Melanesia (mĕlənē`zhə, –shə), one of the three main divisions of Oceania Oceania (ōshēăn`ēə, –ā`nēə) or Oceanica
..... Click the link for more information. , in the SW Pacific Ocean, NE of Australia and S of the equator. Melanesia includes the Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, independent Commonwealth nation (2005 est. pop. 538,000), c.15,500 sq mi (40,150 sq km), SW Pacific, E of New Guinea. The islands that constitute the nation of the Solomon Islands— Guadalcanal , Malaita, New Georgia, the Santa Cruz Islands,
..... Click the link for more information. , Vanuatu Vanuatu (vän'wät
..... Click the link for more information. , New Caledonia New Caledonia, Fr. Nouvelle Calédonie, internally self-governing territory of France (2005 est. pop. 216,000), land area 7,241 sq mi (18,760 sq km), South Pacific, c.700 mi (1,130 km) E of Australia.
..... Click the link for more information. , Tuvalu Tuvalu (t

väl`
..... Click the link for more information. , the Bismarck Archipelago Bismarck Archipelago, volcanic island group, 19,200 sq mi (49,730 sq km), SW Pacific, a part of Papua New Guinea. The group includes New Britain (the largest island), New Ireland , the Admiralty Islands , the Mussau Islands, New Hanover , the Vitu Islands , and the
..... Click the link for more information. , the Admiralty Islands Admiralty Islands, group of 40 volcanic islands, c.800 sq mi (2,070 sq km), SW Pacific, in the Bismarck Archipelago and part of Papua New Guinea. Lorengau, the chief port and administrative center of the group, is on Manus, the largest island.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Fiji Fiji (fē`jē) or Viti
..... Click the link for more information. . New Guinea New Guinea (gĭn`ē), island, c.
..... Click the link for more information. is sometimes included in Melanesia. The Melanesians are largely of Australoid stock; they speak Malayo-Polynesian Malayo-Polynesian languages (məlā`ō-pŏlĭnē`zhən), sometimes also called
..... Click the link for more information. languages.

Bibliography

See study by H. C. Brookfield and D. Hart (1971).

Melanesia

Island group, South Pacific Ocean. A subdivision of Oceania, it lies northeast of Australia and south of the Equator and includes New Guinea, the Admiralty Islands, the Bismarck and Louisiade archipelagoes, the Solomon Islands, the Santa Cruz Islands, New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Norfolk Island, and numerous others. Two distinct populations and cultures exist in the region. The Papuans, who have inhabited the area for 40,000 years, devised one of the earliest agricultural systems and developed the Papuan languages. Seafaring peoples with an Austronesian language and a Southeast Asian cultural tradition settled in the area about 3,500 years ago.

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Bibliography

Melanesia

Melanesia