Holocene hunter-gatherer subsistence practices in the montane Ivane Valley of PNG: a study of ancient starch residues.
Sindy Luu
A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Science
School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science
March 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet
Surname or Family name: Luu
First name: Sindy Other name/s:
Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: M.Sc
School: School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty: Science
Title: Holocene hunter-gatherer subsistence practices in the montane Ivane Valley of PNG: a study of ancient starch residues.
Abstract 350 words maximum: (PLEASE TYPE)
Major cultural changes that appeared during the early to mid-Holocene (c.10,000 - 4000 years) are preserved in the archaeological record around the world. A clear understanding of the dynamics of occupation and subsistence in the New Guinea Highlands, however, has yet to be realised due to the few archaeological sites that encompass this significant period of change. The archaeological materials of one of these sites, the Ivane Valley, were investigated to provide insights on their subsistence strategies. The Ivane Valley stratigraphic sequence includes five archaeological horizons. Of particular interest is the Layer 2 record, with radiocarbon dates bracketing the sequence of 8380 - 8200 and 4410 - 4160 years cal. BP. This early to mid-Holocene record is thus contemporary with the important development of wetland exploitation and agriculture at Kuk Swamp, approximately 450km to the northwest.
To document the subsistence changes associated with this cultural development, this study examined use-related residues of the Ivane Valley Layer 2 archaeological record, as it can provide insights on the use of economically important plants through time. Ancient starch residues were extracted and documented from a range of stone artefacts that were excavated from the Ivane Valley between 2005 and 2009.
The results of the study provide direct evidence and new information about the exploitation of certain plants during the early to mid-Holocene in the New Guinea Highlands. A range of starchy plants were targeted, including tubers and tree nuts, specifically Castanopsis acuminatissima. Of note, an excavated stone mortar fragment was discovered to have high frequencies of C. acuminatissima starch grains preserved on its surface. Interesting contrasts emerged when the ancient starch results from the Ivane Valley were compared to the findings from Kuk Swamp and similar sites. The Ivane Valley has yielded no evidence for the targeted manipulation of the swamp or its resources. This difference suggests that prehistoric cultural developments of the Highlands may have occurred independently of each other, with limited transmission of innovations along the cordillera. The overall results of this research also provide a balance to an archaeological narrative biased towards an agricultural subsistence within the New Guinea Highlands; as the archaeological starch record of the Ivane Valley document the continued hunter-gatherer subsistence economy during the Holocene.
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Page Acknowledgements v List of Figures vii List of Tables x
Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims 1 1.1. The peoples of prehistoric Sahul 2 1.2. Economic plants in the highland PNG 4 1.2.1. Definitions 4 1.2.2. Plants in modern diets and communities 6 1.2.3. Plants in prehistoric subsistence strategies 13 1.2.3.1. Characterising the prehistoric environment 13 1.2.3.2. Prehistoric hunting and foraging in the highlands during the 15 Pleistocene 1.2.3.3. Prehistoric hunting and foraging in the highlands during the early to 19 mid-Holocene 1.2.3.4. The archaeology of Kuk Swamp and agriculture in the highlands 24 1.2.3.5. Where (and when) did agriculture at Kuk Swamp come from? 28 1.3. Ancient starch as a tool of investigation 30 1.4. Research aims and scope of the study 33 1.4.1. Significance of the study 34 1.5. Overview of the thesis 35
Chapter Two. Site Description: The Ivane Valley 37 2.1. Physical description 37 2.1.1. The Palaeoenvironment of the Ivane Valley 38 2.2. The modern Ivane Valley community 38 2.3. Prehistory of the Ivane Valley 40 2.3.1. First archaeological investigations 40 2.3.2. Recent archaeological investigations 42 Table of Contents.
2.3.3. Interpretations of the archaeology 46 2.4. Current archaeological residue analysis: the sampled sites 48 2.4.1. Kosipe Mission (AER) 49 2.4.2. Joe’s Garden (AAXC) 50 2.4.3. Airport Mound (AAXD) 51 2.4.4. South Kov Ridge (AAXE) 52 2.4.5. Vilakuav (AAXF) 53 2.5. Summary 54
Chapter Three. Methods 55 3.1. Field work in the Ivane Valley 56 3.2. Archaeological residue study 57 3.2.1. The stone artefact assemblage 57 3.2.2. The soil samples 66 3.2.3. Collection of residue samples 67 3.2.4. Starch extraction procedures 69 3.2.4.1. Starch extraction from sediment samples 70 3.2.4.2. Starch extraction from artefact residue samples 72 3.2.5. Microscopy 73 3.3. Plant species identification 76 3.3.1. The modern comparative starch reference collection 77 3.3.2. Statistical analyses 78 3.3.3. Plant identification in the Ivane Valley starch residues 85
Chapter Four. Results 88 4.1. Ancient starch preservation within the Ivane Valley 88 4.2. The early to mid-Holocene ancient starch assemblage within the 94 Ivane Valley 4.2.1. Starch clusters 97 4.2.2. Tuber-like grains 100 4.3. The modern comparative starch reference collection 103 4.3.1. A description of the endemic highlands species 106 4.3.1.1. Colocasia esculenta 106 4.3.1.2. Homalomena sp. 107 4.3.1.3. Cyathea sp. 108 4.3.1.4. Dioscoreaceae 110 Table of Contents.
4.3.1.5. Psophocarpus tetragonolobus 111 4.3.1.6. Pueraria lobata 112 4.3.1.7. Castanopsis acuminatissima 112 4.3.1.8. Pandanus sp. 112 4.3.1.9. Zingiberaceae 113 4.4. Statistical investigations 114 4.4.1. Cluster analysis (of published data) 114 4.4.2. Discriminant analysis (of reference data) 117 4.5. Plant species identification of the Ivane Valley archaeological 121 residues 4.5.1. Descriptive statistics: box plots 121 4.5.2. ANOVA, with Tukey HSD and Bonferroni correction post hoc tests 122 4.5.3. Population signatures 125 4.5.4. Summary and conclusion 129
Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation 131 5.1. The starch analysis 132 5.1.1. Residues on stone artefacts 132 5.1.1.1. Taphonomic issues 132 5.1.2. The artefacts and their use 133 5.2. Starchy plant use in the Ivane Valley 134 5.2.1. Testing the methods for identification 135 5.3. The ancient starch results 138 5.3.1. Dioscorea sp. 139 5.3.2. Castanopsis acuminatissima 140 5.3.3. Pandanus sp. 142 5.3.4. Overview 145 5.4. The wider picture 145 5.4.1. The stone mortar (JG07L2F) 147 5.4.2. The Ivane Valley and Kuk Swamp 152 5.4.3. The impact of Kuk Swamp in the archaeological narrative of New 155 Guinea 5.5. Summary and conclusions 156
Chapter Six. Conclusions 161
Table of Contents.
References 163 Appendix 184
Acknowledgements
This thesis was made possible with the generosity and advice from many people. Most importantly, I thank my supervisors, Judith Field (University of New South Wales) and
Glenn Summerhayes (University of Otago), for giving me this fantastic opportunity to learn from them, and to work with residue studies and the Ivane Valley project. I whole- heartedly thank them for their endless guidance and support.
I also give my gratitude to Anne Ford (University of Otago), for helping me with the samples and sharing her knowledge of the artefacts; and for her friendship in my first outing to PNG. I thank Matthew Leavesley (University of PNG, James Cook University) and his family for their welcome and company into their homes, whilst we were in PNG.
Thank you to the local communities in the Ivane Valley for their warm welcome during our visit in 2013. Thank you to Jim Robbins and the National Research Institute of
PNG. Thanks to Herman Mandui, for showing me the tricks within the trenches, and for his company in the Ivane Valley; and the National Museum and Art Gallery of PNG.
Thank you to Michael Lovave (Forest Research Institute, Lae) for his assistance in constructing the reference collection. In addition, I thank Michael and Thomas Magun
(Forest Research Institute, Lae) for their company in PNG. I extend my appreciation to
Geoffrey Hope (Australian National University) and Matthew Prebble (Australian
National University) for sharing reference materials for this research. I also my thank
Geoffrey for providing a place to stay whilst Judith and I were in Canberra, and for his company in PNG. Acknowledgements.
At the University of New South Wales, I thank my co-supervisor Scott Mooney for his important help in writing this thesis. I also thank William Parr and Adelle Coster for their assistance with the statistical work. Thanks to Karen Privat for her assistance with the scanning electron microscopy. Thanks to Michael Burnside for helping me process samples; and thanks to Simon Wyatt-Spratt for his help in the final weeks of this thesis.
Finally, I have lots of love for my family and friends for their never-ending support, understanding and patience.
vi
List of Figures
Figure Page 1.1. Map of mainland New Guinea (Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea), 8 showing the locations of Baliem Valley, the Wahgi Valley, Kosipe (Ivane Valley). 1.2. The proportion of plant species in Papua New Guinea categorised by their 12 main use by local communities. 1.3. Map of New Guinea and the locations of the archaeological sites 16 mentioned in text, including the Ivane Valley (Kosipe) and Kuk Swamp. 1.4. Waisted axe (a, b) excavated from Bobongara. 18 1.5. Map of the open archaeological sites in the Eastern Highlands identified 22 as part of the New Guinea Micro-evolution Project. 1.6. Schematic of the stratigraphy of Kuk Swamp showing the stratigraphic 26 units. 1.7. A starch grain from Dioscorea bulbifera which has an eccentric hilum with 31 prominent lamellae. 2.1. Martha’s garden in the Ivane Valley, with mixed crops of sweet potato, 39 taro, sugar cane, sweet corn and other vegetables. 2.2. Kosipe stratigraphy, indicating the positions of the eight stratigraphic units. 41 2.3. The Ivane Valley showing archaeological sites mentioned in text. 42 2.4. Section diagram of the South Kov Ridge (east baulk) excavations in the 44 Ivane Valley. 2.5. Glenn R. Summerhayes standing next to a Pandanus tree. Taip 47 Pandanus in the Neon Basin, at 3000m a.s.l., about 10km east of Kosipe. 2.6. Location of the archaeological sites investigated within the Ivane Valley: 49 Kosipe Mission (AER), Joe’s Garden (AAXC), Airport Mound (AAXD),South Kov Ridge (AAXE) and Vilakuav (AAXF). 2.7. Stratigraphy diagram of Joe’s Garden (west baulk) in the Ivane Valley. 50 2.8. Stratigraphy diagram of Airport Mound (east baulk) in the Ivane Valley. 51 2.9. Stratigraphy diagram of South Kov Ridge (east baulk) in the Ivane Valley. 52 2.10. Section diagram of Vilakuav (west baulk) in the Ivane Valley. 53 3.1. Steps in the ancient starch residue analysis used within this study. 55 3.2. Images of the stone artefacts analysed from the Holocene Layer 2 of the 60 five Ivane Valley sites. 3.3. Residue samples collected from an artefact. 68
List of Figures.
3.4. The major processing steps in the extraction of starch grains from the 69 residue samples. 3.5. Starch fraction from a soil sample, after centrifugation (1000RPM, 15 71
minutes) in sodium polytungstate [Na6(H2W12O40).H2O], specific gravity 2.3. 3.6. Starch grains presenting the various shapes, defined according to ‘The 75 International Code for Starch Nomenclature’ (ICSN, 2011). 3.7. Starch grains presenting centric and eccentric hila. 76 3.8. Starch grains presenting fissures and hilum cavity. 76 3.9. The classification of the starch variants (diagnostic grain types) of banana 79 sections as organised by Lentfer (2009). 3.10. Starch grains of the species used in the discriminant analysis. 82 4.1. Total starch counts, calculated as per 100g of sample, of stone artefacts 89 and soil samples from early- to mid-Holocene (Layer 2) of the Ivane Valley. 4.2. (A) Wheat has a bimodal distribution of grain sizes and is recognisable by 92 the close association of large (>20m) and small starch grains (>10m). (B) A suspected wheat contamination in SKR08L2S2F. 4.3. (A) A cluster of compound starch grains in SKR08L2S2AC. Its large 92 quantity of starch grains is unusual within an archaeological sample and resembles (B) Oryza sativa reference material. 4.4. Box plot of the starch grain sizes (measured as the maximum length 98 through the hilum, m) of the SKR08L2S1G starch cluster (n = 20) with Colocasia esculenta and Dioscorea esculenta. 4.5. Box plot of the dense starch group (measured as the maximum length 99 through the hilum, m) from AM07L2C and a selection of modern reference New Guinea plant species with similar size characteristics. 4.6. Starch grains of Dioscorea sp. tubers, present in the New Guinea 101 Highlands. 4.7. The concentrations of tuber-like grains from early- to mid-Holocene (Layer 102 2) stone artefacts of the Ivane Valley. 4.8. Box plot of the starch grain sizes (measured as the maximum length 109 through the hilum, m) of the examined Cyathea sp. reference samples. 4.9. Dioscorea bulbifera starch grain with a ‘bend’ at its hium. 111 4.10. Dendrogram result from a hierarchical cluster analysis on published Musa 115 starch descriptions (after Lentfer, 2009), with four clusters (numbered) of variants (labelled as ‘V#’), including a minor cluster comprised of variants ‘5’ and ‘6’ (detail).
viii List of Figures.
