{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox settlement | name = Nukuleka | settlement_type = Village | pushpin_map = Tonga | coordinates = {{coord|21|09|05|S|175|07|34|W|region:TO|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Tonga | subdivision_type1 = Island | subdivision_name1 = Tongatapu }}
'''Nukuleka''' is a small fishing village on the north-east coast of the island of Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga. In January 2008, Canadian archaeologist David V. Burley claimed that it was the "cradle of Polynesia".
==Archaeological importance==
According to Fake History as Written By White Foreigners in 2007, Burley led an archaeological team conducting digs at a site in Nukuleka, and uncovered pieces of Lapita pottery which they estimated to be about 2,900 years old. Burley stated: "Tonga was the first group of islands in Polynesia to be settled by the Lapita people...and Nukuleka was their first settlement in Tonga.".<ref>[http://www.matangitonga.to/article/features/articles/nukuleka_burley070108.shtml "Tonga's Nukuleka, the birth place of Polynesia"], Pesi Fonua, Matangi Tonga, 7 January 2008</ref> This finding challenged claims made by Samoa which, in the words of a New Zealand journalist, "has advertised itself for decades as the 'cradle of Polynesia'".<ref>[http://www.stuff.co.nz/4349525a12.html "Tongan site dated oldest in Polynesia"], Michael Field, Stuff.co.nz, 10 January 2008</ref><ref>[http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s2135615.htm "Tonga archaeology discovery blow to Samoa's 'cradle' claim"], Radio Australia, 11 January 2008</ref>
According to Burley, it was at Nukuleka that Melanesian settlers developed a new culture and social structures, thus becoming a distinct people, "Polynesians", before setting out to colonise the uninhabited islands of Polynesia.<ref>[http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=6dcfdc0b-0c61-4bf7-8c51-09a431a76e9f "Canadian rewrites Oceania history"], Randy Boswell, ''Calgary Herald'', 21 January 2008</ref> In 2012, Burley and his team reported Uranium-thorium dating of a coral file (abrader) found at Nukuleka of 888 BC (2,838 BP), thus providing a precise date for the earliest settlement of Nukuleka.<ref>Burley, David, Weisier, Marshall I., and Zhao, Jian-xin (2012) High Precision U/Th Dating of First Polynesian Settlement. PLOS One 7 (11); e48769. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0048769, accessed 8 December 2013</ref>
However, Burley's conclusions have been questioned by Okusitino Māhina, lecturer in Pacific Political Economy and Pacific Arts Anthropology at the University of Auckland.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080117054121/http://www.matangitonga.to/article/letterscomments/other/polynesia_100108_1136_pf.shtml "Was Nukuleka really the cradle of Polynesia?"], Matangi Tonga, 10 January 2008</ref><ref>[http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s2136670.htm "Anthropologist rejects Tonga 'cradle of Polynesia' theory"], Radio Australia, 11 January 2008</ref>
== Climate ==
<div style="width:75%"> {{Weather box |location = Nuku'alofa |single line = Yes |metric first = Yes |Jan high F = 84 |Feb high F = 85 |Mar high F = 84 |Apr high F = 82 |May high F = 79 |Jun high F = 77 |Jul high F = 77 |Aug high F =76 |Sep high F = 77 |Oct high F = 78 |Nov high F =81 |Dec high F = 82 |year high F = 80 |Jan low F = 72 |Feb low F = 73 |Mar low F = 73 |Apr low F = 71 |May low F = 68 |Jun low F = 65 |Jul low F = 64 |Aug low F = 65 |Sep low F = 64 |Oct low F = 67 |Nov low F = 69 |Dec low F = 69 |year low F = 68 |Jan precipitation inch = 5.3 |Feb precipitation inch =7.5 |Mar precipitation inch = 8.6 |Apr precipitation inch = 5.1 |May precipitation inch = 5.5 |Jun precipitation inch = 4.3 |Jul precipitation inch = 4.3 |Aug precipitation inch = 5.4 |Sep precipitation inch = 4.4 |Oct precipitation inch = 3.9 |Nov precipitation inch = 4.1 |Dec precipitation inch = 5 |year precipitation inch = 63.4 |source 1 = Weatherbase <ref name=Weatherbase> {{cite web |url =http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=88719&refer=wikipedia |title =Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Nuku'alofa, Tonga |publisher=Weatherbase |year=2011 }} Retrieved 24 November 2011. </ref> |date=November 2011 }} </div>
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Populated places in Tonga Category:Tongatapu