Earliest Pottery on New Guinea Mainland Reveals Austronesian Influences in Highland Environments 3000 Years Ago

<div><p>Austronesian speaking peoples left Southeast Asia and entered the Western Pacific c.4000-3000 years ago, continuing on to colonise Remote Oceania for the first time, where they became the ancestral populations of Polynesians. Understanding the impact of these peoples on the mainland of New Guinea before they entered Remote Oceania has eluded archaeologists. New research from the archaeological site of Wañelek in the New Guinea Highlands has broken this silence. Petrographic and geochemical data from pottery and new radiocarbon dating demonstrates that Austronesian influences penetrated into the highland interior by 3000 years ago. One potsherd was manufactured along the northeast coast of New Guinea, whereas others were manufactured from inland materials. These findings represent the oldest securely dated pottery from an archaeological context on the island of New Guinea. Additionally, the pottery comes from the interior, suggesting the movements of people and technological practices, as well as objects at this time. The antiquity of the Wañelek pottery is coincident with the expansion of Lapita pottery in the Western Pacific. Such occupation also occurs at the same time that changes have been identified in subsistence strategies in the archaeological record at Kuk Swamp suggesting a possible link between the two.</p></div

Macro-fabric groupings 1–7 identified in the Wañelek pottery assemblage.

<p>*Munsell soil colour chart 2009</p><p>Macro-fabric groupings 1–7 identified in the Wañelek pottery assemblage.</p

Locations mentioned in the text.

<p>Left: The northeast part of New Guinea showing Wañelek, Kuk, NFA, NFB, NFC, NFD, and Aibura Cave sites in the Highlands. Note the Sepik-Ramu Inland Sea at 6000BP and 2000BP, the contemporary highland Agarabi potting villages, Yabob and Bilbil Islands just off the Madang/northeast coast, and Koil Island off the north coast. Inset shows New Guinea with 1. Aitape, 2. the Bismarck Archipelago, 3. the south Papuan coast, and 4. Australia; Above right: Plan of Wañelek site showing excavation areas and ridge contours (adapted from Bulmer [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0134497#pone.0134497.ref007" target="_blank">7</a>]); Below right: Wañelek excavation areas showing the 1972 and 1973 excavation units (adapted from Bulmer [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0134497#pone.0134497.ref007" target="_blank">7</a>]).</p

Wañelek, Area C, Trench 1, showing a) the south face of the unit exposed by a road cutting, before excavation, and b) a plan of the trench indicating the location of pit features.

<p>Note the locations of carbon samples I-6859 and I-6861 giving secure provenance for sherd W52 (adapted from Bulmer [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0134497#pone.0134497.ref007" target="_blank">7</a>]).</p

Wañelek pottery artefacts and associated stratigraphic provenance.

<p>Estimates for dates of each potsherd are provided by assessing new radiocarbon dates by area.</p

Plot of clay chemical PCA data in two dimensions showing the seperation of W52 away from other sherds.

<p>Plot of clay chemical PCA data in two dimensions showing the seperation of W52 away from other sherds.</p