4.11. Dendrogram result from a hierarchical cluster analysis on published Musa 116 starch descriptions (after Lentfer, 2009), of variants (labelled as ‘V#’) labelled with their respective banana sections. 4.12. Cluster diagram summarising the discriminant analysis of starch grains 120 from twelve known plant species. 4.13. Box plot of the starch grain sizes (measured as the maximum length 122 through the hilum, m) from early to mid-Holocene stone artefacts from the Ivane Valley, and a selection of modern reference PNG plant species. 4.14. A Tukey HSD test was performed on the maximum lengths of the starch 123 grains (m, measured across the hilum) between the archaeological samples and the modern comparative reference collection. 5.1. The two starch grains variants of Zingiberaceae sp.: rod-shaped grains 136 and round to oval shaped grains. 5.2. List of attributes used to describe starch grains, compiled by Lentfer 138 (2011). 5.3. Pollen diagram of KPA core, derived from Kosipe Swamp. 141 5.4. Fragment of a ripe Pandanus julianetti fruit, with its starchy sections 144 labelled. 5.5. Basalt mortar fragment from Joe’s Garden (JG07L2F). 148 5.6. Map of the wetland sites with evidence for ditch network systems. 157
ix
List of Tables
Table Page 1.1. Indigenous and introduced starchy plant species, consumed for food in 9 Papua New Guinea. 1.2. Indigenous and introduced nut species, consumed for food in Papua New 11 Guinea. 2.1. Radiocarbon dates of Kosipe Mission site, undertaken by White et al. 41 (1970). 2.2. Radiocarbon dates for the sites in the Ivane Valley reported by 44 Summerhayes, et al. (2010). 3.1. AMS radiocarbon dates of Layer 2 for archaeological sites from the Ivane 57 Valley. 3.2. Descriptions of the stone artefacts analysed from the Holocene Layer 2 of 58 the five Ivane Valley sites. 3.3. The number of stone artefacts analysed from the Holocene Layer 2 of the 65 Ivane Valley, based on site and technological classification. 3.4. Summary of soil samples collected from the Holocene Layer 2 of the five 66 Ivane Valley sites, for analysis as background controls of the stone artefact residue study. 3.5. Modern reference samples used in the discriminant analysis. 81 3.6. Definitions of the starch grain attributes recorded for the discriminant 84 analysis. 4.1. Description of the preserved starch stone artefacts and Layer 2 soil 90 samples from the Ivane Valley; excavated from early- to mid-Holocene deposits. 4.2. The percentage of raw stone material types with starchy residues from 93 within the early to mid-Holocene Ivane Valley assemblage. 4.3. The percentage of stone technology types with starchy residues from 94 within the early to mid-Holocene Ivane Valley assemblage. 4.4. A description of the starch assemblage and size of the grains (measured 95 as the maximum length through the hilum, m) of stone artefacts from the Ivane Valley with starchy residues. 4.5. The frequency of granule shapes of early to mid-Holocene each stone 96 artefact with starchy residues from the Ivane Valley.
List of Tables.
4.6. Population signature of grain attributes within modern Hydriastele sp. 100 (sample ANUMP3), Musa peekelii, Cyathea sp. (sample ANUMP9), and Zingiberaceae sp. (sample ANUMP10). 4.7. Modern comparative starch reference collection species referred to in the 105 analysis of the Ivane Valley starchy residues, and their respective starch grain measurements (m). 4.8. Population signature of Cyathea sp. 109 4.9. Structure Matrix result from a discriminant analysis of starch grains from 118 twelve known plant species 4.10. Classification result from a discriminant analysis of starch grains from 119 twelve known plant species. 4.11. A comparison of the results between Tukey HSD and Bonferroni 124 correction. 4.12. Population signature of grain morphology of Castanopsis acuminatissima, 126 as suggested by an analysis of their grain sizes, and the residues from Joe’s Garden JG07L2F, JG07L2J, JG07L2-3T, and AER09L2AJ. 4.13. Population signature of grain attributes within modern Castanopsis 126 acuminatissima and the residues from JG07L2F, JG07L2J, JG07L2-3T and AER09L2AJ. 4.14. Grain morphology population signatures of residues from AER09L2S2X, 128 AER09L2S2Y, JG07L2K, JG07L2G, JG07L2-3Q, AM07L2B, and AM07L2C. 4.15. Population signature of grain attributes of select modern comparative 128 plant species. 4.16. Population signature of grain attributes of select modern highland fringe 129 (600 – 1200m a.s.l.) plant species. 5.1. Locations of dated mortar finds in the Highlands. 148
xi
Chapter One.
Introduction and Research Aims
The development of agriculture during the late Pleistocene and Holocene transition, a process with undeniable impact in the development of modern-day living, has fascinated scholars for centuries (Barker, 2006). It is agreed that the climate stabilisation and warming, during the early Holocene, created the conditions for the development of agriculture in some places (Haberle and David, 2004; Richerson et al.,
2001). There is evidence for the independent development of agricultural technologies and strategies from across the world; in the Near East and China, South Asia and
Africa, South America, and New Guinea (Price and Bar-Yosef, 2011). The New
Guinea example is centred upon the archaeological evidence of drainage ditches and plant fossils at Kuk Swamp (Denham, 2011; Denham et al., 2003, 2004a, 2004b;
Golson, 1974, 1977, 1982). Agriculture in tropical zones, such as Africa and New
Guinea, was primarily based on tubers (and other starchy plants) because of difficulties
in successfully growing cereal crops (Bellwood, 2005; Coursey, 1967; Field, 2014;
Lebot, 2009).
Kuk Swamp is considered to be the ‘type site’ for the prehistoric agricultural practices in
the New Guinea Highlands (Denham et al., 2004b). The archaeological investigations
at Kuk Swamp identified the gradual development of a tuber-based agricultural system
since 10,220 – 9910 cal. BP (Denham et al., 2003; Golson, 1977). There is direct
evidence for the presence of yams, taro, and banana during the early to mid-Holocene.
The drainage networks in the later phases of occupation resemble modern sweet Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
potato cultivation (Denham et al., 2003; Fullagar et al., 2006; Golson, 1977). Little is known of the nature of plant strategies in other locations across the highlands during this period. Hunter-gatherer subsistence persisted alongside the developments at Kuk
Swamp, particularly in the Ivane Valley (Ford, 2011; Summerhayes et al., 2010; White et al., 1970); an intermontane valley approximately 450km southeast of Kuk Swamp.
This study aims to illuminate the character and continuity of plant use by Papua New
Guinea (PNG) foragers.
In this chapter, the background to the peoples of PNG and their subsistence technologies will be introduced. The pivotal roles of plants in their social and cultural systems, in both modern times and during their prehistoric pasts, are emphasised.
Details of Kuk Swamp and its archaeology will also be reviewed. Finally, the research aims and the scope of this study are outlined in the concluding section of this chapter.
1.1. The peoples of prehistoric Sahul
For most of the Quaternary period, New Guinea was connected to Australia, forming a single landmass called Sahul (see www.sahultime.monash.edu.au). The earliest radiocarbon dated archaeological sites in Sahul are 43,000 – 49,000 cal. BP
(Summerhayes, 2006; Summerhayes et al., 2010), and these first human arrivals were
highly adaptable hunter-gatherers. Behaviourally modern humans had crossed
Wallacea from Sunda (Southeast Asia and Indonesian Islands) in an apparently
deliberate and rapid manner (Allen and O’Connell, 2008; O’Connell et al., 2010;
O'Connell and Allen, 2012). The distributions of early sites across Sahul include environments of different climatic and ecological conditions: wet tropical rainforests, savannah and grasslands, temperate and semi-arid regions. Early occupation dates
2 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
were determined from the northern coast at Bobongara on the Huon Peninsula (40,000 years BP), Vilakuav in the Ivane Valley, Owen Stanley Ranges (49,000 years BP), and at Kupona na Dari in the Bismarck Archipelago (45,000 years BP); and their spread across PNG has been described by Summerhayes (2006:12) as “archaeologically instantaneous”. Collectively, the early archaeological sites indicate a rapid movement of people across Melanesia, and it can be inferred that they were highly adaptable in unfamiliar environments (Kirch, 2002).
Around 3300 years BP, New Guinea was colonised again by Austronesian-speaking peoples, known as the Lapita Cultural Complex (Summerhayes, 2006). They spread into the Pacific from South East Asia, bringing with them a distinctive pottery tradition
(Kirch, 2010). Lapita was a major transformation of the region (Kirch, 2010;
Summerhayes, 2006). For example, the complex was associated with the introduction of the domesticated pig (Sus scrofa) into PNG (O’Connor et al., 2011; Summerhayes,
2006). According to Bellwood (2005), Lapita peoples had dispersed agricultural technologies across the Pacific, but not in New Guinea mainland or Australia. This review will be focused upon the prehistoric subsistence strategies prior to Lapita because the archaeological materials presented in this thesis, from the Ivane Valley, are mostly more than c.4000 cal. BP (Summerhayes et al., 2010).
Population densities across New Guinea were paradoxically low until the arrival of sweet potato cultivation around 300 years ago (Bayliss-Smith, 1985; Buckley, 2006;
Groube, 1993). There were no widespread settlements or hierarchical social structures; even with the readily available rich tropical resources and the development of agricultural techniques during the Holocene, as evidenced at Kuk Swamp and the
Wahgi Valley (Davidson, 2013; Groube, 1993). A contributing factor was the role of endemic malarial infections, spread by Plasmodium sp. and the Anopheles mosquito
3 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
(Groube, 1993; Kirch, 2002). Groube (1993) concluded that the high infant mortality rate had a significant impact on the demographic histories within New Guinea.
The impacts of malarial infections in Melanesian prehistory, while known, have been infrequently acknowledged by academics studying the region (Groube, 1993). In writing about the role of the physical environments in modern PNG population demographics and behaviour, Brookfield (1964) noted altitudinal limits of human settlements in the highlands. There was a sharp upper limit of human occupation, which was attributed to the failure for crops to survive in frosty environments
(Brookfield, 1964). There was also a lower limit of human occupation and Brookfield
(1964:34) accredited it to the influence of malaria and the Anopheles mosquito.
Brookfield (1964: 34) described how the disease was in the living memory of the
highlanders and generated reluctance within communities to settle in certain areas.
The environmental conditions of the lowland coasts and mangrove swamps are ideal
for a year-round infestation of the malarial parasite (Groube, 1993). In contrast, there
is an absence of malaria above 1300m a.s.l. because the mosquito vectors cannot
survive in the cooler conditions of the higher altitudes (Buckley, 2006).
1.2. Economic plants in the highland PNG
1.2.1. Definitions
The New Guinea Highlands (also referred to as the New Guinea Central Highlands, the Central Highlands, or simply the highlands) is a cordillera that runs east-west along the length of New Guinea, from the Merauke Range in Irian Jaya to the Owen Stanley
Ranges in PNG (Hope and Hope, 1976). The highlands have a climatic and ecological uniformity (Bulmer and Bulmer, 1964). The highlands are also referred to as a region
4 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
of food procurement and settlement by humans, and are often defined between 1200 and 2500m a.s.l. (above sea level) (Bellwood, 2005; Bourke, 2010; Fairbairn et al.,
2006; Golson, 1991b; Hope and Golson, 1995). About a third of the modern New
Guinean population live within the highlands, 80% of which occupy the inter-montane valleys (Golson, 1974). The people share some common physical, genetic, linguistic, and cultural features (Bulmer and Bulmer, 1964). The significance of plants in New
Guinean culture is visible in both their ethnography and archaeology, and will be presented in detail in the following section.
The focus of this review and study will be on the eastern half of the highlands, within
PNG. Overall, less archaeological work has been achieved from within the Irian Jaya side of the Highlands because of the limited investigations beyond surveys and incidental finds, and the research publications were often through multilingual outlets
(Wright et al., 2013).
The term ‘agriculture’ was necessary to differentiate it from hunting and gathering economies, yet there is no agreed upon definition (Denham, 2005b). Harris (2007) has noted the inconsistent use of the term ‘agriculture’ as a ‘catch-all’ phrase for what in reality were complex and variable systems. The strict translation of the word
‘agriculture’ encapsulates the idea of planting crops through the tillage of the land
(Harris, 2007:21-22). Bellwood (2005:12) emphasised that ‘resource management’, the actions undertaken to protect an economic species by means such as landscape modification, is “not synonymous with agriculture” because these activities are common between hunter and gatherers and agriculturalists.
The definition of agriculture is also associated with the domestication of plants and/or animals (Harris, 2007). Domestication is a dynamic biological process driven by cultural selection and results in morphogenetic changes (Purugganan and Fuller, 2009).
