Posted on 10/23/2004 2:48:19 PM PDT by blam
Mysterious pottery shows true face of first Pacific settlers
Staring out from an ancient piece of pottery, the mysterious face of a bearded man has given scientists a unique glimpse of what the first settlers of Fiji may have looked like.
Researchers say the "extraordinary discovery" is a vital clue in mapping out how the South Pacific came to be inhabited some 3,000 years ago, suggesting the first direct link to islands some thousands of kilometres away.
Thought to be the work of the Lapita people - a long-lost race which originated near modern-day Taiwan then migrated to Polynesia - the fragment is also at least 200 years older than any other piece found in Fiji.
"This is the first time that a clearly recognisable face design made in three dimensions on a piece of Lapita pottery has been found in Fiji," said a statement from the University of the South Pacific, based in the archipelago.
Preliminary analysis shows that the eerie-looking face consists of a prominent raised nose, the left eye and what might be eyelashes, said Roselyn Kumar of the University of the South Pacific's Institute of Applied Sciences.
There are also designs that suggest what might be head-hair, and crescent shapes on the base which were possibly intended to represent beard-hair.
The find therefore gives researchers an opportunity to gaze on the countenance of Fiji's first inhabitants, from whom modern Polynesians are believed to be descended.
But equally significant is that it is the first time that a facial design has been found on Lapita pottery outside a group of islands north of Papua New Guinea - which are some 3,400 kilometres away from Fiji.
"As such it represents an extraordinary discovery," the university said.
The find made it possible to conclude that the early people of Fiji had at some stage come from the far-off island chain, named the Bismarck Archipelago, Geography Professor Patrick Nunn said.
It could go some way towards settling the long archaeological debate on settling of Polynesia - a vast triangle of islands from Hawaii in the north, to New Zealand in the south-east and Rapanui or Easter Island in the east.
The new face fragment was found near Natadola Beach, west of the Fijian capital Suva, in the tourist area of Viti Levu island.
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Relatives of Kennewick Man?
Mysterious Giant Human Remains Found In Fiji
"Little is known about the highly unusual find, which includes a skull bearing strange holes drilled into its cheekbones, with authorities keen to keep the controversial discovery under wraps."
Relatives of Kennewick Man?
The Aino people of northern Japan? Bearded, distinctly different facial features than other East Asian occupants, they appear more Caucasian than their neighbors. Perhaps a seafaring people who lost their urge to explore?
The Ainu are probably of the same group of refugees that fled Sundaland (an area the size of present day India) that went underwater at the end of the last Ice Age around Indonesia. The Melanesians (Negritos) have tales/stories/myths (Cain & Abel like) of tall, light-skinned, red-headed people in the region in prehistoric times.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
Thanks for the Ping. More stuff on Sundaland would be of interest if it comes up. Again, tanks.
Nope......just ordinary fishermen
The"devil's advocate" in me would note that the "Negritos" may have heavey facial hair and don't have the Mongolian flat face. Any word on brow ridges?
Thanks. We need someone (from time to time) to keep us in check on these threads. No information other than what is contained in this article.
I know Taiwan today is inhabited by the Han Chinese people. I wonder who lived in Taiwan before the Chinese came? Sundaland is present day Indonesia and Malayasia.
The Formosans. Shang ki shek(sp) excaped from the mainland in, I think, 1949 when the commies took over. The Formosians were treated like second class citizens by the invading Chinese.
"Sundaland is present day Indonesia and Malayasia."
Very small parts of a (once) much larger land mass.
I read somewhere that Formosans speak a language similar to Japanese.
I've been to Taiwan a number of times but, I don't know about any relationship to Japanese. I know one of the dialects is Talog.
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