Lapita: of The Lapping Waves

Lapita Pottery Fragment:
 http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/lapi/hd_lapi.htm

This pottery is a fine example of the way in which the Lapita seamlessly incorporated the geometric and the material.

An artists vision of the full work.

Rounded Lapita Pot:
http://exploreoceania.weebly.com/melansian-lapita-art-and-poetry.html
an example of a typical Lapita pot.

Lapita Mask:
http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2010/dec/14/lapita-oceanic-ancestors-paris-review
An ornately designed wooden mask. Note the similarities in patterning with the first piece.

Straight Lapita Pot

http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2010/11/lapita-oceanic-ancestors-exhibition-at.html#.Ui0ejRbK6aG
This is an example of Vanuatuan Lapita pottery created with superimposed layers of clay. After the Lapita landed on Vanuatu the quality of the pots regressed as techniques were lost.

Lapita Stonework:
http://www.tribalartmagazine.com/en/galeries/galerie_lapita.html
The Lapita created types of art that defy traditional delineation, such as the piece above.

Lapita Abstract Stonework.
http://www.tribalartmagazine.com/en/galeries/galerie_lapita.html
This beautiful work stands out because the human figures are so abstract that they are not immediately recognized as such, and become just as much your imagination as the artists.

Simple Lapita Pot

http://www.janeresture.com/voyaging/main.htm

This is an example of simpler, more practical Lapita pottery.

Lapita Pyramid

http://www.connaissancedesarts.com/archeologie/actus/lapita-le-petit-poucet-de-l-oceanie-86894.php

An interesting example of a pyramidal structure, note the recurring circular theme.

Fiji Pot Shards 

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/the-origins-of-polynesia/11678

Sadly, most Lapitan Pottery has not survived intact, the vast majority are mere shards.

Lapita Turtle

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/the-origins-of-polynesia/11678

This is a depiction of a turtle, as abstract as the rest of Lapitan art.