An engraving by Louie-Auguste de Sainson depicting a residential dwelling at the village of Mu’a. Image: State Library of New South Wales
An engraving by Louie-Auguste de Sainson depicting a residential dwelling at the village of Mu'a. Image: State Library of New South Wales - Population decline following European settlement in Pacific island nations was far greater than previously thought, according to ANU research. Pacific Island nations suffered severe depopulation from introduced diseases as a consequence of contact with European vessels, a new study from The Australian National University (ANU) shows. The research, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science , indicates population declines were a lot larger than previously thought. According to the study, the main island of Tonga had a population decline of between 70 and 86 per cent once Europeans made contact. Researchers from the ANU School of Culture, History and Language, PhD candidate Phillip Parton and ARC Future Fellow Professor Geoffrey Clark, found there were between 100,000 to 120,000 people in Tonga prior to European contact. "I and my co-author used aerial laser scanning data to map residences on the main island of Tonga and then used archaeological data I collected as part of my PhD to estimate the population," Mr Parton said.
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