High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Oceanic art refers to the creative works made by the native peoples of the Pacific Islands and Australia, including areas as far apart as Hawaii and Easter Island. Specifically it refers to the works of the two groups of people that settled the area, though during two different periods. They would in time however, come to interact and together reach even more remote islands. The area is often broken down into four separate regions: Polynesia, Micronesia, Australia, and Melanesia. The former two share a common ancestral culture of the Lapita, while the latter two comprise settlers of the first wave of people into the area. All of the regions in later times would be greatly affected by western influence and colonization. In more recent times, the people of Oceania have found a greater appreciation of their region`s artistic heritage.