Oceania

====Micronesia====
{{See also|History of the Federated States of Micronesia}}
[[File:HH1883 pg125 Hafen von Jap.jpg|thumb|Stone money transport to [[Yap Island]] in Micronesia (1880)]]
[[File:Chronological dispersal of Austronesian people across the Pacific.svg|thumb|Chronological dispersal of [[Austronesian people]] across the Pacific (per Bellwood in Chambers, 2008)]]
Micronesia began to be settled several millennia ago, although there are competing theories about the origin and arrival of the first settlers. There are numerous difficulties with conducting archaeological excavations in the islands, due to their size, settlement patterns and storm damage. As a result, much evidence is based on linguistic analysis.<ref name="lapita" />

The earliest archaeological traces of civilization have been found on the island of [[Saipan]], dated to 1500 BCE or slightly before. The ancestors of the [[Micronesians]] settled there over 4,000 years ago. A decentralized chieftain-based system eventually evolved into a more centralized economic and religious culture centred on [[Yap]] and [[Pohnpei]].<ref name="USDOS" /> The prehistories of many Micronesian islands such as Yap are not known very well.<ref name="books.google" />

The first people of the Northern Mariana Islands navigated to the islands and discovered it at some period between 4000 BCE to 2000 BCE from [[Southeast Asia]]. They became known as the [[Chamorro people|Chamorros]]. Their [[Chamorro language|language]] was named after them. The ancient Chamorro left a number of megalithic ruins, including [[Latte stone]]. The Refaluwasch or [[Carolinian people]] came to the Marianas in the 1800s from the [[Caroline Islands]]. Micronesian colonists gradually settled the Marshall Islands during the [[2nd millennium BC]]E, with inter-island navigation made possible using [[Marshall Islands stick chart|traditional stick charts]].<ref name="races165" />