Agricultural intensification in pre-colonial Melanesia

Fifty years ago, when cultural geographers like Carl Sauer were constructing world models of agricultural origins and dispersals, it was assumed that the island of New Guinea was a backwater, with a prehistory that had been almost unaffected by economic and social developments in South East Asia and beyond. It was further assumed that until the arrival of the sweet potato, a South American crop introduced to the region by the Spanish and Portuguese, the New Guinea highlands was inhabited by sparse bands of hunter-gatherers. Today, the picture that we have of New Guinea prehistory is transformed, thanks to work by palynologists on Holocene deforestation and by archaeologists on sites of early agriculture, of which the Kuk site near Mount Hagen is the best known. New Guinea is now seen as a 'hearth' of early domestication (bananas, sugar cane, taro), and as a place with long history of agrarian innovation, environmental management, and long-distance exchange.

The New Guinea project incorporates work by Tim Bayliss-Smith, Jack Golson (Australian National University, Canberra), Phil Hughes (also ANU) and others. It is an attempt to reconstruct the prehistorical geography of the Highlands of Papua New Guinea using archaeological data. Investigations in the 1970s by Golson at his team at the Kuk archaeological site involved the recording of ditches over many hectares of the wetland, classified into six phases spanning 9,000 years. Tim's work has involved the reconstruction of the last three phases of drainage at Kuk during the past 2,000 years, and interpretation of the meaning of the observed changes in drainage effort. Topics include the response of highlands society to tephra fallout from volcanic eruptions, implications of agricultural intensification for gender relations, and links between production, exchange and warfare.

Similar work by Dr Bayliss Smith in New Georgia island, Solomon Islands, with Edvard Hviding (University of Bergen) has involved the reconstruction of terraced fields and irrigation channels in areas that have reverted to tropical rainforest since 19th century depopulation. This intensive system generated surplus taro production, and has been interpreted as a symptom of growing social stratification and the elaboration of exchange systems between inland and coastal peoples. Even less than in the Highlands of New Guinea, simple Boserupian models of intensification cannot be applied.

http://www.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/newguineaagriculture/

I wonder how many Papua New Guineans directly benefit from such research. If it is a research collaboration with UPNG or Unitech, such research benefits the country.

I may be narrow minded but this seems to be a new strain of poverty known as academic poverty.

Academic poverty or commonly known as brain drain. A concept that is fuelling the economies of highly industrial countries that is known throughout the ages. It is the system of obtaining power through information.

It all goes back to our research & ethics bodies who approve such researches to be carried out in PNG.

They must CLEARLY SPELL OUT that no such research will be allowed in PNG unless with a PNG collaborator, preferably from one of our higher learning institutions. If not, no research must be allowed. This will effectively prevent the so called `parachute researchers` who come into PNG, do research, produce papers on PNG, and are called `experts on PNG!` In return, they must be willing to take on honors or MSs/PhD students from PNG. In that way, PNG benefits and they also benefit.

The current PNG interlectuals must prevent this form of stealing.

I have noticed that the best way Foreign Researchers come to do research and take out biological, soil and mineral samples is through the so-called 'research vessels'. I was on one of the research vessels and I observed that there were many samples collected. I also observed that our customs were very brief with the inspections. Knowing that our customs clearance officers are under trained for such research trips, many PNG marine specimens are extracted without proper documentation.

I was so sorry I could not do anything at that time. I was just a junior scientist!

Seafarer, being aware of the problems is the first step towards finding a lasting solution.

I wish you all the best in your future researches.