This paper considers the role of education and the developing cash economy in the formation of Papua New Guinean society between the years 1945-1975. Between 1945 and 1960, the Australian territorial administration continued policies that ensured the unequal educational and economic participation of indigenous and expatriate populations in the country that had begun before the war years. After 1960, the push toward independence helped to create conditions that led to the increasing development of inequalities between sub-populations of Papua New Guineans themselves. The present work outlines the conditions that made this transformation not only possible but inevitable.
Man and Culture in Oceania, 12: 1-18.
Key words: Papua New Guinea; contemporary history; education; cash economy; social inequality
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Based on data collected in villages of the Anjangmui (a dialect group of the Kombio) in Papua New Guinea, this paper aims to clarify their demographic change in both the homeland or rural sector (527 persons in 1992) and in the destination areas or urban sector (135 persons in 1992) throughout the post-contact period, from 1940 to 1992. There were three major findings. First, the rural and urban sectors of the Anjangmui have kept close relationships by means of frequent inter-sector movements. Second, their endogamous rate has decreased in both sectors, especially in the urban sector. Third, their fertility and mortality have been higher in the rural sector than in the urban sector, but the difference between the two has decreased over time. These demographic changes are discussed from the viewpoint of long-term human adaptation and survival. The prevailing demographic methods are also assessed in comparison with our method, paying special attention to the demographic heterogeneity of a single population whose members have migrated to urban areas.
Man and Culture in Oceania, 12: 19-30.
Key words: Rural-urban migration, post-contact period, endogamous rate, demographic change, Papua New Guinea.
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Excavations at site ENX at Fissoa village on the east coast of New Ireland, Papua New Guinea, produced pottery with incised and applied decoration, stone artefacts including obsidian and some ecofacts. The pottery is similar to that found at other sites along the central east coast, but this tradition has not been very precisely dated. We report here three approaches to dating at the ENX site---geomorphological, radiocarbon and amino acid racemisation---which give consistent results of ca 2000 years ago. We discuss more generally the dating of the tradition and argue that 2000-1500 cal BP is its likely duration. We note that its closest affinities seem to lie with several sites on Manus Island, although these are slightly older.
Man and Culture in Oceania, 12: 31-46.
Key words: Pottery, New Ireland, amino acid racemisation, Lapita, incised and applied decoration
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Archaeologists have traditionally relied on fishhooks to delineate change in East Polynesian culture-historic sequences. Several fishhook assemblages have been reported from the Southern Cook Islands which show some consistency in the nature and timing of change. A new fishhook assemblage from the island of Mitiaro fills one of the spatial and temporal gaps in Southern Cook Island archaeology and supports the hypothesis of an archipelago-wide sequence of change from pearlshell to Turbo as fishhook raw material. The analysis of the Mitiaro assemblage provides further confirmation of this and other general trends in Cook Island fishhook change, and offers insights into the structure and organization of 16th century settlement-subsistence systems on the island.
Man and Culture in Oceania, 12: 47-60.
Key words: Cook Islands; Mitiaro; material culture; fishhooks; settlement pattern
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The colonization of east Polynesia represents the final chapter in the prehistoric settlement of the vast Pacific ocean. Despite substantial archaeological research in this region, dates of initial colonization of all archipelagoes remain contested, while several key island groups (e.g., Australs and Mangareva) are near voids on the archaeological map. Beginning in 1990, a long-term archaeological program was initiated in southeast Polynesia (defined here as Mangareva and the Pitcairn Group) to determine dates of initial colonization, outline the culture-history, and evaluate the role of Mangareva in sustaining the resource-poor islands of the Pitcairn Group. Consisting of high volcanic islands, Mangareva played a pivotal role in the southeast Polynesian interaction network and is the focus of this study. A systematic archaeological survey located 20 sites, including several coastal middens--oftentimes the earliest sites in Polynesia--and exposed stratigraphic sections that could reveal long-term environmental changes initiated by early human colonists. Additionally, geological samples were collected to determine the petrographic and geochemical range of volcanic rocks that could potentially figure in the regional interaction network. The results of the archaeological survey and geological analyses are presented. It is concluded that the earliest sites in Mangareva may be associated with a gley soil on the lagoon-side of Mangareva island, near Rikitea village. Confirmation of this must await excavation.
Man and Culture in Oceania, 12: 61-85.
Key words: Polynesia,; archaeology; survey; colonization; petrography; geochemistry; exchange.
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The Yolngu language group of Aboriginal Australians living in northeastern Arnhem Land have experienced drastic social and economic change in the last 30 years. People living in the modern Aboriginal settlement of Galiwin'ku receive cash from three sources: arts and crafts sales, wage labor, and social security benefits. Of these three, social security benefits had the greatest impact in terms of the number of the people who receive them. These benefits are particularly helpful to women. Income received through arts and crafts and wage labor showed a similar pattern, which suggests that men are still bound by the more traditional system of `concentration and redistribution.' Women being relatively free from practices which force them to redistribute funds can utilize their monetary income and are more economically secure. This suggests future possible changes to women's role in Yolngu society.
Man and Culture in Oceania, 12: 87-101.
Key words: monetary economy, gender relationship, change in women's role, Australian Aborigines, Yolngu
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