In a unique transdisciplinary study of the Marquesan past, University of Auckland archaeologist Professor Melinda Allen, paleoentomologist Dr. Nick Porch and paleobotanist Tara Lewis of Deakin University's School of Life and Environmental Sciences investigated plant and arthropod (insects, spiders, mites) remains, along with indicators of early Polynesian activity, at Ho'oumi Beach on the island of Nuku Hiva.

The team hoped to build a picture of what Indigenous Polynesians, arriving in the 12th century AD from islands to the west, first encountered.

In an organic-rich, water-saturated deposit on the eastern coast of the island, Dr. Porch recovered more than 100 distinct taxa (types of organisms) including at least nine major groups and more than 39 families.

Professor Allen says radiocarbon dating of coconut shell and pandanus fruit fragments reveal the deposit formed around the mid-12th century AD, with discoveries of fine charcoal and an adzed timber pointing to a human presence, along with supporting evidence from the arthropod records.

"The sheer variety is impressive, with a remarkable array of beetles, along with ants, flies, spiders, several types of mites, a fig wasp, and other arthropods," she says.

The team's analysis suggests the strong possibility there are extinct species among the finds, as well as vulnerable native species that quickly disappeared on other East Polynesian islands soon after human arrival.