New evidence and revised interpretations of early agriculture in Highland New Guinea

This review of the evidence for early agriculture in New Guinea supported by new data from Kuk Swamp demonstrates that cultivation had begun there by at least 6950–6440 cal BP and probably much earlier. Contrary to previous ideas, the first farming in New Guinea was not owed to SouthEast Asia, but e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antiquity 2004-12, Vol.78 (302), p.839-857
Main Authors: Denham, Tim, Haberle, Simon, Lentfer, Carol
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agriculture
Archaeology
Bananas
Chronology
Dating
Environmental studies
Excavation and methods
Farming
Flora
Generalities
Geological time
History
Keywords
Methodology and general studies
Mid-Holocene
Musa bananas
New Guinea Highlands
Papua New Guinea
Prehistory and protohistory
Time
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Summary:This review of the evidence for early agriculture in New Guinea supported by new data from Kuk Swamp demonstrates that cultivation had begun there by at least 6950–6440 cal BP and probably much earlier. Contrary to previous ideas, the first farming in New Guinea was not owed to SouthEast Asia, but emerged independently in the Highlands. Indeed plants such as the banana were probably first domesticated in New Guinea and later diffused into the Asian continent.
ISSN:0003-598X
1745-1744
DOI:10.1017/S0003598X00113481