The Massim region of Papua New Guinea has been the focus of intensive ethnographic interest for over a century because of sociocultural practices and maritime economies that connect island populations, including the famed Kula ring. Ethnographic models of Kula have been critiqued as ahistorical and heavily influenced by colonial interventions. This volume explores the long-term history of Massim maritime economies from a predominantly archaeological perspective, but draws on ethnographic, linguistic and biomolecular information. Maritime economies have connected islands for at least 17,000 years, with parallels to historically documented networks emerging over the last 3000 years. The Massim region can be considered as a network of decentralized, micro-world economies that frequently overlapped, were shaped by local value systems, clan affiliations, and defined by strategic advantages of location, natural resources and technologies. Maritime interaction in the Massim shaped cultural and linguistic diversity, providing a comparative case study for maritime economies globally.

The concept of relational personhood is well-developed in Melanesian ethnography and often cited by archaeologists globally, yet it has rarely been applied archaeologically in this region. Drawing on anthropological theory, local oral traditions, and recent archaeological fieldwork on two islands in the southern Massim region of Papua New Guinea, this paper examines secondary cave burials and the objects they were interred with as material expressions of relational personhood. Human skeletal remains were deliberately fragmented, selected, modified, and arranged alongside culturally significant objects such as pottery, which were also often intentionally fragmented. Secondary burials containing individuals of different ages, combined with emphasis on anatomical elements, particularly the skull, indicate that relational personhood was materially enacted through the intentional commingling of bones and artefacts. Objects such as complete pots and pot sherds, shell ornaments, and stone axes acted as synecdochic and metonymic agents of identity, provision, and ancestral continuity. Rather than being merely symbolic, these secondary burial assemblages instantiate enduring networks of kinship and exchange, integrating the dead into ongoing social processes of the living. This study offers a contextual model for Melanesian mortuary practices and contributes to broader debates on the material patterning of personhood and ethnographic analogy in archaeological interpretation in the Pacific region and globally.

The inhabitants of New Guinea and its outlying islands have played an important role in the human history of the Pacific region. Nevertheless, the genetic diversity, particularly of pre-colonial communities, is still understudied. Here we present the ancient genomes of 42 individuals from Papua New Guinea (PNG). The ancient genomic results of individuals from Watom Island (Bismarck Archipelago) and the south and northeastern coasts of PNG are contextualized with new (bio-) archaeological data. The individuals' accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates span 2,500 years of human habitation, and our results demonstrate the influences of different dispersal events on the genetic make-up of ancient PNG communities. The oldest individuals show an unadmixed Papuan-related genetic signature, whereas individuals dating from 2,100 years before present carry varying degrees of an East-Asian-related contribution. These results and the inferred admixture dates suggest a centuries-long delay in genetic mixture with local communities after the arrival of populations with Asian ancestry. Two geographically close communities on the South Coast, AMS dated to within the past 540 years, diverge in their genetic profiles, suggesting differences in their interaction spheres involving groups with distinct ancestries. The inferred split time of these communities around 650 years before present coincides with intensified settlement activity and the emergence of regional trade networks.

Abstract The spread of Lapita cultural groups through the New Guinea region 3350–3250 years ago and into the uninhabited remote Pacific islands from 3050–3000 years ago was one of the greatest migrations in human history. Over subsequent millennia, novel adaptations and intergenerational social linkages led to the emergence of a complex mosaic of culture and language reflected in modern Pacific populations. Broadly defined as “post-Lapita,” this chapter assesses the current breadth of archaeological information about human settlement and practices in the few centuries after the arrival of Lapita communities within the former ambit of their distribution. In doing so, the authors highlight the continuity, change, and innovations of cultural practices and behaviors that contributed to such remarkable diversity. An assessment of “transitional” post-Lapita sites indicates that the complex motifs on Lapita pottery reflecting social markers were retained in Near Oceania for several centuries longer than in Remote Oceania, where diverse social identities were quickly forged within and between island groups. Settlement patterns, social networks, and subsistence strategies were continually adapted to localized constraints and, together with ongoing population migrations and cross-cultural interaction, contributed to the Pacific region becoming one of the most culturally diverse regions in the world.

