Abstract
This thesis presents an analysis of vertebrate fauna remains from two Lapita sites in the Arawe Islands of the Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea. Studies of subsistence in Pacific contexts have focussed on how Lapita peoples and their descendants were able to successfully settle the islands of Remote Oceania. Exploitation of existing resources and elements of transported landscapes are prominent themes in such research. However, subsistence in Lapita contexts from Near Oceania has not received the same level of attention. This thesis addresses this imbalance in the current view of Oceanic subsistence by investigating an assemblage from the Bismarck Archipelago, where Lapita is argued to have emerged. The fauna from the sites Adwe and Apalo represent subsistence activities from the Early and Middle Lapita periods. Through zooarchaeological analysis, and interpretation drawing from various areas of research, the Arawe Islands assemblage provides an opportunity to address questions regarding the nature of subsistence during a foundational phase in Oceanic prehistory, as well as to address debates regarding the nature of introduced elements of Lapita subsistence.