There are criticisms on the use of domestication as a marker for agriculture (see
5 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
Denham, 2005b). Some issues include the long processes of genetic change (Barker,
2006; Purugganan and Fuller, 2009), and the indeterminate dependence of cultivated plants on human planting to grow (Denham, 2005b). Harris (2007) also recognised that the inclusion of domesticated animals, in the definition of agriculture, is a Eurasian tradition; and does not have application in other regions, such as the PNG highlands.
As Kennedy (2012) commented, PNG is a broad spectrum agricultural complex of root and tree crops (see also Gosden, 1995; Kennedy and Clarke, 2004; Yen, 1985).
Agriculture is defined here as the deliberate and cyclic planting of staple foods
(Bellwood, 2005). This thesis will also follow the definition by Price and Bar-Yosef
(2011), who state that agriculture does not exclude the practice of hunting and gathering, only that agriculture determines the main source of a community’s diet. The practice of agriculture is associated with an intensified productivity and increased human population densities (Bellwood, 2005; Denham and Barton, 2006). Of note,
‘horticulture’ is a synonymous term for ‘agriculture’ in Melanesian contexts (Harris,
2007). Horticulture, for Harris (2007:23), is related to agriculture and implies the cultivation of a range of species within gardens. Horticulture is also generally conducted on smaller scales than agriculture.
A discussion of animal husbandry and their role in the subsistence strategies of PNG highlands during the Holocene was not attempted within this thesis because no animal bones were preserved in the Ivane Valley (Summerhayes et al., 2010).
1.2.2. Plants in modern diets and communities
European expeditions into the interior of the New Guinea mainland revealed a population practicing agriculture (Golson, 1974). A variety of agricultural techniques were employed to make the land suitable for cultivation, particularly on the steep
6 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
slopes of the cordillera. These include terracing, building deep ditches, fences, and walls (Brookfield, 1964). Swamps were also drained to reclaim suitable land for cultivation (Brookfield, 1964). The Baliem Valley is a modern example of extensive swamp use for agriculture (Figure 1.1). The valley is located within Irian Jaya, at
1600m a.s.l. Their wetland agriculture of sweet potato and taro crops involve extensive ditch systems with water control mechanisms, such as levees and dams (Brookfield and Hart, 1971; Haberle et al., 1991). The system supports a modern population
density greater than 200 person/km2 (Haberle et al., 1991). There have been no
archaeological investigations within the Baliem Valley (Wright et al., 2013). Indications
of prehistoric cultural activities within the Baliem Valley are based on interpretations of
a pollen core, which described a potential shifting cultivation practice during the
Holocene (Haberle et al., 1991). The modern ditch system appears comparable with
those at Kuk Swamp (Haberle et al., 1991).
In contrast to the diversity of agricultural techniques across modern New Guinea, diets
are quite monotonous and starchy (Bourke et al., 2004; Oomen, 1971; Powell, 1976,
1977). As Oomen (1971:4) described, the New Guinea Highlanders are ‘tuber farmers’.
Ethnobotanical surveys of PNG (Bourke, 2010; Bourke et al., 2004; Bourke and
Harwood, 2009; Powell, 1976, 1977) emphasised the significance of starchy staples in
New Guinea diets (Table 1.1): 70 – 90% of their diet consisted of sweet potato
(Ipomoea batatas), sago (Metroxylon sagu), yams (Dioscorea sp.), and taro (Colocasia
esculenta) (Powell 1977).
7 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
Figure 1.1: Map of mainland New Guinea (Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea), showing the locations of Baliem Valley, the Wahgi Valley, Kosipe (Ivane Valley). (After Haberle et al.,
1991).
8 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
Table 1.1: Indigenous and introduced starchy plant species, consumed for food in Papua
New Guinea. (*) denotes species introduced into PNG after 1870. (Table after Bourke,
2010).
Mean usual Scientific name Family name Common name altitudinal range (m) Alocasia macrorrhizos Araceae Giant taro 0 – ? Amorphophallus Araceae Elephant-foot 0 – 700 paeoniifolius yam *Canna edulis Cannaceae Queensland 0 – ? arrowroot Colocasia esculenta Araceae Taro 0 – 2400 Dioscorea alata Dioscoreaceae Greater yam 0 – 1900 Dioscorea bulbifera Dioscoreaceae Aerial yam 0 – 1900 Dioscorea esculenta Dioscoreaceae Lesser yam 0 - 1550 Dioscorea nummularia Dioscoreaceae Nummularia yam 0 – 1900 Dioscorea pentaphylla Dioscoreaceae Five-leaflet yam 0 – 1500 *Ipomoea batatas Convolvulaceae Sweet potato 0 - 2700 *Manihot esculenta Euphorbiaceae Cassava 0 – 1800 Metroxylon sagu Arecaceae Sago 0 – 1150 Musa cvs Musaceae Fe’i banana 0 – 1750 Musa cvs Musaceae Diploid banana 0 - 1800 Musa cvs Musaceae Triploid banana 0 – 2150 *Oryza sativa Poaceae Rice 0 - ? Pueraria lobata Fabaceae Pueraria (kudzu) 0 – 2300 Saccharum officinarum Poaceae Sugar cane 0 – 2600 *Solanum tuberosum Solanaceae Potato 700 - 2750 *Xanthosoma Araceae Chinese taro 0 – 2000 sagittifolium *Zea mays Poaceae Maize (corn) 0 - 2450
9 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
Sweet potato, a recently introduced crop, accounted for 60% of energy food consumed in PNG (Bourke, 2005:15). Watson (1965a, 1965b, 1977) proposed an ‘Ipomean
Revolution’. He argued that the arrival of the sweet potato enabled sustained dense human populations at higher altitudes within the highlands. Bourke (2005:16) observed the similarities of the upper altitudinal limits of human settlement and the upper altitudinal growth limits of sweet potato. There are numerous advantages of sweet potato over the traditional plants, such as taro and yams, which have allowed its rapid adoption as a staple in the highlands (Bourke, 2005; Golson and Gardner, 1990).
These advantages include good crop yields in a wide range of soil types and in nutrient-depleted soil; greater altitudinal growth limits; mild drought resistance; disease and pest resistance; and require low maintenance to grow.
Tuber-focused diets are generally nutritionally poor (Oomen, 1971). Powell (1977) suspected that people have adapted to their nutritional situation, as they did not appear to have diet-related health issues and have an “excellent physique and physical performance” (Powell, 1977:16). The management of mixed secondary, supplementary crops was inferred to provide the missing proteins, vitamins and minerals (Powell, 1977). These secondary crops vary between regions and depend upon the quality of the soil and level of rainfall (Golson, 1974); but they generally consist of a range of vegetables, fruits, and tubers (Powell, 1977). Bourke (1996) also drew attention to the role of nuts and other tree products (Table 1.2). There are over
40 indigenous nut species harvested, and a few were domesticated within Melanesia
(Bourke, 1996; Lebot, 1999; Yen, 1985). On the whole, these secondary crops are an important component of the highlands subsistence base.
10 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
Table 1.2: Indigenous and introduced nut species, consumed for food in Papua New
Guinea. (*) denotes introduced species. (Table after Bourke, 2010).
Mean usual Scientific name Family name Common name altitudinal range (m) Aleurites moluccana Euphorbiaceae Candle nut 0 - 1800 *Arachis hypogaea Fabaceae Peanut 0 - 1850 Artocarpus altilis Moraceae Breadfruit 0 – 1250 *Anacardium occidentale Anacardiaceae Cashew 0 – ? Barringtonia procera Barringtoniaceae Pao 0 – 500 Canarium indicum Burseraceae Galip 0 – 700 *Carya illinoensis Pecan ? Castanopsis Fagaceae Castanopsis 700 - 2350 acuminatissima Cocos nucifera Arecaceae Coconut 0 – 950 Finschia chloroxantha Finschia 0 - 1850 Gnetum gnemon Gnetaceae Tulip 0 - 1100 Inocarpus fagifer Fabaceae Polynesian 0 – 400 chestnut (aila) *Macadamia integrifolia Proteaceae Macadamia 0 - 1750 *M. tetraphylla Pandanus antaresensis Pandanaceae Wild karuka 1000 – 2350 Pandanus brosimos Pandanaceae Wild karuka 2400 – 3100 Pandanus jiulianettii Pandanaceae Planted karuka 1800 – 2600 Pangium edule Sis (solomon) 0 - 1050 Terminalia catappa Combretaceae Sea almond 0 – 300 (talis) Terminalia impediens Combretaceae Okari 0 – 1000 Terminalia kaernbachii Combretaceae Okari 0 - 1000
11 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
Some plants species are also valuable for their non-dietary uses. Figure 1.2, derived from Powell’s (1977) ethnobotanical data, shows the variety of plants use, for other than food, in PNG: 100 species were designated for building materials (house, shelter),
73 species for tools and weaponry, 46 species for string and bark cloth, 43 species watercrafts, and 31 species for ropes. There are a few traditional plants of which most plant parts were used. For example, Pandanus sp. is a vital economic and cultural plant within the highlands. There are 66 species grown in PNG from coastal to highland environments (Hyndman, 1984). The various species are utilised differently; some are valued for their leaves, flesh or seeds (Hyndman, 1984; Lepofsky, 1992;
Lovave and Magun, 2013). The highland varieties, such as Pandanus julianettii, are edible and provide protein and fat, which is difficult to obtain in these environments
(Hyndman, 1984). P. julianettii is cultivated along the forest edges and secondary water courses (McArthur, 1961). Wild varieties are also culturally important as sources of energy during hunting trips into the forests (Hyndman, 1984).
Figure 1.2: The proportion of plant species in Papua New Guinea categorised by their main use by local communities. (Data from Powell (1977), Table 2.1).
12 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
1.2.3. Plants in prehistoric subsistence strategies
1.2.3.1. Characterising the prehistoric environment
The floristic character of the Highlands is influenced by local climatic conditions, which have been dynamic through its long prehistory. Palynological studies have been undertaken in the highlands and we now have detailed records of the past vegetation within various highland valleys across the cordillera (examples include: Fairbairn et al.,
2006; Haberle, 2007; Hope, 1976, 2009; Powell, 1982).
The Pleistocene in the PNG highlands was drier, colder and unstable than the present day conditions. There was a 5 – 8C temperature drop (Barrows et al., 2011; Hope and Hope, 1976), with fluctuations down to 10C (Bulmer, 1982), during the Last
Glacial Maximum (LGM). Glaciers were always present on New Guinea Mountains between 50,000 and 10,000 years (Hope and Hope, 1976; Prentice et al., 2011).
During the maximum extent of glaciation at Mt Wilhelm, the pollen record shows the forest tree line was at 2000 – 2400m a.s.l.; compared to its present position at 3900 –
4000m a.s.l. (Hope and Hope, 1976; Hope et al., 1983). The pollen data of Sirunki swamp (2500m a.s.l.), northwest of Mt Wilhelm, placed the tree line at 2300m a.s.l. around 18,000 years BP (Walker and Hope, 1982). Frost periods in the Highlands were likely to have maintained the depressed altitudinal limits of the montane forests
(Hope and Hope, 1976).
The tree line was not considered to be abrupt, but a gradual transformation with decreasing forest patches and shrub lands (Hope and Hope, 1976). The pollen profiles, since human colonisation at 43,000 – 49,000 cal. BP and through the Holocene, indicate the changing characteristics of these forests and grasslands. The Pleistocene forests between 1500 and 2100m a.s.l. were ‘closed’ and dominated by Nothofagus sp.
(Hope and Hope, 1976; Hope et al., 1983), with regional variations of conifer species
13 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
(Haberle, 2007; Walker and Hope, 1982). In the Ivane Valley, there were fluctuations of Dacrycarpus sp., Podocarpus sp. and Phyllocladus sp. pollen signals with an increasing presence of Nothofagus sp. (Hope, 2009). The grasslands are described to be ‘shrub-rich’ and resemble modern day tree-fern grasslands in Irian Jaya and other anthropogenic grasslands, comprised of tussock grasses, herbs, mosses, lichens and ferns (Hope and Hope, 1976; Paijmans, 1976). Cyathea sp., a tree-fern noted to be relatively frost-tolerant, was also present (Hope, 1976).
The character of the highland palaeoenvironment during the Holocene was complex, with multiple vegetation changes from both natural and anthropogenic influences. In contrast to the Pleistocene, the Holocene was warmer and wetter (Bulmer, 1975; Hope and Hope, 1976). The melting of the highland glaciers was accompanied with an increased altitude of the forest tree line. By 8000 years BP, the tree line had risen to present-day altitudes at 4000m a.s.l. (Hope and Hope, 1976). The vegetation changed from the closed Nothofagus forests, characteristic of the Pleistocene highlands, to open and disturbed forests dominated by secondary plant species due to burning (Haberle,
2007; Hope, 1976, 2009). Nothofagus sp. dramatically decreased in favour of
Castanopsis sp. and associated species. The rising tree line also resulted in the contraction of the shrub-rich grasslands to small patches in the summit areas (Hope and Hope, 1976).