The tropical archipelago of Wallacea was first settled by anatomically modern humans (AMH) by 50 thousand years ago (kya), with descendent populations thought to have remained genetically isolated prior to the arrival of Austronesian seafarers around 3.5 kya. Modern Wallaceans exhibit a longitudinal countergradient of Papuan- and Asian-related ancestries widely considered as evidence for mixing between local populations and Austronesian seafarers, though converging multidisciplinary evidence suggests that the Papuan-related component instead comes primarily from back-migrations from New Guinea. Here, we reconstruct Wallacean population genetic history using more than 250 newly reported genomes from 12 Wallacean and three West Papuan populations and confirm that the vast majority of Papuan-related ancestry in Wallacea (~75 to 100%) comes from prehistoric migrations originating in New Guinea and only a minor fraction is attributable to the founding AMH settlers. Mixing between Papuan and local Wallacean lineages appears to have been confined to the western and central parts of the archipelago and likely occurred contemporaneously with the widespread introduction of genes from Austronesian seafarers—which now comprise between ~40 and 85% of modern Wallacean ancestry—though dating historical admixture events remains challenging due to mixing continuing into the Historical Period. In conjunction with archaeological and linguistic records, our findings point to a dynamic Wallacean population history that was profoundly reshaped by the spread of Papuan genes, languages, and culture in the past 3,500 y.

The islands of the Pacific Ocean (Oceania) have a complex human history spanning at least 45,000 years, and perhaps as long as 60,000 years or more, when people initially reached the once joined New Guinea-Australian continent of Sahul. Populations in Near Oceania throughout the Late Pleistocene were small, mobile, and had adapted to a wide range of island, coastal and interior landscapes. Inter-island social networks expanded during the Last Glacial Maximum to increase access to valued resources and other populations, with the development of agriculture throughout the Holocene being a catalyst for the augmentation of socioeconomic systems. The Remote Oceanic islands were colonized from 3500 to 3000 BP, and East Polynesia from 1050 to 750 BP, with maritime interactions and local developments contributing to Oceania as the most diverse cultural region on earth.

In a career spanning more than four decades, Glenn has undertaken extensive research on the long-term human histories of the Asia-Pacific region, with a prominent focus on Papua New Guinea.For Glenn, Papua New Guinea is not just the geographic focus of his

ABSTRACT In the Massim Island region of southeastern Papua New Guinea secondary interment of skeletal remains was widely practiced historically, but its social context and regional expression in the deeper past remains uncertain. In this paper the chronology of secondary burial on Panaeati Island is established indirectly by reconstructing the cultural and spatiotemporal association of 21 clay pots placed with human skeletal remains at Biniwaga Cave, coincidently establishing the first whole vessel typology of Southern Massim Combed Pottery (SMCP) and Southern Massim Pottery (SMP). Comparison with excavated pottery assemblages on Panaeati and elsewhere in the region demonstrates that the Biniwaga pots are consistent with SMCP and early SMP, dating from 740 to 470 calBP. Secondary burial practices on Panaeati are contemporary with those recorded elsewhere in the region and coincide with changes in pottery production centres. Compared to excavated pottery assemblages from contemporary sites, a relatively narrow range of pots are represented at Biniwaga. It is hypothesised that pots were selected to reflect the cultural affiliation of deceased individuals during a period of increasing inter‐island interaction.

New Guinea has yielded some of the earliest evidence for a human presence in Sahul (Pleistocene Australia-New Guinea), with the north coast being one of the likely colonisation routes from Southeast Asia. Of the known pre-Last Glacial Maximum (>= 30kya) archaeological sites from New Guinea, only a handful come from the Highlands. Navigable pathways linking the north coast to the central cordillera, specifically 'grassland corridors', may have facilitated settlement, yet little is known about human settlement of fringe montane valleys within these corridors. A survey and excavation program within the Simbai-Kaironk Valleys (2,000-1,600 m asl) on the northern montane fringe identified 51 sites across a 21 km corridor. Radiocarbon dating suggests a possible human presence from 31 ka, clear evidence for landscape use from 17 to 15 ka, and an increase in site density from the Mid-Holocene. Most sites were from open settings, with Holocene settlements positioned at elevations optimising access to montane forests, grasslands and lowland resources. We argue that the Simbai-Kaironk grassland corridor has facilitated access to the central Highland valleys since the Late Pleistocene. Shorter and more direct pathways, transecting the river valleys via prominent spurs rising above the lowlands - and their associated insect-borne diseases - are likely to have facilitated coastal-Highland movement throughout the Holocene.

