West Polynesia (28,577 – 7,822 BCE): Upper Paleolithic II — Deglaciation, Rising Seas, and Lagoon Maturation

Geographic & Environmental Context

West Polynesia includes Hawaiʻi Island (the Big Island); Tonga (Tongatapu, Haʻapai, Vavaʻu); Samoa (Savaiʻi, Upolu, Tutuila/Manuʻa); Tuvalu and Tokelau (low atolls); the Cook Islands (Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Mangaia, etc.); Society Islands (Raiatea–Tahiti–Moʻorea–Bora Bora); and the Marquesas (Nuku Hiva, Hiva Oa).

• Anchors: Mauna Loa–Mauna Kea lava fields; Tongatapu–Haʻapai fringing lagoons; Rarotonga–Aitutaki reef flats; Raiatea–Tahiti leeward lagoons; Nuku Hiva embayments; Tuvalu–Tokelau reef rims.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Deglaciation drives rapid sea-level rise; coastlines retreat landward; coral growth keeps pace, building spur-and-groove and back-reef ponds.

• Bølling–Allerød warm spike then Younger Dryas cool snap; Early Holocene warmth stabilizes.

Biota & Baseline (No Human Presence)

• Lagoons teem with mullet, surgeonfish, parrotfish; strand-forest and dune systems expand; montane cloud forests intact.

Long-Term Significance

Creation of stable lagoons and wetland back-beach ponds—ideal future sites for loko iʻa (fishponds) and irrigated terraces.