The forests gradually gave way to permanent grasslands. The grasslands at Kuk
Swamp in the Wahgi Valley became established by 6950 – 6440 cal. BP (Haberle et al.,
2012). Nothofagus sp. and other secondary species remained low throughout the sequence; and Gramineae sharply increased (Haberle et al., 2012). Microcharcoal peaks, whilst episodic, were present throughout this zone (7000 – 2000 cal. BP)
(Haberle et al., 2012). It has been observed that repeated burning and/or gardening practices can degrade a forest into grasslands, due to a loss of soil nutrients (Gillieson
14 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
et al., 1989). The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) may have also increased the susceptibility of forests to fires and vegetation changes (Denham, 2007b; Haberle,
2007).
1.2.3.2. Prehistoric hunting and foraging in the highlands during the Pleistocene
Prehistoric human exploitation of highland resources is evidenced by faunal remains and archaeobotanical evidence, such as charred macro-remains and starch residues
(examples include: Bulmer, 1975; Bulmer and Bulmer, 1964; Mountain, 1991b;
Summerhayes et al., 2010; White, 1972) (Figure 1.3). The early occupation in PNG during the Pleistocene was characterised by intermittent hunting forays into the highlands. Nombe rock shelter in the Simbu province, at 1720m a.s.l. has occupation dates of c.17,300 – c.30,000 cal. BP (Evans and Mountain, 2005; Mountain, 1991b;
White, 1972). Bones from four extinct megafaunal species were uncovered from its lowest excavated level, in the Stratum D clays: Diprotodontid family, Protemnodon tumbuna, Protemnodon nombe, and Dendrolagus noibano (Mountain, 1991b; Sutton et al., 2009). There was no direct evidence of burning or butchery on these megafaunal remains, which co-occurred with excavated cultural materials (Sutton et al., 2009).
Mountain (1991b:9.10) also considered the deposition of the bones of large animals to be the work of both humans and Thylacinus cynocephalus (thylacine) predation.
The collective archaeological record of Sahul during the Pleistocene is characteristic of broad-spectrum plant exploitation (Denham et al., 2009). Direct manipulation of the highland forests through deliberate burning; grinding technologies in Australia; detoxification methods; arboreal and tuber exploitation; and transplanting plant materials were employed to manage their shifting diet breadth during the Pleistocene
(Denham et al., 2009).
15 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
Figure 1.3: Map of New Guinea and the locations of the archaeological sites mentioned in text, including the Ivane Valley (Kosipe) and Kuk Swamp. (After Summerhayes et al.,
2009).
It has also been hypothesised that Pandanus foraging represented another attraction to
the highlands (White et al., 1970). Direct archaeological evidence in relation to the
prehistoric use of plant resources, particularly of Pandanus sp., is sparse and reliant on a few sites. Pandanus macrofossils have been excavated from archaeological sites
across the Ivane Valley and the Wurup Valley (Christensen, 1975; Summerhayes et al.,
2010; White et al., 1970). Indirect support comes from palynological evidence of
hunter-gatherers manipulating and maintaining disturbed forest ecosystems in the
highlands. It is thought that the forests were kept in a disturbed state, with the use of
fire and stone tools, to manage the plant’s growth (Groube, 1989:297).
16 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
The pollen records across the highlands have indications of patches of forest disturbance within the forests made by fire (Haberle et al., 2012; Hope, 2009). For example, significant peaks of microcharcoal coincide with the archaeological presence of humans in the Ivane Valley, at 38,000 – 41,000 cal. BP (Hope, 2009). The moist environment associated with the Nothofagus-dominated forests present in the valley
was not favourable to naturally caused fire events (Fairbairn et al., 2006). The
microcharcoal peaks do not correspond with known major climatic events (Hope, 2009).
Natural causes for these fires were therefore considered improbable, leaving human
actions as the logical explanation for their source (Fairbairn et al., 2006; Hope, 2009;
Summerhayes et al., 2009). These disturbance patches mimicked the transition zones
between the forests and grasslands, which were biodiverse and likely to have been
targeted by hunter-gatherers (Gorecki, 1989; Hope and Hope, 1976).
Waisted axes, hafted stone tools, are also indicators for the anthropogenic disturbance
of forests to manage the growth of Pandanus sp. The relationship between waisted axes and forest clearing was proposed in relation to the archaeological finds at
Bobongara (Groube, 1989; Groube et al., 1986). Although Bobongara is located along the Huon Peninsula, the site is contemporaneous with the early highland sites. The earliest archaeological level is located on Reef IIIa and has been dated to 45,000 –
53,000 years (Groube et al., 1986). In-situ artefacts from Bobongara include waisted axes and other stone artefacts. There are also surface finds of over 100 waisted axes above Reef IIIa and appeared to be similar to the finds at Kosipe in the Ivane Valley, and Yuku, a rock shelter in the valley of the Yuem River (Groube et al., 1986). One in- situ waisted axe from Reef IIIa was heavy (1.68kg) (Figure 1.4). Groube (1989) hypothesised that its weak edge and weight made it more suited for ring barking, root clearance, and thinning branches or felling small trees; to maintain the favoured availability of sunlight in disturbed forest patches for Pandanus sp. growth. Bulmer
(2005) conceded that there may be a link between waisted axes and the seasonal
17 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
foraging of Pandanus sp. In addition to forest clearance, Bulmer (2005:411) suggested waisted axes were used to harvest grubs and other animals in logs or trees, and for digging edible roots from the soils.
Figure 1.4: Waisted axe (a, b) excavated from Bobongara. (After Groube et al., 1986).
Very few waisted axes have been excavated within the highlands (Bulmer, 2005).
Yuku, at 1280m a.s.l. and with an earliest occupation date at 17,900 cal. BP (Bulmer,
2005), has the most waisted axes excavated from within a highland site (n = 23)
(Bulmer, 2005). The waisted axes at Yuku were made of local materials and are also spread throughout its occupation sequence. The waisted axes may have possibly been cached, as 14 out of the 23 axes were in good repair (Bulmer, 2005). The foraging for Pandanus sp. was suspected as the reason for the repeated short visits to
Yuku, with seeds present in the layers since 14,200 cal. BP (Bulmer, 2005:405).
18 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
1.2.3.3. Prehistoric hunting and foraging in the highlands during the early to mid-Holocene
An increased availability and diversity of both faunal and floral resources during the
Holocene is reflected in the archaeological record. There was an increased range of faunal species hunted, coupled with local extinctions of some species, and intensified use of caves and rock shelters within the highlands. There were also significant changes in the subsistence strategies during the Holocene.
Sutton et al. (2009) has published a detailed review of the faunal assemblages currently excavated and analysed from the highlands; namely from Yuku, Kiowa,
Aibura, Batari, Kafiayawa (Kafiavana), Kamapuk, and Nombe. An outcome of their review was discerning local extinctions, due to overhunting, during the Holocene.
Cassowary remains from Kamapuk, a rockshelter in the Wurup Valley (Christensen,
1975), had disappeared from its archaeological record by the mid- to late Holocene
(Sutton et al., 2009). Kiowa rockshelter, in the Simbu province, was continuously
occupied during the early to mid-Holocene (Bulmer, 1975; Bulmer and Bulmer, 1964;
Gaffney, 2013). Its faunal record showed intensified hunting of Aproteles bulmerae
(fruit bat), and their eventual disappearance during the early Holocene (Sutton et al.,
2009).
The archaeology of Nombe rock shelter describe parallel shifts in the people’s
subsistence strategies and their use of the site, as the local environments and/or
cultural behaviours changed over time (Evans, 2000; Evans and Mountain 2005;
Mountain 1991a, 1991b; Sutton et al., 2009; White, 1972). Nombe was intensively
used as a base camp during the Holocene (Mountain, 1991b). The pattern of lithics
had characterised an infrequent use of the site during the Pleistocene (Evans and
Mountain, 2005). It was hypothesised that hunter-gatherers had visited the rock shelter
with a mobile tool kit, which they took away with them. In contrast, during the Holocene,
19 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
there was a full reduction sequence of volcanic cores and artefact caching on site
(Evans and Mountain, 2005).
There were 42 faunal species excavated from the Holocene layer at Nombe, compared to the 29 species from the Pleistocene layer (Mountain, 1991a). There was also a decrease of large animals in the Holocene faunal assemblages, which thereby necessitated changes in the people’s approaches towards their environment (Evans and Mountain, 2005; Mountain, 1991a). Smaller prey was targeted for consumption, particularly fruit bats (Mountain, 1991b). The hunting of fruit bats was achieved by trapping, a hunting strategy which reduced residential mobility (Evans and Mountain,
2005).
The faunal assemblages at Nombe and Yuku suggest a decreased use of the sites c.5000 years ago (Sutton et al., 2009). Sutton et al. (2009) admit that these decreases were unlikely to represent a reduced presence of people in the highlands at this time.
Rather, the events were thought to be reflective of changes in their social and subsistence activities (Sutton et al., 2009). For Sutton et al. (2009), the decreased use of some rock shelters reflected an increased dependence on fixed location resources, such as cultivation plots. Therefore, there was an associated reduced mobility and reliance on forest game; and the hunting in the forests became opportunistic in character (Sutton et al., 2009).
These faunal analyses in the highlands are biased towards caves and rock shelters because of their superior conditions for preservation (Paz, 2005; Renfrew and Bahn,
2004). Interpreting evidence from caves and rock shelters, however, is complicated
(White, 1972). Within the PNG context, the recent phases (often mid-Holocene to recent) are assumed to reflect use by agriculturalists, as indicated by ethnographical records (White, 1972). Use of these sites seems to relate to limited purposes and the materials left behind will therefore not be reflective of their material culture (White,
20 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
1972). In contrast, the earlier archaeological phases of caves and rock shelters are assumed to have been used by hunter-gatherers as base camps and the remains are probably reflective of their material culture (White, 1972). However, one cannot identify which phases reflect hunter-gatherers and which reflect horticulturalist activities (White,
1972). During the early interpretations of PNG archaeology, both Bulmer and Bulmer
(1964) and White (1972) noted the slow change in the stone technologies excavated from caves and rock shelters. There was little contrast in the materials through the phases, and an ‘artefactual marker’ for PNG agriculture is absent (White, 1972:144). It was concluded that the use of caves and rock shelters as hunting bases, therefore, had changed little over time (White, 1972).
There are also open archaeological sites which have been excavated across the highlands, including the Ivane Valley, the subject of this research project. Over 60 archaeological sites were identified within the Eastern Highland as part of the New
Guinea Micro-evolution Project (Watson and Cole, 1977) (Figure 1.5). Eight of these sites were excavated and their archaeological records analysed by Watson and Cole
(1977): NFA, NFB, NFC, NFX, NGG, NGH, NGJ, and NGM. Their chronologies covered from 18,050 750 years BP to the recent European contact (Watson and Cole,
1977). Watson and Cole’s (1977) analysis demonstrated a gradual cultural change in the region. Watson has organised the stone assemblages into three different classes
(Class X, Y and Z), and showed a relationship between these classes and site locations. For instance, Class Y assemblages, which included a stone mortar fragment from NFB, were close to the rivers and grassland basins (Watson and Cole, 1977).
The prehistoric peoples primarily practiced a hunter-gatherer economy until after 3000
BP, when a dependence on agricultural subsistence was inferred (Watson and Cole,
1977:135).
21 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
Figure 1.5: Map of the open archaeological sites in the Eastern Highlands identified as part of the New Guinea Micro-evolution Project. (After Watson and Cole, 1977).
22 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
Wañelek is an open site at 1675m a.s.l. in the Kaironk Valley of the Madang District
(Bulmer, 1975, 1977). The earliest date for the site is between c.15,000 – c.12,000 years; with five phases of occupation described (Bulmer, 1977). The site was interpreted as an agricultural settlement during the Holocene, between 6200 and 3000 cal. BP, based on a ‘tanged’ tool similar to one found at Kuk Swamp (Bulmer, 1975,
2005); although the Kuk Swamp artefact was not excavated from a known stratified context (Bulmer, 1975). ‘Tanged’ tools, also called round-bladed spades (Type 3a classification; Bulmer, 2005), have distinctive shapes and are inferred to have been used as digging tools. The Wañelek examples showed signs of use: one was smoothed from use and has wear about its stem, which suggested hafting; the other artefact has a broken stem (Bulmer, 2005). Bulmer (2005:439) speculated that this class of artefacts could have been adapted for agricultural work, as well as been used for digging during hunting and gathering activities.
Few highland sites have direct evidence of plant exploitation in their archaeological record during the Holocene, aside from the developments at Kuk Swamp. There was an intensified exploitation of Pandanus sp. at Manim, a rock shelter near the Wurup
Valley (Christensen, 1975). A change in the Pandanus sp. seed wall thickness was suggestive of domestication (Christensen, 1975).
