# data[].attributes.body
Oceania is a region of the world that mostly consists of islands stretching from the Philippines and Australia, north to Taiwan and as far east as to include Easter Island.

Australia/Oceania Map. http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/au.htm

# data[].attributes.body
3000 - 900 BC
Oceania was settled by Austronesian groups spreading through Indonesia to the Solomon Islands. In northern and western regions rice cultivation was heavily depended upon. In the east, tubers and fruits made up a majority of the population's diet.

Neolithic cultures have spread up to Taiwan, as evidence of "stone barkcloth beaters, perforated slate projectile points, shouldered stone adzes... shell bracelets and earrings..." These distinct artifacts overlap with early Austronesian communities. These designs also resemble that of the Dabenkeng culture.

Scarre, Christopher. The Human Past: World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2013.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Indig1.jpg/250px-Indig1.jpg

# data[].attributes.body
2500 - 1000 BC
The hunter-gatherer inhabitants in Australia and New Guinea arrived some 50,000 years ago during the last Ice Age when, now submerged, land bridges existed between the mainland and the nearby islands expanding the overall landmass by nearly 50%.

Sea levels started to rise around 5000 BC forcing all coastal groups into the mainland where other groups already inhabited. With the new formation of coastlines, early inhabitants who became stranded on islands were forced to adapt to the new island environment. The "most spectacular" example is that of the separation of Tasmania from mainland Australia by the creation of the Bass Strait.
Cultural Relevance
Isolated from the mainland, this group of people adapted to the new environment but not all stranded groups were successful; many died out and were unable to adapt.

Scarre, Christopher. The Human Past: World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2013.

# data[].attributes.body
2000 - 1000 BC
In different parts of Australia, "standardized, finely made stone implements" were found discarded in large amounts. It was also discovered that this technological advance took place at different times in each region.

As the climate began to shift from warm and moist to cool and variable, foraging strategies adapted to more reliable tools such as a scrapper, seen in the east and south of Australia, and the bifacial point, found primarily in the northwest.
Cultural Relevance
This development of new foraging strategies shaped the way hunter-gatherers interacted with the environment and progressed cultural habits.

Scarre, Christopher. The Human Past: World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2013.

# data[].attributes.body
1800 BC
There was a shift in diet from lean meats such as fish to fattier meats from animals found inland. Rock-shelters were also found to be inhabited for longer periods of time.
Cultural Relevance
This suggests the exploration and further utilization of the mainland as opposed to the coastlines.

Scarre, Christopher. The Human Past: World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2013.

# data[].attributes.body
1500 - 500 BC
Originating from Southeast Asia and eventually colonizing the islands of Melanesia. The Lapita are well known for their artwork and ceramic pottery designs, which are spread throughout the islands of Oceania and often "feature intricate repeating geometric patterns that occasionally include anthropomorphic faces and figures."
Cultural Relevance
Archaeologists are able to track the spread of people throughout Polynesia and Micronesia since the artwork is so distinct. Lapita work has been found in eastern Indonesia to northern Philippines.

Wagelie, Jennifer. "Lapita Pottery (ca. 1500–500 B.C.) Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Accessed May 14, 2017. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/lapi/hd_lapi.htm

Scarre, Christopher. The Human Past: World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2013.

http://www.globaleducation.edu.au/case-studies/people-of-the-pacific.html

# data[].attributes.body
1500 BC - AD 1000
Inhabitants of New Guinea began to spread to nearby islands by canoe. Colonists reached Tonga and Samoa, located in western Polynesia, by 1000 BC.
Cultural Relevance
Due to the climate of Polynesia, colonists lost the ability to grow rice, make pottery and weave cloth but their greatest achievement was the double sailing canoe which allowed for longer and further trips, eventually allowing people to reach as far east as Easter Island. As the gaps between islands grew larger, settlers also created an intricate system of navigation using the stars.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesian_navigation

"Polynesians: An Oceanic People". Accessed May 14, 2017. http://www.pbs.org/
wayfinders/polynesian2.html

# data[].attributes.body
AD 300
Transition from pottery usage as clay becomes more scarce and earth-ovens are more practical. A theory of "bottleneck" losses is presented to explain the slight devolution as "small groups pushed even further east, gradually losing contact with their more complex home-land and leaving behind aspects of cultural knowledge."

Scarre, Christopher. The Human Past: World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2013.

# data[].attributes.body
500 BC - AD 500
A rapid spread of iron, iron-working and bronze-working to the Southeastern Asian Islands and as far as Moluccas from India, the Mediterranean and China allows for the trading of iron and the making of tools and weapons. This is evident by finds of agate beads of Indian origin in caves in Talaud, Indonesia.

Scarre, Christopher. The Human Past: World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2013.

# data[].attributes.body
AD 1200
After the first arrival of Maori, larger chiefdoms progress as population growth increases in what is now New Zealand. Unable to reach a higher social class than that of the similar Hawaiian Islands, the Maori must remain hunter-gatherers due to agricultural limitations.

Scarre, Christopher. The Human Past: World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2013.

# data[].attributes.body
This timeline was created for ANTH104 at Cascadia College

This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in an effort to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. we believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

# data[].attributes.body
"Polynesians: An Oceanic People". Accessed May 14, 2017. http://www.pbs.org/
wayfinders/polynesian2.html

Scarre, Christopher. The Human Past: World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2013.

Wagelie, Jennifer. "Lapita Pottery (ca. 1500–500 B.C.) Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Accessed May 14, 2017. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/lapi/hd_lapi.htm