Editing History of Samoa (section)

==Early history==

{{further|Archaeology in Samoa|Tui Manu'a|History of American Samoa}} 
It is estimated that the earliest human settlement of the [[Samoan archipelago]] was around 2900–3500 years before the present (1500-900 BCE).<ref name=":0" /> This estimate is based on dating the ancient [[Lapita culture|Lapita]] pottery shards that are found throughout the islands. The oldest shards found so far have been in Mulifanua and in Sasoa'a, Falefa.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|last1=Petchey|first1=Fion J|title=Radiocarbon Determinations from the Mulifanua Lapita Site, Upolu, Western Samoa|journal=Radiocarbon|date=2001|volume=43|issue=1|pages=63–68|doi=10.1017/S0033822200031635|doi-access=free|bibcode=2001Radcb..43...63P |hdl=10289/3693|hdl-access=free}}</ref> The oldest archaeological evidence found on the islands of Polynesia, Samoa and Tonga all date from around that same period, suggesting that the first settlement occurred around the same time in the region as a whole. Little is known about human activity in the islands between 750&nbsp; BC and 1000 AD, though this may have been a period of mass migrations that led to the settlement of present-day [[Polynesia]]. Mysteriously, during this period, the making of pottery appears to have suddenly stopped. The Samoan peoples have no oral tradition that purports to explain this. Some archaeologists have suggested that Polynesia lacked pottery-making materials and that most of the pottery used during the migration period in Polynesia was imported rather than sourced or crafted locally.

Samoa's early history is interwoven with the history of certain chiefdoms of [[Fiji]] and of the kingdom of [[Tonga]]. The oral history of Samoa preserves the memories of many battles fought between Samoa and neighboring islands. Intermarriage between Tongan and Fijian royalty and Samoan nobility helped build close relationships between these island nations that still exist today. These royal blood ties are routinely acknowledged at special events and cultural gatherings. According to Samoan folklore, two maidens from Fiji brought to Samoa the tools that were necessary to engage in the art of tatau (in English, [[the tattoo]]), and this is the origin of the traditional Samoan ''movie'' (also known as ''[[pe'a]]'' for men and as ''[[malu]]'' for women).

The dominant cultural traditions of Samoa, known as the [[fa'asamoa]], originated with the warrior queen [[Nafanua]]. Her rule instituted the [[fa'amatai]]: decentralized family, village, and regional chiefly systems. Her niece, [[Salamasina]], continued this system, and their era is considered to be a golden age of Samoan cultural traditions.

[[File: Sketch map Samoa in the Pacific.jpg|thumb|right|250px|1934 Sketch map showing the central position of the [[Samoa Islands]] in the Pacific.]]
Linguistically, the [[Samoan language]] belongs to the [[Polynesian languages|Polynesian]] sub-branch of the [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian language family]], which is thought by linguists to have originated in Taiwan.

According to oral tradition, Samoa and Polynesian share a common ancestor: [[Tagaloa]].<ref name=Te>{{cite web|last=Tuvale|first=Te'o|title=An account of Samoan history up to 1918: Chapters I-IV|url=https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-TuvAcco.html|access-date=19 September 2011}}</ref> The earliest history of Samoa concerns a political center in the easternmost Samoan islands of [[Manu'a]], under the rule of the [[Tui Manu'a]]. In the Cook Islands to the east, the tradition is that Karika, or Tui Manu'a 'Ali's, came to the Cook Islands from Manu'a; suggesting that the rest of Polynesia was settled from Manu'a and Samoa.