In summary, people were clearly hunting and gathering forest species during the
Pleistocene, based on faunal remains, plant macro-remains, and starch residues across the highlands. Waisted axes, microcharcoal records, and the changes in the vegetation structure as indicated by the pollen record, document the management of forests. The highlands remained a resourceful place for hunter-gatherers during the
Holocene. Highland caves and rock shelters continued to be used, but with evidence of changed subsistence strategies to meet the changed environments. Open archaeological sites, such as the series within the Eastern Highlands and Wañelek,
23 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
also have evidence for gradual changes in their subsistence through the Holocene.
Most of the knowledge known about the use of plants during the Holocene, however, comes from the archaeological research of Kuk Swamp.
1.2.3.4. The archaeology of Kuk Swamp and agriculture in the highlands
Kuk Swamp, within the Wahgi Valley at 1560m a.s.l., is considered to be the type site for prehistoric agriculture in the highlands (Denham et al., 2004b). Other
archaeological sites with similar features have been recorded within the Wahgi Valley
and they collectively represent the extensive use of wetlands for agricultural practices
for at least 3000 years (Denham, 2005a, 2007a).
Excavations at Kuk Swamp were focused within the eastern quarter of the swamp
occupying the valley floor (Golson, 1974). The Kuk Swamp archaeology has
undergone intensive scrutiny and reinterpretations. The stratigraphy includes six
phases of swamp use (Figure 1.6) (Denham, 2004; Golson, 1974). The pattern of
radiocarbon dates for each phase indicates a short period of use before they were
abandoned (Golson, 1977).
Phase 1, the earliest phase used between 10,220 and 9910 cal. BP, has
archaeological features of gutters, hollows, pits, and stake holes (Denham et al.,
2003; Golson, 1977). There is also a single channel (2m wide, 1m deep) and is
thought to have drained the swamp for cultivation.
Phase 2 is dated between 6950 and 6440 cal. BP and is divided into two sub-
phases by two tephras (Denham, 2003). Five palaeochannels were dug into
the swamp (2m wide, 2m deep) and functioned to drain the swamp (Denham,
2003; Denham et al., 2003; Golson, 1977). Linked basins also retained water
within the area.
24 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
Phase 3 was described as the “first true drainage systems” (Golson, 1977). Its
main features include at least three major drainage ditches and a network of
long individual drains, with evidence of maintenance. The phase ended with a
sharp change in the character of sediment and was deduced to be the first
instance of soil tillage in the area (Golson, 1977). Phase 3 was used between
4,840 and 2,800 cal. BP (Denham et al., 2003).
The remaining phases are often considered separate in the analysis of the
emergence of agricultural practices at Kuk swamp. Phase 4, dated between
c.2000 – c.1200 years BP, is an intensified network of drainage channels in a
grid-like arrangement (Golson, 1977). The phase was abandoned before a
deposition of volcanic ash fall. The number of water channels and the
complexity of their arrangement increased in Phases 5 and 6, between
c.400 – c.100 years BP (Golson, 1977, 1982).
A ‘grey clay’ layer between Phases 1 and 2 (Figure 1.6) has been interpreted to be the result of an increased rate of soil erosion into the swamp (Hughes et al., 1991). It was suspected to have derived from repeated forest clearing as part of a shifting cultivation regime introduced into the region (Golson, 1991a, 1991b, 2007).
25 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
Figure 1.6: Schematic of the stratigraphy of Kuk Swamp showing the stratigraphic units.
Some of the tephra lens are indicated and shown as black lines within the stratigraphic units. The phases of swamp use (Phases 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 and 6) within the stratigraphy are marked. (After Denham, 2003).
The processes leading to the emergence of agriculture at Kuk Swamp appear to have been slow and ‘experimental’ (Golson, 1977:631). In contrast to the later phases of
Kuk Swamp, the archaeological features of Phases 1, 2, and 3 are significantly different and served different purposes (Golson, 1990). Golson interpreted the features from these earlier phases as designed for water control, whereas the later phases were intended for the proper drainage of the swamp (Golson and Hughes, 1977). According to Golson and Hughes (1977), the subsequent phases had increasing issues with water management. The presence of only a single channel in Phase 1 and the four channels in Phase 2 were suggestive of the relative ease to manage the swamp.
26 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
Nevertheless, both phases were particularly short-lived. Phases 1 and 2, according to
Yen (cited in Golson, 1977) could have been experimental. The phases were easy to construct, with only a few ditches; but were found difficult to maintain as the channels were easily clogged with soil and were therefore soon abandoned. The exploitation of the swamp land was attempted again at 4000 years ago with the new drainage technologies shown since Phase 3 (Golson, 1977).
Golson (1982) emphasised very early in the discussions of Kuk Swamp, the limitations of the archaeological data to inform what was grown. The nature of the archaeological evidence could only illuminate the structural processes. The recent publications and analyses of Kuk Swamp now provide direct evidence of some of the economic plants exploited within the Wahgi Valley.
Until the recent multidisciplinary analyses, there was only one plant species identified in relation to the archaeological features of Kuk Swamp. In 1985, Samuel Wilson published initial phytolith analyses of sediment sampled through all phases of occupation. He found that Musa (banana) phytoliths were present but in low quantities.
They were also present in all phases except for Phase 1, beneath the grey clay. At this time, however, it was unclear whether the bananas were present on site as a crop or as a weed (Wilson, 1985). The uncertainty of the presence of Musa sp. was resolved with the recent archaeobotanical investigations. New Musa sp. phytolith data was collected and profiled across the early phases of swamp use (Denham et al., 2003).
Peaks of Musaceae phytoliths were identified from Phases 2 and 3 soils. Also in high numbers were Poaceae phytoliths, indicative of a grassy landscape and was probably maintained by regular burning. Bananas do not naturally grow in periodically burnt landscapes. The presence of banana was therefore explained as having been deliberately planted, from 6980 – 6440 cal. BP (Denham et al., 2003). Eumusa, Musa
ingens and Ensete glaucum bananas were identified (Denham et al., 2003).
27 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
Stone artefacts were excavated from all levels of the swamp and wooden artefacts were preserved in the more recent phases (Denham, 2007a). Denham (2007a:82) commented that the ‘paucity’ of stone artefacts from Kuk Swamp was to be expected from a subsistence site. Wooden artefacts, such as the digging sticks and spades recovered from Phases 4 – 6 and described in the modern ethnography (Golson, 1977), are suspected to have been used for most of the cultivation work (Denham, 2007a).
The stone materials were used for other tasks; including processing starchy plants for consumption, as indicated by residue analyses (Fullagar et al., 2006).
A selection of Phase 1 and 2 stone artefacts have been examined for use-wear and residues (Fullagar et al., 2006). The results of the artefact use-wear indicate wood-
working and the processing of soft plants by scraping and pounding motions (Fullagar
et al., 2006). Some of the preliminary residue results reported by Fullagar et al. (2006)
include a Phase 1 pestle or grinding stone with Dioscorea sp. (yam) starch grains; and
a Phase 1 chert fragment (a possible broken flake) with possible Colocasia esculenta
(taro) starch grains. Colocasia sp. starch grains were identified from residues of at
least three stone tools from Phases 1 and 2 (Denham et al., 2003). The identified
residues of known traditional economic plants in the early phases of Kuk Swamp
indicate their antiquity of use within the Highlands.
1.2.3.5. Where (and when) did agriculture at Kuk Swamp come from?
The early phases at Kuk Swamp (Phases 1 – 3) are envisioned to consist of mixed
gardening by small groups of people, who continued to exploit the wild resources of the
forest (Golson, 1977). The general features of mounds and water basins in Phase 2
were suited for the cultivation of mixed crops. The retention of water in the soils is
suitable for the wet-cultivation of taro; and the raised mounds could support water-
28 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
intolerant plants, such as banana (Golson, 1977). The archaeobotanical evidence corroborates with a mixed crop gardening regime (see above).
The simultaneous timing of swamp drainage, cultivated plants, and shifting cultivation by at least Phase 2 (c.7000 cal. BP) at Kuk Swamp, has suggested to Golson
(2007:118-9) that the plants and techniques were derived from elsewhere. The lowlands were a logical hypothesis for Golson and Yen, despite the lack of archaeological evidence for agriculture in the lowlands during the Pleistocene (Golson,
2007). With the colder environments during the Pleistocene, the suspected first crops were restricted within the lowlands or intermediate zones, between 600 and 1200m a.s.l.; because agriculture in the Highlands was thought unlikely before the Holocene
(Golson, 1991:82-3). It was the Holocene climatic changes that allowed for economic crops to be successfully transplanted to higher altitudes by humans.
In contrast, for Denham et al. (2004), the warming Holocene temperatures naturally carried up the lowland yams and taro into the highlands, when they were then gradually incorporated into their diets. There was no agricultural technology transfer accompanying this upward drift of plants. Denham (2004) presented a detailed evaluation of the nature of the construction of the palaeochannel from Phase 1.
Whether its construction was artificial or natural was considered to be important in resolving the processes of emergence of agriculture in the Highlands: of whether the technology was brought up from the lowlands or was innovatively developed within the
Highlands (Golson, 2007). Denham (2004) examined the various arguments for the artificial character of the palaeochannel and concluded that it was naturally-formed.
Similarly, a revaluation of the Phase 1 palaeosurface of pits and stake holes could not satisfactory confirm their artificial nature. Denham disagreed with the timing for the emergence of systematic agriculture by 9000 cal. BP (Phase 1) due to a lack of supporting archaeological evidence; Phase 1 appears to be naturally-formed. Instead,
29 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
the “unequivocal multidisciplinary evidence” for agriculture at Kuk Swamp dates from
7000 – 6500 cal. BP (Denham and Haberle, 2008:492).
1.3. Ancient starch as a tool of investigation
Archaeobotany is the study of plant remains from archaeological contexts and involves the examination of preserved tissue, parenchyma, pollen, phytoliths, starch, and ancient DNA. Ancient starch is increasingly used to complement the study of other archaeological plant remains (Field, 2007; Torrence and Barton, 2006); especially as tubers and corms do not produce common diagnostic phytoliths or pollen (Piperno,
2006). It has been demonstrated, many times within PNG archaeology, of the value of starch as an investigative tool (Fullagar et al., 2006; Lentfer et al., 2002; Lentfer and
Torrence, 2007; Loy et al., 1992; Summerhayes et al., 2010; Therin et al., 1999).
Starch residues were extracted and examined from artefacts in the Ivane Valley for
direct evidence of starchy plant use during the Holocene.
Starch is a polysaccharide polymer comprised of amylose and amylopectin and is
formed in plant chloroplasts and amyloplasts as granules. The grains have a density of
1.5 g/mL (Banks and Greenwood, 1975: 242). Layers of amylose and amylopectin
form concentrically about a growth centre, the hilum, and are visible as lamellae
(Figure 1.7). The layers of amylose and amylopectin give the grain a semi-crystalline
optical character, such that under cross-polarised light a birefringent ‘extinction cross’
is visible. Rotation of the polarising planes will also rotate the cross about the hilum.
30 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
Figure 1.7: A starch grain from Dioscorea bulbifera which has an eccentric hilum with prominent lamellae.
There are two types of starches formed by plants. Transient starches are produced and metabolised within short period of times in the chloroplast. They are generally less than 5m in size and possess non-diagnostic features (BeMiller and Whistler, 2009).
In contrast, storage (also known as reserve) starches can range in size from 2μm to nearly 100μm. They can be compound or simple and the edges can be facetted or
rounded. Hereafter, all starch discussed will refer to storage starches.
Like phytolith and pollen, starch grains can be diagnostic for particular plant species
(see Reichert [1913]). A range of morphological attributes are often used in attempts to
discriminate between species: two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D)
shapes of the grain; position of the hilum; and the presence/absence of surface
characteristics such as lamellae and fissures (see Lentfer [2009]). Hierarchical keys,
photographs and grain descriptions are used to closely match archaeological residues
with the reference plants (Barton and Paz, 2007; Hart, 2011; Perry, 2004; Torrence,
2006). The greater the similarity between the archaeological residues and the
reference collection, then the more confidence can be placed in its taxonomic
identification (Barton and Paz, 2007; Perry, 2004).
31 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
Another approach was developed by Piperno and Holst and documents the variability of starch grains within a species (see Holst et al., 2007; Piperno and Dillehay, 2008;
Piperno et al., 2004). The approach is based on the premise that multiple combinations of granule descriptions are required to accurately identify a species. It has been termed the ‘population signature’ or ‘assemblage-based’ approach. The method relies upon the relative proportions of selected diagnostic starch morphological attributes (Piperno and Dillehay, 2008). For example, comparisons between teosinte
(wild Zea spp.) and maize (Zea mays) shows the former has a high percentage of round and irregular shaped grains, whereas the starch grains of maize are predominantly irregular (Holst et al., 2007). In another example, Manihot sp. starch grains were identified on a cobble tool and milling stone recovered from a Holocene
Panamanian site (Piperno et al., 2000). The relative proportions between bell-shaped grains with fissures and those without fissures matched well with the proportions described of the known modern species (Piperno et al., 2000).
