Abstract:
A provenance study of volcanic glass specimensfrom 12 archaeological sitesin the kingdom of tonga is carried out employing pXRF(portable X-Ray Fluoresence) analysis. To accomplish this volcanic glass smaples from previously identifiedsources in northern tongaand the adjacent islands of Samoa are analyzed. Results indicate inter-island voyaging and interactions over a 600km linear distance along the tongan lisland chain from first lapita settlement ca 2900 BP throughout later prehistory. Tongan volcanic glass however, it is not found in Samoa and, with the expectation of one late prehistoricspecimen, Samoan volcanic glass isnot present in Tonga. This distribution challenges current conepts of an intergrated ancestral society and homeland common to Tongaand Samoa from the lapita period onward.
