The earliest signs of human habitation in these islands are artifacts characteristic of the Lapita culture, dating roughly to between 850 and 800 BCE. The islands served as natural stopover points for boat traffic going between Fiji and Samoa. During Tongan invasions in the 15th and 16th centuries, the islands showed varying levels of resistance and accepted varying degrees of assimilation: Futuna retained more of its pre-Tongan cultural features, while Wallis underwent greater fundamental changes in its society, language, and culture. The original inhabitants built forts and other identifiable structures on the islands, many of which are in ruins, but some of which are still partially intact. Oral history and archaeological evidence suggest that the Tongan invaders reoccupied and modified some of these structures. Oral history also preserves a cultural memory of relationships between Samoa and Futuna that are so longstanding that they are described in the islanders' origin stories.

disgraced professional