THE SOCIETY OF THE EARLY FIJIANS SETTLEMENTS

• First settlements in Fiji- started by voyaging traders and settlers from Melanesia about 3500 years ago.
• Early travelers were using Fiji as a transit.
• Due to the fact that Lapita potteries have been found in Lakeba, Beqa, Natunuka, Naigani and other parts of Fiji, it suggested that the first Fijians shared common cultural aspects with the people of the Western Pacific or Melanesia.
•  Stone adzes found in Samoa and Fiji suggested that Fijian culture has a link to Samoans culture.
• Huge canoes made from Fiji trees were found in Tonga.
• Pots made in Fiji have been found in the Marquesas Islands.
• All these contacts could have been the result of people of other places coming to, through and from Fiji.
• This could also explain the number of languages or dialects used within the Fiji Group.