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When did the first people begin settling Melanesia?

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Map of the Pacific Islands region showing political boundaries, major island groups, and countries such as Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, French Polynesia, and Kiribati. The map uses color shading to indicate elevation and ocean depth, with key islands and capitals labeled throughout the central and southwestern Pacific Ocean.
Pacific Islands

The first people began settling Melanesia at least 40,000 years ago. These early inhabitants, known as Papuans, occupied the Sahul continent—which included present-day New Guinea and Australia—when sea levels were lower during the Pleistocene epoch.12

Archaeological evidence indicates that these populations were hunter-gatherers adapted to tropical rainforest environments. By approximately 30,000 years ago, there is secure evidence of human presence in the interior of New Guinea. A second major wave of migration occurred about 4,000 years ago, when Austronesian speakers associated with the Lapita culture arrived by sea, eventually intermixing with the established Papuan populations.12