From Lapita to Post-Lapita, Replacement or Continuity in Island Melanesia? A Detailed Analysis of the Ceramic Chronology from the Deva Region (West Coast, Grande Terre, New Caledonia)

Christophe Sand

While archaeological studies appeared in the last decades to have answered the long-held question of ceramic continuity between Lapita and post-Lapita series in Island Melanesia, the results of genetic studies have revived the hypothesis of a major influx of new populations at the end of the Lapita chronology in the region. To reassess the possibility of a significant change in ceramic technology and typology after ca 2800 BP, this paper will present a synthesis of the data collected from a large CRM program fulfilled in the region of Deva (West Coast of Grande Terre, New Caledonia), backed by numerous dating. Focussing on one restricted geographical area allows to identify in detail the changes and highlight when major typological and technological changes may be witnessed in the chronology. This will contribute to the new ongoing debate of replacement or continuity in population dynamics during the human chronology of Western Remote Oceania.