# Nukuleka

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nukuleka
> Source revision: 1305140897
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{{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](/source/Country)
| subdivision_name   = [Tonga](/source/Tonga)
| subdivision_type1  = Island
| subdivision_name1  = [Tongatapu](/source/Tongatapu)
}}

'''Nukuleka''' is a small [fishing village](/source/fishing_village) on the north-east coast of the island of [Tongatapu](/source/Tongatapu), Kingdom of [Tonga](/source/Tonga). In January 2008, [Canadian](/source/Canada) archaeologist David V. Burley claimed that it was the "[cradle of Polynesia](/source/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](/source/Lapita) pottery which they estimated to be about 2,900 years old. Burley stated: "Tonga was the first group of islands in [Polynesia](/source/Polynesia) to be settled by the [Lapita](/source/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](/source/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 [Melanesia](/source/Melanesia)n 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](/source/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](/source/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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nukuleka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nukuleka) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nukuleka?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.