally on Austronesian ancestors.
Were big on pottery decorated with geometric designs (cute)
Even bigger on trade. They could probably have made it on their own but they really liked getting imported things and also liked to sell their own stuff.
The book gives this huge list of things that they sold and bought. I'm putting down the first few:
That pottery I was talking about before; shell jewelry; obsidian; stone tools; feathers; fodd; spouses (which means like wives and husbands right like your spouse is the person you married, so I'm a little confused about what this spouse-trade would entail, but I'm just going to accept this so I think you should too).
Added to timeline:
Date:
jan 1, 1500 BC
jan 1, 500 BC
~ 1000 years