Archaeologists have identified a previously unknown maritime trade network, dubbed the 'Shell and Shark-Tooth' Route, which linked the Fiji Islands to the northern coasts of New Zealand as early as 1,000 BCE. By analyzing the chemical composition of worked tiger shark teeth found in Maori ancestral sites, researchers were able to trace the artifacts back to the tropical waters of the Melanesian archipelago.
This discovery challenges previous timelines for trans-oceanic exchange in the South Pacific, suggesting that early navigators maintained consistent contact across thousands of miles of open sea. The trade also involved the movement of high-status prestige goods, including carved Conus shells and volcanic glass, which played central roles in social and ritual hierarchies among early Polynesian societies.