Case Studies:Case study 28

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Holocene landscapes of Numundo, Papua New Guinea
Parr, J. F., W. E. Boyd, V. Harriott and R. Torrence

Abstract
Numundo in Papua New Guinea has sequential deposition of volcanic tephra followed by weathering and soil development. Prehistoric settlement commenced in the late Pleistocene and the archaeological evidence for land use implies a shift from a mobile hunter-gathering system to sedentary behaviour, including gardening. The palaeo-landscapes in which this change took place is poorly understood and fossil phytolith, charred silica, starch and coral evidence from sediments deposited prior to the Witori-Kimbe 2 volcanic eruption (W-K2) of c. 3600 BP through to after the Witori-Kimbe 4 (c. 1400BP) eruption is presented here. A Perkin-Elmer Multiwave Microwave Sample Preparation System was used for phytolith and starch grain extraction from sediments. The time taken to re-settle the landscape after eruptions declined through time and extra-local contacts must have been maintained to regroup, return and repopulate. Land use strategies based on foraging within a mature tropical forest might not be able to survive the natural disasters and would be ineffective for some time until the forest regenerated to a state where there were adequate mature species and regular food supplies. In contrast, a flexible and highly mobile pattern of land use, might be better suited and would enable re-colonisation on the relatively short time scales observed.

Click on the link below to open a pdf with a more detailed summary of this project.

[[media:Case study 28.pdf|Holocene landscapes of Numundo, Papua New Guinea]]

The full article is Parr, J. F., W. E. Boyd, V. Harriott and R. Torrence (forthcoming) Social-environmental Holocene Landscapes of Numundo, West New Britain, Papua New Guinea

Keywords: Papua New Guinea, West New Britain, Numundo, stratigraphy, tephra, fossil phytoliths, starch, Holocene, Neolithic, palaeo-landscapes, volcanic eruption, prehistoric settlement

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