Test excavations of an early Lapita colonising site on Kavewa Island off the north‐east coast of Vanua Levu in 2012 encountered an abundant assemblage of Anadara shell disc beads and preforms, as well as lithic micro‐drills for bead perforation. Concentrated in the upper strata of a 1 × 1 m unit, radiocarbon dates place this assemblage in the interval 2490–2280 calBP. Production stages (chaîne opératoire) in bead manufacture are described as is the fabrication of micro‐drills through bipolar flaking of small quartz, chalcedony and chert clasts, locally acquired from Malau breccia. A survey of the Oceanic literature relating to stone drills and shell bead production finds a comparable assemblage only at Bootless Bay, Motupore Island, Papua New Guinea. This assemblage, however, is 3500 km distant and 1750 years more recent in time. The production of beads and micro‐drills represents specialised expertise. Whether this supported an external exchange system, or was exclusively related to household use, cannot be determined.

中文翻译：

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斐济北部卡韦瓦岛的贝壳圆珠制造商车间

2012年，在瓦努阿河东北海岸卡韦瓦岛上一个早期Lapita殖民地的测试开挖中，发现了大量的Anadara贝壳圆盘珠和预成型件，以及用于珠子穿孔的石质微钻。放射性碳素浓度集中在一个1×1 m单元的上地层中，其集合在2490–2280 calBP之间。生产阶段（歌剧演出））在珠子制造中被描述为是通过从本地从Malau角砾岩中获取的小石英，玉髓和石碎屑的双极剥落来制造微钻的。一份有关石钻和贝壳珠生产的海洋文献的调查发现，只有在巴布亚新几内亚的莫图波岛的Bootless湾，才有类似的组合。但是，这种组合距离3500 km，并且距时间最近1750年。磁珠和微钻的生产代表着专业知识。无法确定这是否支持外部交换系统，或仅与家庭使用有关。