In days gone by some of the Motu-speaking peoples around Port Moresby used to go on annual trading expeditions to the Gulf of Papua. There they would exchange with the inhabitants of that area pots and other valuables for sago and canoe logs. These expeditions were called hiri, and were not only spectacular in terms of the number, nature and size of the sailing craft involved and the cargoes they carried but also very important economically and in other ways to the Motu and others directly or indirectly involved.
For over forty years, archaeologists working along Papua New Guinea’s southern coastline have sought evidence for early ceramics and its relationship with Lapita wares of Island Melanesia. Failing to find any such evidence of pottery more than 2000 BP, and largely based on the excavation of eight early pottery-bearing sites during the late 1960s into the early 1970s, synchronous colonization some 2000 BP along 500km of the south Papuan coastline by post-Lapita ceramic manufacturers has been posited.
How can linguistics contribute to our knowledge about human dispersals in the distant past? We will consider the case of New Guinea and surrounding islands, one of the most linguistically diverse areas of the world. This study is a follow-up on the Eurocores OMLL project Pioneers of Island Melanesia, reported in Dunn et al. (2005).
Terra Australis reports the results of archaeological and related research within the region south and east of Asia, though mainly Australia, New Guinea and Island Melanesia - lands that have remained terra australis incognita to generations of prehistorians. Its subject is the settlement of the diverse environments in this isolated quarter of the globe by peoples who have maintained their discrete and traditional ways of life into the recent recorded or remembered past and at times into the observable present .
Two of the unanswered questions of Papua New Guinea prehistory are: (1) whether agriculture was present
in the mid-Holocene not only in the highlands but also in the lowlands and Bismarck Archipelago and (2)whether the presence of agriculture might have been influenced by interaction between these regions. This paper addresses these questions through an analysis of prehistoric stone mortars, pestles and figures, which hold information on both style and function.
The belief that illness, death and misfortune of all sorts is frequently caused by the deliberate interventions of individuals with special powers or magical knowledge is pervasive throughout Melanesia. As a result, sorcery and witchcraft beliefs and practices exert a powerful influence on many aspects of day-to-day life, as well as being significant vectors for community tensions, conflict and violence.
Our cultures and traditions are deeply entrenched in every Papua New Guinean, in our families, our homes and basically in our way of life. Our cultures and traditions are also preserved and kept alive through our arts, paintings, sculptures, carvings, dances and songs, folklores, architecture and literature. In fact, our cultures and traditions apply in all aspects of our lives. Culture is the very essence of our existence - it reflects our history, language, tradition and our beliefs.
A four-week mission was undertaken in Papua New Guinea to evaluate the work of the National Cultural Council and the Provincial Cultural Centres and the relationships between them, and to advise on the development of cultural centres with special regard to their structures, functions and programmes, as well as to their coordination.
This is an economic evaluation of the compensation to which Papua New Guinea’s customary landholders -
wrongly dispossessed through Special Agricultural Business Leases (SABL) - might be entitled if they successfully sued the government. The evaluation involves the calculation of commercial loss but also, and probably more importantly, economic equivalent value loss. The framework identifies the relevant heads of value (not just priced transactions) and demonstrates appropriate methods for valuation. It does not pretend to be a price calculator but rather a tool for advocacy.
Massive overhunting of wildlife for meat across the humid tropics is now causing local extinctions of
numerous species. Rural people often rely heavily on wild meat, but, in many areas, this important source of
food and income is either already lost or is being rapidly depleted. The problem can only be tackled by looking at
the wider economic and institutional context within which such hunting occurs, from household economics
to global terms of trade. Conservation efforts must be placed within a landscape context; a mosaic of hunted
THE present paper discusses a form of social classification which may be referred to provisionally as sex affiliation. The essence of it is that male children are classed with their father's group and female children with their mother's. I shall first endeavour to give an account, in its more or less relevant aspects, of the social organization of the people among whom this sex affiliation is practised; after that we may discuss the practice itself in greater detail and consider its implications.
The Kokoda Initiative is a partnership between the Government of Papua New Guinea and Australia to sustainably develop and protect the Kokoda Track and the surrounding Owen Stanley Ranges. The Initiative reflects the strong commitment of both governments to continue to enhance the quality of life of communities living along the track, to protect the environment, cultural values and to keep the track open and well managed.
This dataset contains all studies conducted related to Kokoda Iniative.
We present the first large-scale synthesis of indigenous knowledge (IK) on New Guinea’s useful plants based on a quantitative review of 488 references and 854 herbarium specimens. Specifically, we assessed (i) spatiotemporal trends in the documentation of IK, (ii) which are New Guinea’s most useful ecosystems and plant taxa, (iii) what use categories have been better studied, and (iv) which are the best studied indigenous groups. Overall, our review integrates40,376 use reports and 19,948 plant uses for 3434 plant species.
SDG
Pacific tourism
Management Plan for Kuk World Heritage Site
Human Adaptation and Plant Use in Highland New Guinea 49,000 to 44,000 Years Ago
A Basic Education For All (EFA) is critical if all citizens are to participate in a modern society. This is a
right for all children, both boys and girls, in Papua New Guinea as stated in the National Constitution. A
basic education is essential for the personal development of all people to provide them with the skills and
knowledge to improve their quality of life.