Autonomous Region of Bougainville – at least 29,000 years of island life
People have lived on Bougainville for at least 29,000 years, as finds from Kilu Cave on Buka Island show. Until about 10,000 years ago the land formed one larger island, sometimes called Greater Bougainville. The first inhabitants were Australo-Melanesians who most likely came from the Bismarck Archipelago; around 3,000 years ago Austronesian settlers brought the Lapita culture, with pottery, agriculture and domestic animals such as pigs, dogs and chickens. European ships passed from 1616, when Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire sighted Takuu Atoll and Nissan Island, and Philip Carteret saw Buka in 1767. Today the region counts some 367,000 people and many languages. Share your memories and photographs.