The initial peopling of the remote Pacific islands was one of the greatest migrations in human history, beginning three millennia ago by Lapita cultural groups. The spread of Lapita out of an ancestral Asian homeland is a dominant narrative in the origins of Pacific peoples, and although Island New Guinea has long been recognized as a springboard for the peopling of Oceania, the role of Indigenous populations in this remarkable phase of exploration remains largely untested. Here, we report the earliest evidence for Lapita-introduced animals, turtle bone technology and repeated obsidian import in southern New Guinea 3,480–3,060 years ago, synchronous with the establishment of the earliest known Lapita settlements 700 km away. Our findings precede sustained Lapita migrations and pottery introductions by several centuries, occur alongside Indigenous technologies and suggest continued multicultural influences on population diversity despite language replacement. Our work shows that initial Lapita expansion throughout Island New Guinea was more expansive than previously considered, with Indigenous contact influencing migration pathways and island-hopping strategies that culminated in rapid and purposeful Pacific-wide settlement. Later Lapita dispersals through New Guinea were facilitated by earlier contact with Indigenous populations and profoundly influenced the region as a global centre of cultural and linguistic diversity.

"The Archaeology of Island Colonization: Global Approaches to Initial Human Settlement." Australian Archaeology, 88(2), pp. 224–225

Coasts, islands, and marine resources played a central role in the dispersal of people into and across Sahul (the combined landmass of New Guinea and Australia). This vast area spans tropical and temperate latitudes, with changes in the abundance and distribution of coastal resources having greatly influenced how people used these landscapes. Little is known of early coastal and island occupation in the millennia after colonisation because sites of this antiquity are now under water, and most islands formed in the Holocene following the postglacial rise in sea level. Current evidence indicates that small, mobile populations harvested nearshore shellfish and fish by 44–42 ka, with long-distance sea voyaging and interisland trade apparent by 25–20 ka. Increasingly intensive coast and island use is evident by the Mid-Holocene, with specialised maritime economies emerging in tropical latitudes throughout the Late Holocene. Although large gaps remain in our understanding of coastally oriented lifeways, multidisciplinary studies are increasingly challenging global paradigms about the antiquity and importance of marine resources on human cultural development.

ABSTRACT The inter‐island Kula exchange network within the Massim region of eastern New Guinea is unique in its complexity, with the historically recorded configuration between the northern islands archaeologically visible between 1350 and 1500 AD (600–450 calBP). The southern islands were incorporated sometime later, and Tubetube Island formed a major hub in this southern extension of the Kula . To assess the timing and extent of Tubetube Islander involvement, excavated obsidian was used as a proxy to assess social connections with other island communities within the ambit of Kula . Forty‐nine pieces from two sites, Lagisuna and Tupwana, spanning the relevant period were chemically characterised using pXRF and determined to have been sourced almost exclusively from western and eastern Fergusson sources, respectively. We argue social connections between communities were village specific. Lagisuna had connections with the West Fergusson source region outside of the ethnographically known Kula network from 1500 to 1650 AD (450–300 calBP). Tupwana had maintained historically recorded kinship connections with important Kula communities on Duau and Dobu in the East Fergusson source region over several generations by at least 1800 AD (150 calBP), and probably intermittently from 1500 to 1650 AD. Our results support an increasingly nuanced model for the past development of Kula exchange.

The consumption of human flesh, popularly defined as cannibalism, has arguably occurred throughout much of human history. In New Guinea, it has been associated ethnographically with warfare, mortuary rites and nutrition. However, it often evades detection in the archaeological record because of difficulties in distinguishing it from other social practices. Here we disentangle colonial myths associated with the consumption of human flesh and report disarticulated, burnt and cut human skeletal remains from two coastal sites spanning the past 540 years in the Massim island region of southeast Papua New Guinea. These sites, Wule and Morpa, both occur on Rossel Island. The skeletal evidence is contemporary with the construction of large stone platforms where human victims were often killed and consumed, and inland villages which were established in response to a well-attested period of conflict on Rossel and throughout the region. Within an ethnoarchaeological framework, we argue that cannibalism became increasingly prevalent in association with feasting as a means of maintaining social relationships and personal power. The findings are placed first within an island, then a regional model of emerging pressures on existing socio-political systems.