The morphological variations are governed by genetics and their physical and cellular environments (Field 2007). Lance et al. (2005) demonstrated the significant effect environment can have on grain characteristics. They measured the grain sizes of
Marsilea drummondii (Nardoo) collected from three different environments: an arid zone, a semi-arid zone, and a temperate zone. The results revealed a fair degree of overlap between the samples from the semi-arid and temperate zones; whereas the arid zone samples were generally larger. Note also, the temperate zone samples were water stressed and the maximum grain sizes were likely to have been affected.
Starch is produced in measureable quantities, particularly by plants that do not produce diagnostic phytoliths or pollen (Piperno, 2006). It is one of the factors that are exploited in the study of ancient starch. The massive volumes of starch produced by plants, to the order of 1012 grains, may have only a few grains survive within an environment with
32 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
enzymes and microbial attack resulting in degradation (Haslam, 2004). Other factors in the preservation of starch listed by Haslam (2004) include the stability of the granule structure itself, the formation of grain clusters, and soil aggregates. Preservation can also be due to protection of granules within cracks and crevices of stone tools (Piperno et al., 2000). Overall, the processes of starch preservation and taphonomy are not well understood. Little research has been undertaken to characterise the processes of starch preservation and the implications with residue analyses (Barton et al., 1998;
Haslam, 2004; Korstanje, 2003; Lu, 2003).
1.4. Research aims and scope of the study
The primary aim of this research is to investigate the subsistence strategies of hunter- gatherers in the New Guinea Highlands during the Holocene, as presented through their use of plants. Excavated stone artefacts from Ivane Valley, representative of a hunter-gatherer community (Ford, 2012; Summerhayes et al., 2010; White et al., 1970), are assessed for the presence of use-related plant residues, specifically starch.
There are two components of this research:
1. An exploration of the methodological approaches to the study of ancient starch
residues, with attention to the importance of various starch grain attributes in
the process of identifying unknown plant species; and
2. An exploration of the archaeobotanical record of the Ivane Valley during the
early to mid-Holocene.
The latter component is the primary focus of this research, and has several secondary aims and research questions:
33 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
Patterns in the use of the stone artefacts to process starchy plants are
examined.
A modern comparative starch reference collection specific for the Ivane Valley,
is developed to assist in the identification of the range of starchy plants
exploited by humans within the Ivane Valley.
The Ivane Valley contains numerous open archaeological sites and the spread
of the individual sites allow for the investigation of spatial patterns; to explore for
any differences in plant use across the valley. For instance, was there a
preference for the valley ridges or the swamp and rivers?
There is also a temporal scale available within the Ivane Valley’s archaeological
record. The region was exploited since the initial stages of the colonisation of
Sahul (Summerhayes et al., 2010). The dynamics of plant use over time by
hunters and gatherers, therefore, may be characterised. For example, was
there any change in subsistence strategies? Was plant use in the valley
systematic or opportunistic?
Finally, this research has capacity to examine the potential relationships
between the Ivane Valley and other New Guinea highland sites; most
importantly, Kuk Swamp in the Wahgi Valley.
1.4.1. Significance of the study
The focus on the early to mid-Holocene materials will provide a balanced narrative of the subsistence strategies, during the independent development of agriculture at Kuk
Swamp. The approach to Sahul’s subsistence during the Holocene has been critiqued by researchers; including Yen (1995), Lourandos (2008), Denham et al. (2009). There was a trajectory, at least within one area of highland PNG, towards an agricultural subsistence. In contrast, the Australian prehistoric communities remained
34 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
predominantly hunter-gathering economies. The finds at Ivane Valley, and the results of this research, presents an opportunity to characterise a continued plant foraging economy and the different strategies of land use during the Holocene.
The study will also advance the knowledge of the study of ancient starch, and the archaeological record of the Ivane Valley and the New Guinea highlands. There is currently no single standard procedure to identify plants from archaeological starch residues. As part of the research, statistical methods were used to explore the processes of identifying plant species of unknown starch grains.
1.5. Overview of the thesis
The investigations of this thesis forms part of a multi-disciplinary research program undertaken by the Ivane Valley Archaeological project team and led by Glenn R.
Summerhayes as part of a Marsden-funded project (‘Heads in the Clouds’). The thesis also contributes to an ARC-funded project led by Judith Field and Glenn R.
Summerhayes (‘The dynamics of human-environment interactions in late Pleistocene and Holocene highland New Guinea: a study of the Ivane Valley’), which aims to investigate the role of plants during the prehistoric occupation of PNG.
This thesis comprise of six chapters. The following chapter (Chapter 2) presents a detailed description of the Ivane Valley, the location and previous research, both palynological and archaeological.
Chapter 3 outlines the methods used in this research. There were three methodological components: field work in the Ivane Valley; extraction and documentation of ancient starch residues from the Holocene materials; and the identification of plant taxa. Statistical investigations of both known reference and
35 Chapter One. Introduction and Research Aims
unknown archaeological materials were also completed and their methods are described.
The results are then presented in Chapter 4. The degree of starchy residue preservation and the types of starches extracted from the analysed Holocene materials are described. Their taxa identifications are also described. The importance of the comparative modern reference collection in a residue study cannot be understated (see
Field, 2006; Lentfer, 2011; Loy, 1994); and as such, how the reference collection specific to the Ivane Valley was developed is described. The results of the statistical tests on the reference materials are also presented.
Chapter 5 interprets these results. The behaviours of hunter-gatherers in the Ivane
Valley, and their use of plants, are inferred from the residues left behind. They are integrated with the results of previous archaeological investigations. The significance of this project’s results will also be discussed in relation to what is currently known of the inhabitants of the Highlands, especially with Kuk Swamp and the Wahgi Valley.
Finally, this thesis concludes with Chapter 6. The project aims and questions are revisited and answered in light of the results and insights produced from the ancient starch residue study of the Holocene stone artefacts and the overall archaeology of the
Ivane Valley.
36
Chapter Two.
Site Description: The Ivane Valley
The Ivane Valley is located within the New Guinea Highlands. It has one of the oldest radiocarbon dated archaeological sites from Sahul (Summerhayes et al., 2010). In this chapter, the site setting and the previous archaeological research are described. Detail is also provided of the five archaeological sites chosen for this study.
2.1. Physical description
The Ivane Valley is located about 135km north of Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.
It is an intermontane valley at approximately 2000m a.s.l. within the Owen Stanley
Ranges. The nearest volcano is Mt Lamington, about 140km southeast.
The region is humid, with an average 2500 mm annual rainfall. There is a daily cloud cover. The mean temperature is 22C, with a diurnal pattern of warm days and cool nights. A light frost is known to form on the colder nights.
The Ivane Valley is a relatively shallow and is drained by the Ivane River and Kosipe
River. A large swamp (28km2) dominates the centre of the valley, which was formed by a blockage created by the Kosipe River (Hope, 2009). It is surrounded by mixed montane forested hills, with Pandanus sp. and a low swamp forest (Hope, 2009; White et al., 1970). Chapter Two. Site Description: The Ivane Valley
2.1.1. The palaeoenvironment of the Ivane Valley
The valley has been an area of interest by palynologists. The Kosipe swamp was considered to be an ideal location to examine the dynamics of the highlands tree line over time (Hope, 2009). Earlier palynological analyses across the PNG highlands indicated the Pleistocene tree line was between 2000 and 2400m a.s.l. (Hope and
Hope, 1976; Walker and Hope, 1982). Investigative programs have been implemented by Geoffrey Hope and others to characterise the palaeoenvironment at Kosipe
(Fairbairn et al., 2006; Hope and Golson, 1995; Hope, 2009).
The Kosipe pollen sequence documents the dominance of Nothofagus sp. between c.
50,000 and c.11,000 years. During the Pleistocene, the Ivane Valley was a cool and
wet upper-montane environment. A suite of frost-tolerant subalpine herbs, such as
Astelia, characterise an increasing cold climate after 31,000 cal. BP (Hope, 2009). The
warming of the climate c.11,000 years ago coincided with a dramatic decrease in
Nothofagus and an increase in secondary and mid-montane taxa in the forests (Hope,
2009), resulting in greater biodiversity. Grass-sedge mires developed with wetter
conditions by c.6000 years, reflecting an acceleration of swamp formation.
Microcharcoal peaks around 38,000 – 41000 cal. BP coincide with human settlement in the valley (Fairbairn et al., 2006; Hope, 2009). Further, the cumulative result of the fire events may have influenced the extent of the grasslands within the valley (Hope, 2009).
2.2. The modern Ivane Valley community
The Kosipe Mission and associated villages are the primary settlements in the Ivane
Valley. Tapini, in Tapini Valley, lies to the northwest of the Kosipe Swamp; and
Woitape to the south, in the Uluna Valley. They are key locations for the movement of
38 Chapter Two. Site Description: The Ivane Valley
people and associated goods through the valley (Hope, 2009). The Goilala people are those that inhabit the valley and are Taude speakers (White et al., 1970). Currently, there are six villages in the area, occupied by four clans: Oni, Lavavai, Iveava, and
Kantata.
The Ivane Valley has only been recently occupied by garden-cultivators (G.R.
Summerhayes 2013, pers. comm.). The introduction of the sweet potato, some 300 years ago, has facilitated the permanent settlement of these valleys. Apart from sweet potato, their mixed gardens also include taro, sugar cane, corn, and vegetable greens
(Figure 2.1). Ford (2012) observed that some plants from their gardens are carried with them on their hunting trips and wild plants were rarely relied upon for food. One of the few exceptions is Castanopsis acuminatissima, a seasonal wild nut species (Ford,
2012:21).
Figure 2.1: Martha’s garden in the Ivane Valley, with mixed crops of sweet potato, taro, sugar cane, sweet corn and other vegetables. Pandanus groves are visible in the background. (Photo: Judith Field).
39 Chapter Two. Site Description: The Ivane Valley
2.3. Prehistory of the Ivane Valley
2.3.1. First archaeological investigations
The archaeological potential of the Ivane Valley was first identified by Father L. Willem in 1960, after stone axes and waisted blades were uncovered during the construction of the church for the Kosipe Sacre Coeur Mission (White et al., 1970). The first two seasons of excavations were undertaken at the Kosipe Mission Site [Papua New
Guinea (PNG) National Museum site code AER] by J. Peter White. In 1964, 32m2 was
excavated south of the church and 10.5m2 to the north of the church. In 1967, a further
37m2 area was excavated south of the church. No sieving was done, as White had
found the soils adverse to the task (White et al., 1970:163).
White et al. (1970) reported eight stratigraphic units (Figure 2.2). They observed that
the ridge upon which the Mission rests shared similar stratigraphy with other examined
spurs and gullies within the valley (White et al., 1970:155). The site sediments were composed of volcanic glass (tephra) and other pyrogenic materials, possibly from Mt
Lamington (White et al., 1970).
Scattered charcoal was collected within the occupation layers and dated by the radiocarbon technique (Table 2.1). The earliest date for the Kosipe sequence was
26870 590 years (ANU-191), and at that time was one of the earliest dates for occupation in the highlands (White et al., 1970).
Stone artefacts were recovered and identified as waisted blades (n = 11), axe-adzes (n
= 6), and other (flakes, manuports, possible artefacts; n = 20). The waisted blades are
made mostly of phyllite and were ‘crudely-made’ (White et al., 1970:165). There are also a few artefacts made from shale and basalt; and possible grounded waisted blades in the Pleistocene and Holocene. Four out of the six axe-adzes reported were fragmented. An axe-adze from the Holocene was also ground (White et al., 1970:166).
40 Chapter Two. Site Description: The Ivane Valley
No hearths were identified, and no faunal materials were preserved on the sediments
(White et al., 1970:161).
Figure 2.2: Kosipe stratigraphy, indicating the positions of the eight stratigraphic units.
(After White et al., 1970).
Table 2.1: Radiocarbon dates of Kosipe Mission site, undertaken by White et al. (1970).
Level* Lab code Radiocarbon date Source of sample Level 2 ANU-21 4050 500 scattered carbon Level 2 ANU-189 8970 620 scattered carbon Level 4 – 6 GaK-624 16300 1200 scattered charcoal Level 4 – 6 GaK-625 19350 600 scattered charcoal Level 4 ANU-190 26450 880 scattered carbon Level 5 ANU-191 26870 590 charcoal
41 Chapter Two. Site Description: The Ivane Valley
2.3.2. Recent archaeological investigations
Further archaeological fieldwork in the Ivane Valley was undertaken between 2005 and
2009 by a team led by Professor Glenn R. Summerhayes from the University of Otago.
Seven additional sites to Kosipe Mission were discovered during this period: Joe’s
Garden (AAXC), Airport Mound (AAXD), South Kov Ridge (AAXE), Vilakuav (AAXF),
Kerapa (AAXK), Piari’s Ditch (AAXH), and Nineve Village (AAXI) (Fairbairn et al., 2006;
Ford, 2012; Summerhayes et al., 2010) (Figure 2.3). The sites are located across the valley: along the slopes, ridges and valley floor. Test pits were excavated with sediments sieved through 2mm sieves.
