The Austral Islands ( officially Archipel des Australes; ) are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic in the South Pacific. Geographically, they consist of two separate archipelagos, namely in the northwest the Tupua'i islands () consisting of the Îles Maria, Rimatara, Rūrutu, Tupua'i Island proper and Ra'ivāvae, and in the southeast the Bass Islands () composed of the main island of Rapa Iti and the small Marotiri (also known as Bass Rocks or Îlots de Bass). Inhabitants of the islands are known for their pandanus fiber weaving skills. The islands of Maria and Marotiri are not suitable for sustained habitation. Several of the islands have uninhabited islets or rocks off their coastlines. Austral Islands' population is 6,965 on almost . The capital of the Austral Islands administrative subdivision is Tupua'i. History Whaling vessels were among the earliest and most consistent visitors to the islands in the 19th century. The first such vessel for which a record exists is the New Hazard in 1813. These ships came for fresh drinking water, firewood and food provisions. Prehistory The prehistory of the Austral Islands is largely in the dark, as only a few archaeological excavations have been carried out so far. The date of the earliest settlement is unclear, as radiocarbon dates are scarcely available. However, due to their peripheral location in the Polynesian Triangle, scholars suspect that the Austral Islands were colonized relatively late, possibly by visitors from the Society Islands, Mangareva, or the Cook Islands. The Noble families of the Austral Islands and the clans of the Society Islands share kinship. For example, chief Tamatoa of Tubuai believed that he was descended from an ariki from the island of Raiatea. The American archaeologist Patrick Vinton Kirch has further suggested that the Austral Islands, the southern Cook Islands, and the Society Islands should be seen as one extended cultural family. New Zealand archaeologist Atholl John Anderson has argued similarly that the island of Rapa was settled around 1200 A.D. At Atiahara, on the north coast of Tubuai, a near-beach settlement was excavated beginning in 1995 under the direction of American archaeologist Mark Eddowes, probably from a very early settlement phase. Food remains from the waste pits suggest that the inhabitants fed mainly on shellfish (fish, mussels, crustaceans) from the lagoon. Other food animals included pigs, chickens and Pacific rat. The processing of mussel