Vanuatu

A chain of 13 principal and many smaller islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, 500 miles (800 km) west of Fiji and 1,100 miles (1,800 km) east of Australia. Many of the northern islands have been inhabited by Melanesian peoples for at least 3,000 years; the earliest radiocarbon date for settlement on the southern islands is 420 BC on Tanna. It has an Austronesian-speaking population. Important archaeological phenomena include the Mangaasi pottery tradition and the burial site of Roy Mata.

[New Hebrides]. An archipelago in central Melanesia, with an Austronesianspeaking population and an archaeological record going back to Lapita settlement about 1300 bc. Settlement before this date remains hypothetical. Important archaeological phenomena include the Mangaasi pottery tradition and the burial site of Roy Mata. Like most parts of Melanesia, the group has a very rich ethnographic record.