Figure 2.3: The Ivane Valley showing archaeological sites mentioned in text. (After
Summerhayes et al., 2010).
42 Chapter Two. Site Description: The Ivane Valley
A few of these sites were revisited and further excavated in 2013. The excavations were carried out as part of this research and will be outlined in Chapter 3. Botanical surveys of the valley were completed by botanists from the Papua New Guinea
Forestry Research Institute (FRI).
The archaeological sequences share the same basic stratigraphy (Summerhayes et al.,
2010; White et al., 1970) (Figure 2.4).
Layer 1 – the recent top soil.
Layer 2 – brown-orange clay associated with the early to mid-Holocene period
Layer 3 – brown-black soil corresponding to the Pleistocene occupation. It can
be subdivided into two parts (‘a’ and ‘b’) by a thin charcoal layer and is
observed in excavations of Kosipe Hill and Vilakuav (Summerhayes et al., 2010,
G. Summerhayes 2013, pers. comm.).
Layer 4 – grey soil, also corresponding to the Pleistocene occupation.
Layer 5 – culturally sterile orange clay.
A radiocarbon dating program conducted in the recent excavations has extended the age of the Ivane Valley sequences to 48,690 – 42,970 cal. BP (Wk 27072)
(Summerhayes et al., 2010). These ages were obtained for Layer 4 at Vilakuav (Table
2.2). South Kov Ridge and Airport Mound have sequences dating >42,500 years
(Summerhayes et al., 2010).
43 Chapter Two. Site Description: The Ivane Valley
Figure 2.4: Section diagram of the South Kov Ridge (east baulk) excavations in the Ivane
Valley. The Munsell soil colour is indicated in brackets. Layer 1 is the topsoil; Layer 2 has been dated to the early to mid-Holocene, and Layers 3 and 4 are Pleistocene in age.
Layer 5 is culturally sterile. (After Summerhayes et al., 2010).
Table 2.2: Radiocarbon dates for the sites in the Ivane Valley reported by Summerhayes, et al. (2010). The Papua New Guinea (PNG) National Museum and Art Gallery (NMAG) site codes are also given.
Name Date (cal. BP) Kosipe Mission (AER) 41110 – 37970 (Layer 4) to 30600 – 29460 (Layer 3b) Joe’s Garden (AAXC) 39610 – 37060 (Layer 3b) to 4410 – 4160 (Layer 2) Airport Mound (AAXD) 45170 – 42520 (Layer 4) South Kov (AAXE) 45540 – 42760 (Layer 4) to 8330 – 8180 (Layer 2) Vilakuav (AAXF) 48690 – 42970 (Layer 4) to 7140 – 6800 (Layer 2)
Stone artefacts are present in all occupation horizons and are predominantly made from schist and basalt (Ford, 2012; Summerhayes et al., 2010). Schist and metabasalt waisted tools have been found from the Pleistocene layers at South Kov Ridge, Airport
44 Chapter Two. Site Description: The Ivane Valley
Mound, Joe’s Garden, and Vilakuav (Summerhayes et al., 2010). Flakes, tool blanks, and manufacturing debris were also identified.
A lithic analysis of the assemblage from the Mission site, South Kov Ridge, Joe’s
Garden and Vilakuav was completed by Ford (2012). Prior to the abandonment of the region during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), there was an increase in assemblage size and material types exploited. Similarly, new stone technologies appeared.
Bifacial convex flaked tools, retouched flakes, and an anvil and abrader were identified
(Ford, 2012). The first appearance of grinding technology was with people’s return to the valley during the Holocene (Ford, 2012). A ground mortar fragment was excavated from Joe’s Garden; the residue analysis of which is reported in this thesis.
Charred Pandanus macroremains, dating to 36000 – 34000 years, were excavated from the archaeological sequence (Fairbairn et al., 2006; Summerhayes et al., 2010).
Morphometric analyses of the South Kov Ridge Pleistocene Pandanus sp. remains by
Andrew Fairbairn show the samples to be more similar to the wild species ‘Taip’ than
the modern P. julianettii or P. brosimos (Summerhayes et al., 2010). Pandanus sp. remains are reportedly absent from archaeological sites near the swamp (Airport
Mound) and from pollen cores (Summerhayes et al., 2010).
Preliminary starch analyses were completed by Judith Field on selected stone tools from Joe’s Garden and South Kov Ridge (Summerhayes et al., 2010). Pleistocene artefacts were sampled and the abundant starch grains recovered is indicative of both the early use of starchy plants and conditions conducive to the preservation of microfossils here (Summerhayes et al., 2010). Some of the starch grains were consistent with Dioscorea alata (Summerhayes et al., 2010).
45 Chapter Two. Site Description: The Ivane Valley
2.3.3. Interpretations of the archaeology
The archaeology of the Ivane Valley is discontinuous: there was an occupation during the Pleistocene before its abandonment during the LGM, and then a return to the area in the early to mid-Holocene (Summerhayes et al., 2010; Ford, 2012). The activity areas are concentrated on the ridges overlooking the swamp. It appears that agricultural practices may never have developed there (J. Field 2013, pers. comm.).
Very few bone fragments survived within the cultural sequences, due to the acidic nature of the soils (Summerhayes et al., 2010). Nevertheless, it can be assumed that animals were hunted within the forests (Summerhayes et al., 2010), similar to other contemporary highland sites (Bulmer and Bulmer, 1964; White, 1972). Charcoal peaks within the pollen cores indicated that forest clearance in the Ivane Valley continued through the Holocene (Hope, 2009). Landscape burning can be used to drive animals out of the forest for hunting, and/or lure them into the site by promoting secondary growth vegetation for their consumption (Lourandos, 1997:97). A disturbed forest environment is also known to encourage the growth of economically important plants
(Gorecki, 1989; Groube, 1989; Sillitoe, 2002).
Hunter-gatherers are likely to have travelled into the highlands for the gathering of
Pandanus sp. drupes (Summerhayes et al., 2010; White et al., 1970), which are high in
fats and protein (Hyndman, 1984). Pandanus sp. trees are cultivated and owned by
individuals. The wild species ‘Taip’ is present above 2200m (Lovave and Magun, 2013)
(Figure 2.5). There are four cultivars of Pandanus sp. recognised by the local
community: Kurup, Kuwep, Tiperap and Puup (Lovave and Magun, 2013). Botanical
samples of these cultivars were collected from field surveys by Michael Lovave and
Thomas Magun in 2013 and two possible species were identified, P. brosimos and P. iwen (Lovave and Magun, 2013). In contrast to published literature, P. brosimos is
46 Chapter Two. Site Description: The Ivane Valley
suspected to be cultivated within the valley (Denham, 2007; Hope, 2009; Lovave and
Magun, 2013).
Figure 2.5: Glenn R. Summerhayes standing next to a Pandanus tree. Taip Pandanus in the Neon Basin, at 3000m a.s.l., about 10km east of Kosipe. (Photos: Judith Field and
Michael Lovave).
Another scenario to explain the presence of humans in the valley was put forward by
O’Connell and Allen (2012). O’Connell and Allen (2012) applied optimal foraging models to describe the colonisation of Sahul. They assumed that Denham (2007b) was correct in the unreliability of Pandanus sp. in the Highlands; and therefore emphasised the grassland environments as a higher ranking habitat than the closed rainforests (O’Connell and Allen, 2012:10). Cyathea sp. is a grassland tree fern,
mostly present on the Neon Basin (3000m a.s.l.) today; and is an easily accessible
source of carbohydrates. The grasslands were also facilitated trade routes across the
47 Chapter Two. Site Description: The Ivane Valley
PNG highlands (O’Connell and Allen, 2012:10). Of note, there was disagreement by
Summerhayes et al. (2009) regarding Denham’s (2007b) interpretation of the reliability and seasonality of Pandanus sp. It was argued that the data used by Denham (2007) had not considered the ‘more seasonal environment’ of the Ivane Valley
(Summerhayes et al., 2009).
Finally, the stone assemblages throughout the occupation sequence demonstrate the versatility of people in the valley. Since the first human presence within the valley, local sources had been exploited (Ford, 2012). There is no evidence for imported stone raw materials, although Ford does not rule out the possibility that a mobile toolkit may have been carried into and out of the valley (Ford, 2012:274). Peoples also practiced ‘expedient tool use’ (Ford, 2012). A tool was created on site, used, and then discarded on site. The expedient use is thought to be a strategy to reduce carrying weight whilst travelling. The expedient behaviour, Ford thinks, may be due to the landscape. There is an abundance of raw materials available, such as river cobbles, which encourage local procurement and production (Ford, 2012:274).
2.4. Current archaeological residue analysis: the sampled sites
The focus of this research is on the early- to mid-Holocene period of the valley (Layer
2). The distribution of archaeological sites across the Ivane Valley offers a unique opportunity to investigate the spatial use of plant materials. Five sites were chosen: two of which are close to the Kosipe swamp (Figure 2.6). Kosipe Mission site (AER) and Airport Mound 4 (AAXD); the three sites located on spurs more distant to the swamp are Joe’s Garden (AAXC), South Kov Ridge (AAXE) and Vilakuav (AAXF).
48 Chapter Two. Site Description: The Ivane Valley
Figure 2.6: Location of the archaeological sites investigated within the Ivane Valley:
Kosipe Mission (AER), Joe’s Garden (AAXC), Airport Mound (AAXD),South Kov Ridge
(AAXE) and Vilakuav (AAXF). (Photo: Geoffrey Hope).
2.4.1. Kosipe Mission (AER)
Kosipe Mission (AER) is located on Kosipe Hill within the Kosipe Sacre Coeur Mission, at approximately 2000m a.s.l. (map reference (UTS Geo 66): 0523275-9065540, Grid
55L). Stone raw materials include phyllite, basalt and quartz. White et al. (1970) hypothesised a favouring for the Mission’s location by hunter-gatherers because of its proximity to swamp resources and water (White et al., 1970: 169). The investigation by
Summerhayes’ team completed 10 test excavations around the Mission site (Ford,
2012:141). It is the stone material from Section IV (AER4) which this research is
49 Chapter Two. Site Description: The Ivane Valley
focused on. Charred Pandanus sp. nutshells were recovered from Layer 3 of the site
(Fairbairn et al., 2006; Summerhayes et al., 2010).
2.4.2. Joe’s Garden (AAXC)
Joe’s Garden (AAXC) is named after Joe Kulolo, a former resident of the Ivane Valley who owned this plot. It is located on a flat spur at 1975m a.s.l. (map reference (UTS
Geo 66): 0522159-9065443, Grid 55L). A 2x2 metre test pit (Figure 2.7) uncovered stone artefacts and charred Pandanus sp. in the Pleistocene layers (Summerhayes et
al., 2010). Eighteen stone artefacts were recovered, eleven of which are from Layer 2
(Ford, 2012:186). Examination of starch residues on some Pleistocene stone artefacts
were identified as Dioscorea alata (Summerhayes et al., 2010).
Figure 2.7: Stratigraphy diagram of Joe’s Garden (west baulk) in the Ivane Valley. The
Munsell soil colour is indicated in brackets. Layer 1 corresponds with the topsoil; Layer
2 has been dated to the early- to mid-Holocene, and Layers 3 and 4 were dated to the
Pleistocene. (After Summerhayes et al., 2010).
50 Chapter Two. Site Description: The Ivane Valley
2.4.3. Airport Mound (AAXD)
Airport Mound (AAXD) is located on a low-lying spur immediately adjacent to Kosipe
Swamp, at 1943m a.s.l. (map reference (UTS Geo 66): 0523517-9065519, Grid 55L).
A 2x2 metre test pit was dug in 2007 (Figure 2.8). Stone artefacts and charcoal samples were recovered. However, no Pandanus macro-remains were found
(Summerhayes et al., 2010). Only eight stone artefacts were excavated from the site
(Ford, 2012:186). The stone raw materials included schist and basalt, with one
metagreywacke artefact recovered from Layer 4 (A. Ford 2012, pers. comm.).
A new quadrant (labelled as ‘Square E’, 1m x 50cm) was opened in 2013 by myself
(Sindy Luu), Herman Mandui, and G.R. Summerhayes.
Figure 2.8: Stratigraphy diagram of Airport Mound (east baulk) in the Ivane Valley. The
Munsell soil colour is indicated in brackets. Layer 1 corresponds with the topsoil. Layer
2 corresponds with the early- to mid-Holocene and Layers 3 and 4 with the Pleistocene.
Layer 5 is culturally sterile. Layer 4 was radiocarbon dated to 45170 – 42520 years cal.
BP and 42257 – 40182 cal. BP (Summerhayes et al., 2010). (After Summerhayes et al.,
2010).
51 Chapter Two. Site Description: The Ivane Valley
2.4.4. South Kov Ridge (AAXE)
South Kov Ridge (AAXE) is located on the same ridge as Joe’s Garden at 1958m a.s.l.
