Editing Tuvalu (section)

===Prehistory===
The [[History of the Polynesian people|origins of the people of Tuvalu]] are addressed in the theories regarding the migration into the Pacific that began about 3,000 years ago. During pre-European-contact times, there was frequent canoe voyaging between the nearer islands including Samoa and [[Tonga]].<ref name=Howe>{{cite book |last=Howe |first=Kerry |title=The Quest for Origins |year=2003 |publisher=Penguin |location=New Zealand |isbn=0-14-301857-4 |pages=68, 70}}</ref> Eight of the nine islands of Tuvalu were inhabited. This explains the origin of the name, Tuvalu, which means 'eight standing together' in [[Tuvaluan language|Tuvaluan]] (compare to ''*walu'' meaning 'eight' in [[Proto-Austronesian language#Numerals|Proto-Austronesian]]). Possible evidence of human-made fires in the [[Caves of Nanumanga]] suggests humans may have occupied the islands for thousands of years.

An important [[Tuvaluan mythology|creation myth in the islands of Tuvalu]] is the story of ''te Pusi mo te Ali'' (the Eel and the Flounder), who are said to have created the [[islands of Tuvalu]]. ''Te Ali'' (the [[Bothidae|flounder]]) is believed to be the origin of the flat [[atoll]]s of Tuvalu and ''te Pusi'' (the [[Moray eel|eel]]) is the model for the [[coconut]] palms that are important in the lives of Tuvaluans. The stories of the ancestors of the Tuvaluans vary from island to island. On [[Niutao]],<ref name="PAS">{{cite book |author=Sogivalu, Pulekau A. |title=A Brief History of Niutao |year=1992 |publisher=Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific |isbn=982-02-0058-X}}</ref> Funafuti and [[Vaitupu]], the founding ancestor is described as being from Samoa,<ref name="Genesis 1983">O'Brien, Talakatoa in ''Tuvalu: A History'', Chapter 1, Genesis</ref><ref name="Kennedy">{{cite journal |author=Kennedy, Donald G. |url=http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_38_1929/Field_notes_on_the_culture_of_Vaitupu%2C_Ellice_Islands%2C_by_Donald_Gilbert_Kennedy%2C_p_1-99/p1?action=null |title=Field Notes on the Culture of Vaitupu, Ellice Islands |journal=Journal of the Polynesian Society |volume=38 |year=1929 |pages=2–5 |access-date=23 January 2012 |archive-date=15 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015043119/http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_38_1929/Field_notes_on_the_culture_of_Vaitupu%2C_Ellice_Islands%2C_by_Donald_Gilbert_Kennedy%2C_p_1-99/p1?action=null |url-status=dead}}</ref> whereas on [[Nanumea]], the founding ancestor is described as being from [[Tonga]].<ref name="Genesis 1983"/>