Many Oceanic societies initially depended on hunting and gathering, but agriculture developed quickly and was widely dispersed. A large number of plants were cultivated which included taro (a starchy rootcrop), yams, coconuts, bananas and breadfruit, and later sweet potatoes. Tubers were dominant in Melanesia, while tree crops in addition to tubers proliferated in Micronesia and Polynesia.
Slash-and-burn agriculture was generally used, but intensive schemes including terraced wet fields for taro cultivation were established in Papua New Guinea and elsewhere.
Wild plants were used for medicine, cosmetics, and fish poison, while animals such as pigs and fowls were bred for food. For most islanders the sea was the biggest resource, and fishing was a very important industry. Oceanic peoples used strong pearl-shells to make fish-lures and sharp hooks, as they did not use metal.
