# Lapita

> English word · Proper noun

## Definitions
1. An ancient material culture of Oceania who may have spoken Proto-Oceanic and were the ancestors of many modern peoples in the region.

## Etymology
Coined 1952 by Edwin Gifford from Haveke xapeta'a (“place where one digs a hole”), believed to be in reference to archeological excavations in New Caledonia.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/lapita