Coastal and lowland landscapes played a pivotal role in the dispersal of our species through Pleistocene New Guinea (northern Sahul) and were the focus of increasingly intensive settlement throughout the Holocene. This chapter assesses the current breadth of archaeological and palaeo-ecological records for the lowlands (≤ 100▒m above sea level) and islands of southern Papua New Guinea to contextualise past human use of these dynamic landscapes. A meta-analysis of available radiocarbon dates (n▒=▒687) suggests fluctuating but generally increasing population densities from the end of the mid-Holocene as people adapted their settlement strategies to stabilising coastlines and expanding maritime trade networks. The earliest cultural records thus far reflect post-glacial behavioural adaptations to altitudinally suppressed lower montane forests from 17,000 years ago when temperatures were lower and coastlines relatively unstable. The limited visibility of cultural sites earlier than 5000 years ago can only partly be explained by post-glacial sea level rise having inundated former coastlines, with the region a potential pathway into the mountainous interior which has been utilised for at least 50,000 years. Targeted research is now needed to identify inland and earlier settlement locales to expand our understanding of how adaptation to lowland ecologies influenced patterns of cultural and linguistic diversity.

The emergence of agriculture was one of the most notable behavioral transformations in human history, driving innovations in technologies and settlement globally, referred to as the Neolithic. Wetland agriculture originated in the New Guinea highlands during the mid-Holocene (8000 to 4000 years ago), yet it is unclear if there was associated behavioral change. Here, we report the earliest figurative stone carving and formally manufactured pestles in Oceania, dating to 5050 to 4200 years ago. These discoveries, at the highland site of Waim, occur with the earliest planilateral axe-adzes in New Guinea, the first evidence for fibercraft, and interisland obsidian transfer. The combination of symbolic social systems, complex technologies, and highland agricultural intensification supports an independent emergence of a Neolithic ~1000 years before the arrival of Neolithic migrants (Lapita) from Southeast Asia.

Archaeology in OceaniaVolume 55, Issue 1 p. 61-62 Book Review Archaeologies of Island Melanesia: Current Approaches to Landscapes, Exchange and Practice Edited by Mathieu Leclerc and James Flexner. ANU Press, Terra Australis 51, Canberra, 2019. ISBN: 9781760463021. Pp. 244. AUD 55.00 (free digital version) BEN SHAW, University of New South WalesSearch for more papers by this author BEN SHAW, University of New South WalesSearch for more papers by this author First published: 11 November 2019 https://doi.org/10.1002/arco.5201Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume55, Issue1April 2020Pages 61-62 RelatedInformation

Islands present significant technological and ecological challenges for long-term human settlement, with archaeological investigations of islands globally able to shed light on the adaptive plasticity of cultural groups to changing climatic regimes. The Massim islands of eastern New Guinea significantly reduced in size throughout the Holocene (⩽11.7 kya), providing a unique opportunity to investigate the long-term adaptive capabilities of humans to changing island ecosystems. Here, we report a 2500-2300 year cultural sequence on Nimowa Island in the Louisiade Archipelago of the Massim region which began with the arrival of a late Lapita population during initial beachfront development. Sediment analyses indicate earlier settlement on the island would not have been possible as the coastline was unstable until near-modern sea levels were reached. The island was abandoned from 1290 to 530 cal. BP during a period of unusually dry conditions (‘Medieval Climate Anomaly’) and probable freshwater shortages. Re-settlement coincided with wetter climatic conditions (‘Little Ice Age’), associated with the establishment of large villages, the earliest expression of local pottery traditions and the onset of large-scale regional exchange networks. Import of non-local obsidian reflects two pulses of interaction followed by periods of increased isolation. With the absence of high-quality lithic resources, shell, coral and bone were used as a locally available alternative for tool production. Increased cyclone frequency from ~500 cal. BP greatly increased beach volume in the island and coastal New Guinea, which facilitated the movement of populations onto smaller islands. A late prehistoric shift in settlement patterns had a profound impact on regional social dynamics.