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While pre‐European settlement of Norfolk Island has been recognised for many decades, particularly the larger settlement site at Emily Bay, until this point there has been limited understanding, and very little systematic recording of evidence for inland settlement. This report presents the location, chronology, stratigraphy and artefact assemblage of a previously undocumented lithic production site from Mount Bates in the north‐western uplands of Norfolk Island. The site dates to approximately 600–700 calBP. Excavations recovered over 1200 basalt artefacts, representing various stages in the adze production process. Sites such as this contribute to a better understanding of the range of activities carried out by Polynesian settlers of Norfolk Island, the stone tool economies of marginal Polynesia and the importance of local stone sources for understanding Oceanic settlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Society Islands, multi‐phase coastal sites with successive occupations spanning several centuries have been difficult to find and have been poorly studied, resulting in a vague understanding of this archipelago's founding cultural complex and its adaptations to specific island environments through time. Discovery and excavation of ScMo‐350, a well‐stratified coastal site in Haumi, Moʻorea, Society Islands, provides robust sample sizes for understanding the timing and function of early Māʻohi coastal settlements and their constellation of use through time. My discussion of the site focuses on four topics: methodological issues for identifying early colonization sites in Central Eastern Polynesia; site stratigraphy and dating; the timing of island colonization on Moʻorea and its comparison to the Faʻahia site on Huahine; and preliminary analysis of ScMo‐350 sub‐surface features and artifacts to understand site function and its change through time. Bayesian analysis of short‐lived samples from ScMo‐350's earliest deposits and those from the Faʻahia site are described in an effort to refine our understanding of the Society Islands' Colonization Phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used for non‐invasive examination of a well‐known, yet complex, painting from the studio of Leonardo da Vinci in combination with routine imaging in various bands of electromagnetic radiation. In contrast with these techniques, OCT provides depth‐resolved information. Three post‐processing modalities were explored: cross‐sectional views, maps of scattering from given depths, and their 3D models. Some hidden alterations of the painting owing to past restorations were traced: retouching and overpainting with their positioning within varnish layers as well as indications of a former transfer to canvas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The Atiahara site is the first and only excavated site on Tubuai Island (Austral archipelago, French Polynesia). It was accidently discovered in 1994 and has been excavated on several occasions since then, over a surface of 197 m2. This paper aims to present a compilation of the data available from the excavations, with a specific focus on stratigraphy, a spatial analysis of preserved occupations and new radiocarbon dates. We report a short dating sequence running from 1215 to 1390 CE, which makes the Atiahara site one of the earliest settlements in the Austral Islands. Finally, we mention the potential for tackling important topics in Polynesian archaeology through this key site, including the evolution of material culture and fishing strategies, socio-economic dynamics within a central Polynesian domestic context and possible climate variability in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the first excavations by Sinoto and Kellum in 1964-1965, the Hane dune site, situated on Ua Huka, Marquesas Islands, has been considered as a key site in central Eastern Polynesia and, as such, has been utilised in different colonisation models. However, some problems remained, particularly due to the lack of full publication of the original excavation results, and it appeared that these issues could only be resolved with new investigations. In 2009, the authors opened an 18 m2 excavation that produced a controlled stratigraphy of ten layers. This paper presents the first results, focusing on the stratigraphy and new dates obtained, indicating a sequence of nearly six centuries, from early human settlement around the mid-tenth century until the abandonment of the dune around the mid-sixteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]