The immediate origins of the Lapita lie to the northwest, in the Solomon Islands archipelago and the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea,[12] though DNA studies of a 3,000-year-old skeleton found near Port Vila in 2016 indicates that some may have arrived directly from the Philippines or Taiwan, pausing only briefly en route.[18] They brought with them crops such as yam, taro, and banana, as well as domesticated animals such as pigs and chickens.[12] Their arrival is coincident with the extinction of several species, such as the land crocodile (Mekosuchus kalpokasi), land tortoise (Meiolania damelipi) and various flightless bird species.[12] Lapita settlements reached as far east as Tonga and Samoa at their greatest extent.[12] Over time, the Lapita culture lost much of its early unity; as such, it became increasingly fragmented, the precise reasons for which are unclear. Over the centuries, pottery, settlement and burial practices in Vanuatu all evolved in a more localised direction, with long-distance trade and migration patterns contracting.[12] Nevertheless, some limited long-distance trade did continue, with similar cultural practices and late-period items also being found in Fiji, New Caledonia, the Bismarcks and the Solomons.[12] Finds in central and southern Vanuatu, such as distinctive adzes, also indicate some trade connections with, and possibly population movements of, Polynesian peoples to the east.[12][14] Over time, it is thought that the Lapita either mixed with, or acted as pioneers for, migrants coming from the Bismarks and elsewhere in Melanesia, ultimately producing the darker-skinned physiognomy that is typical of modern Ni-Vanuatu.[19][20] Linguistically, the Lapita peoples' Austronesian languages were maintained, with all of the numerous 100+ autochthonous languages of Vanuatu being classified as belonging to the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian language family.[21] This linguistic hyperdiversity resulted from a number of factors: continuing waves of migration, the existence of numerous decentralised and generally self-sufficient communities, hostilities between people groups, with none able to dominate any of the others, and the difficult geography of Vanuatu that impeded inter- and intra-island travel and communication.[22] The geological record also shows that a huge volcanic eruption occurred on Ambrym in c. 200 CE, which would have devastated local populations and likely resulted in further population movements.[12][14][23] Human cannibalism was widespread in some parts of Vanuatu.[24] Arrival of Europeans (1606–1906)[edit] Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernandes de Queirós was the first European to arrive in Vanuatu, in 1606. He named Espiritu Santo, the largest island in Vanuatu. The Vanuatu islands first had contact with Europeans in April 1606, when the Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, sailing for the Spanish Crown, departed El Callao,[25] sailed by the Banks Islands, landing briefly on Gaua (which he called Santa María).[14][26] Continuing further south, Queirós arrived at the largest island, naming it La Austrialia del Espíritu Santo or "The Southern Land of the Holy Spirit", believing he had arrived in Terra Australis (Australia).[12][27] The Spanish established a short-lived settlement named Nueva Jerusalem at Big Bay on the north side of the island.[14][26] Despite Queirós's intention, relations with the Ni-Vanuatu turned violent within days. The Spanish subsequent attempts to make contact were met with the islanders fleeing or leading the explorers into an ambush.[14] Many of the crew, including Queirós, were also suffering from ill health, with Queirós's mental state also deteriorating.[14][26] The settlement was abandoned after a month, with Queirós continuing his search for the southern continent.[14] Europeans did not return until 1768, when the French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville sailed by the islands on 22 May, naming them the Great Cyclades.[28][12] Of the various French toponyms Bougainville devised, only Pentecost Island has stuck.[26] The French landed on Ambae, trading with the native people in a peaceful manner, though Bougainville stated that they were later attacked, necessitating him to fire warning shots with his muskets, before his crew left and continued their voyage.[26] In July–September 1774 the islands were explored extensively by British explorer Captain James Cook, who named them the New Hebrides, after the Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, a name that lasted until independence in 1980.[29][12][26] Cook managed to maintain generally cordial relations with the Ni-Vanuatu by giving them presents and refraining from violence.[14][26] In 1789, William Bligh and the remainder of his crew sailed through the Banks Islands on their return voyage to Timor following the mutiny on the Bounty; Bligh later returned to the islands, naming them after his benefactor Joseph Banks.[30] Whaleships were among the first regular visitors to this group of islands. The first recorded visit was by the Rose in February 1804, and the last known visit by the New Bedford ship John and Winthrop in 1887.[31] In 1825, the trader Peter Dillon's discovery of sandalwood on the island of Erromango, highly valued as an incense in China where it could be traded for tea, resulted in rush of incomers that ended in 1830 after a clash between immigrant Polynesian workers and indigenous Ni-Vanuatu.[12][32][33][34] Further sandalwood trees were found on Efate, Espiritu Santo, and Aneityum, prompting a series of boom and busts, though supplies were essentially exhausted by the mid-1860s, and the trade largely ceased.[32][34] During the 1860s, planters in Australia, Fiji, New Caledonia, and the Samoan islands, in need of labourers, encouraged a long-term indentured labour trade called "blackbirding".[34] At the height of the labour trade, more than one-half the adult male population of several of the islands worked abroad. Because of this, and the poor conditions and abuse often faced by workers, as well the introduction of common diseases to which native Ni-Vanuatu had no immunity, the population of Vanuatu declined severely, with the current population being greatly reduced compared to pre-contact times.[35][12][34] Greater oversight of the trade saw it gradually wind down, with Australia barring any further 'blackbird' labourers in 1906, followed by Fiji and Samoa in 1910 and 1913 respectively.[34] James Cook landing at Tanna island, c. 1774 From 1839 onwards, missionaries, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, arrived on the islands.[14]