(map reference (UTS Geo 66): 0522030-9065004, Grid 55L). Excavation of a 2x2 metre test pit began in 2007 and was completed in 2008 (Figure 2.9). Stone artefacts, charcoal and Pandanus remains were collected throughout the sequence
(Summerhayes et al., 2010). A total of 242 stone artefacts were excavated; the majority of which came from the Pleistocene levels (Layers 3 and 4) (Ford, 2012:186).
South Kov Ridge had the most variety of raw materials within its stone assemblage: basalt, schists, metabasalt, metagreywacke, quartz and baked siliceous metasediment
(Ford, 2012:194). Starch analyses identified Dioscorea grains on Pleistocene stone artefacts (Summerhayes et al., 2010).
Figure 2.9: Stratigraphy diagram of South Kov Ridge (east baulk) in the Ivane Valley. The
Munsell soil colour is indicated in brackets. Layer 1 corresponds with the topsoil; Layer 2 has been dated to the early- to mid-Holocene, and Layers 3 and 4 were dated to the
Pleistocene. Layer 5 is culturally sterile. (After Summerhayes et al., 2010).
52 Chapter Two. Site Description: The Ivane Valley
2.4.5. Vilakuav (AAXF)
Vilakuav (AAXF) is the oldest and highest elevation site known in the Ivane Valley, at
1981m a.s.l. (map reference (UTS Geo 66): 05021955-9064854, Grid 55L). It has been dated to 48,690 – 42,970 cal. BP (41951 1571, Wk 27072) (Summerhayes et al., 2010). Vilakuav is situated on the same ridge as Joe’s Garden and South Kov
Ridge. A 2x2 metre test pit was first excavated in 2008 and extended in 2013 by myself (Sindy Luu), Herman Mandui, and G.R. Summerhayes (Figure 2.10). Charcoal samples and charred Pandanus nutshells were recovered from all stratigraphic horizons (Summerhayes et al., 2010). A total of 41 stone artefacts were excavated, mostly of basalt or schists (Ford, 2012:186,194, A. Ford 2012, pers. comm.). A few metagreywacke and quartz artefacts were also present (Ford 2012:194, A. Ford 2012, pers. comm.).
Figure 2.10: Section diagram of Vilakuav (west baulk) in the Ivane Valley. Layer 1 corresponds with the topsoil; Layer 2 has been dated to the early- to mid-Holocene, and
Layers 3 and 4 were dated to the Pleistocene. Layer 5 is culturally sterile. (After
Summerhayes et al., 2010).
53 Chapter Two. Site Description: The Ivane Valley
2.5. Summary
In summary, the Ivane Valley is a flat, inter-montane valley located within the Owen
Stanley Ranges. The valley floor is dominated by Kosipe Swamp, which is drained by the Ivane River. Environments in the Pleistocene were cool and wet sub-alpine. The rainforest was dominated by Nothofagus sp. With the warming of the climate during the Holocene, there was a shift to mixed-montane forests.
Multiple archaeological sites have been excavated across the Ivane Valley. The archaeological record documents a discontinuous occupation of the region, from the late Pleistocene to the mid-Holocene. It is suspected that hunter-gatherers visited the
Ivane Valley for hunting and for foraging of Pandanus sp. They could also have been passing through the valley as part of a trading route.
The following chapters will focus on the ancient starch residue analysis of the Holocene finds from the five sites described above to investigate the possible subsistence choices of hunter-gatherers, as revealed by use-related residues, during a period when agricultural techniques were also emerging at Kuk Swamp.
54
Chapter Three.
Methods
The study presented in this thesis involved three methodology components (Figure 3.1): field work in the Ivane Valley, involving excavation and plant collection; extraction and documentation of ancient starch residues from samples collected from excavated artefacts; and the identification of plant taxa. The method for plant identification also includes the characterisation of a modern comparative reference collection to aid in the identification of starch; and the exploration of the metrical data using statistical methods to improve the confidence in our identifications.
•Excavation Field work •Plant survey
•Collection of samples Archaeological •Starch extraction residue study •Microscopy
•Modern comparative Plant reference collection identification •Statistical analyses
Figure 3.1: Steps in the ancient starch residue analysis used within this study. In this project, the artefact assemblages were selected from several sites across the Ivane
Valley. The final result of the analysis is a list of putative starchy plants likely to have been processed by the examined artefacts. Chapter Three. Methods
3.1. Field work in the Ivane Valley
A team of archaeologists, including myself (Sindy Luu) visited the Ivane Valley for ten days in January – February 2013, to collect additional soil and artefact samples from the Holocene layers. Botanists from the Papua New Guinea Forestry Research
Institute were also involved to conduct a full botanical survey of the region.
I participated in the archaeological excavations carried out at Airport Mound (AAXD) and Vilakuav (AAXF); led by Glenn R. Summerhayes, Judith Field, Matthew Leavesley, and Herman Mandui. We reopened the excavation pit of Airport Mound, previously excavated in 2007. A new quadrant (labelled as ‘Square E’, 1m x 50cm) was opened into the eastern face of the pit, from the northern edge. Square E was excavated to the base of Layer 4 (Pleistocene). Soil pH and moisture readings were recorded at the completion of excavation. The excavation pit of Vilakuav, previously excavated in 2008, was also reopened. A 1m x 50cm test pit was excavated in the north-eastern quadrant, down to the top of Layer 3 (Pleistocene). The remaining of the quadrant (Pleistocene layers) was left untouched and the site backfilled for later investigation. Spits were excavated according to the stratigraphic layer. All sediment was dry-sieved with 2mm sieves. Soil samples were collected of each spit by trowel for starch and phytolith analysis. Stone artefacts and charcoal were removed by trowel and bagged separately.
The botanical surveys of the Ivane Valley and surrounding regions, led by Michael
Lovave and Thomas Magun, were conducted over five days. The surveys targeted forest, swamp, and sub-alpine environments.
56 Chapter Three. Methods
3.2. Archaeological residue study
3.2.1. The stone artefact assemblage
Layer 2 within the Ivane Valley sequence corresponds to human occupation during the early to mid-Holocene, between 8380 – 8200 cal. BP and 4410 – 4160 cal. BP
(Summerhayes et al., 2010) (Table 3.1). A total of 30 artefacts were selected for analysis from Kosipe Mission site (AER), Joe’s Garden (AAXC), Airport Mound (AAXD),
South Kov Ridge (AAXE), and Vilakuav (AAXF) (Table 3.2, Figure 3.2). These artefacts were excavated from the 2007 – 2009 field seasons.
Table 3.1: AMS radiocarbon dates of Layer 2 for archaeological sites from the Ivane
Valley. (Table after Summerhayes et al., 2010).
Calib 6.0.1. IntCal09 CRA Lab Code Provenance Material 95.40% uncalibrated BP Cal BP Wk 23358 AAXC Joe’s garden Wood 7489 ± 32 8380-8200 charcoal Wk 23353 AAXE South Kov Wood 7417 ± 32 8330-8180 charcoal Wk 27070 AAXF Vilakuav Wood 6240 ± 30 7250-7030 charcoal Wk 27068 AAXF Vilakuav Wood 6070 ± 32 7140-6800 charcoal Wk 23357 AAXC Joe’s Garden Wood 3938 ± 34 4520-4250 charcoal Wk 23348 AAXC Joe’s Garden Wood 3855 ± 30 4410-4160 charcoal
57 Chapter Three. Methods
Table 3.2: Descriptions of the stone artefacts analysed from the Holocene Layer 2 of the
five Ivane Valley sites. (*) B = Bag sample, W = Wash sample, P = Pipette sample.
Weight (post- Residue Excavation Spit Artefact Raw material sonnication) Technology sample year number (g) weight* (g) Kosipe Mission (AER) AER09L2S1C 2009 1 Basalt 213.55 Unmodified 0.46 (P) AER09L2S1O 2009 1 Basalt 623.84 Unmodified 1.66 (W) AER09L2S2V 2009 2 Basalt 395.74 Unmodified 0.86 (P) AER09L2S2X 2009 2 Basalt 47.95 Unmodified 0.07 (W) AER09L2S2Y 2009 2 Basalt 361.32 Unmodified 0.88 (P) AER09L2AJ 2009 Schist 35.52 Cobble fragment 0.01 (W) AER09L2E 2009 Schist 881.3 Unmodified 6.70 (P) Joe’s Garden (AAXC) JG07L2F 2007 Basalt 155.94 Mortar fragment 0.01 (P) JG07L2N 2007 Basalt 1360.14 Unmodified 1.12 (P) JG07L2K 2007 Schist 7.47 Possible tool 0.01 (P) JG07L2J 2007 Schist 13.47 Cobble fragment 0.01 (P) JG07L2-3T 2007 Schist 104.24 Tool 0.02 (W) JG07L2G 2007 Metagraywacke 4.29 Flake 0.02 (W) JG07L2-3Q 2007 Metagraywacke 1.29 Flake 0.01 (W) Airport Mound (AAXD) AM07L2A 2007 Basalt 270.83 Unmodified 0.29 (W) AM07L2B 2007 Basalt 209.60 Unmodified 0.20 (B) 0.28 (W) AM07L2C 2007 Basalt 367.99 Unmodified 1.10 (B) 0.96 (W)
58 Chapter Three. Methods
Table 3.1: (Continued).
Weight (post- Residue Excavation Spit Artefact Raw material sonnication) Technology sample year number (g) weight* (g) South Kov Ridge (AAXE) SKR07L2AK 2007 Basalt 2327.48 Unmodified 0.34 (W) SKR08L2S1A 2008 1 Metagraywacke 18.11 Possible tool 0.82 (W) SKR08L2S1C 2008 1 Schist 4.98 Possible tool 0.05 (W) SKR08L2S1D 2008 1 Schist 3.63 Tool 0.07 (W) SKR08L2S1F 2008 1 Quartz 0.12 Flake 0.01 (W) SKR08L2S1G 2008 1 Metagraywacke 3.62 Flake 0.04 (W) SKR08L2S1H 2008 1 Schist 0.92 Flake 0.01 (W) SKR08L2S2AA 2008 2 Schist 1.2 Flake 0.01 (W) SKR08L2S2AC 2008 2 Metagraywacke 2.57 Flake 0.05 (W) SKR08L2S2Y 2008 2 Quartz 0.78 Angular fragment 0.01 (W) Vilakuav (AAXF) V08L2H 2008 Basalt 796.76 Unmodified 1.52 (W) V08L2I 2008 Basalt 52.44 Unmodified 0.34 (W) V08L2J 2008 Schist 0.57 Angular fragment 0.01 (W)
59 Chapter Three. Methods
AER09L2S1C AER09L2S1O
AER09L2S2V AER09L2S2X
AER09L2S2Y AER09L2AJ
Figure 3.2: Images of the stone artefacts analysed from the Holocene Layer 2 of the five
Ivane Valley sites. (Photo: Judith Field).
60 Chapter Three. Methods
AER09L2E JG07L2F
JG07L2N JG07L2K
JG07L2J JG07L2-3T
Figure 3.2: (Continued).
61 Chapter Three. Methods
JG07L2G JG07L2-3Q
AM07L2A AM07L2B
AM07L2C SKR07L2AK
Figure 3.2: (Continued).
62 Chapter Three. Methods
SKR08L2S1A SKR08L2S1C
SKR08L2S1D SKR08L2S1F
SKR08L2S1G SKR08L2S1H
Figure 3.2: (Continued).
63 Chapter Three. Methods
SKR08L2S2AA SKR08L2S2AC
SKR08L2S2Y V08L2H
V08L2I V08L2J
Figure 3.2: (Continued).
64 Chapter Three. Methods
Technological analysis of the artefacts was undertaken by Anne Ford at the University of Otago (Ford, 2012). The categories relevant to this analysis are tools, flake, angular fragments, and unmodified artefacts (Table 3.3). A tool is defined here as stone with evidence of modification (Ford, 2012:122). A stone may also be labelled as a ‘tool’ if there are more than one use-wear traces, identified from low-powered microscopy: edge-damage, edge-rounding, striations or polish (Ford, 2012:129). Flakes are often the product of stone reduction and are identified by a set of diagnostic attributes
(Holdaway and Stern, 2008). They may have been used and can have wear traces
(Ford, 2012:119). Angular fragments lack the diagnostic attributes of a flake (Ford,
2012:127); and are associated with flaking debris or were produced during use, when the flake broke. Lastly, unmodified artefacts (‘non-artefacts’ and commonly known as
‘manuports’ ) are called such because they show no evidence of modification or use- wear (Ford, 2012:186). However, as they must have been brought into the site by people, they are therefore artefacts and are a common feature of most archaeological sites. Cobble fragments were also defined as unmodified artefacts (Ford, 2012:186).
Unmodified artefacts were examined for residues because short term and casual use of an artefact may preserve residues without producing traces of usewear and other modifications, as demonstrated by Fullagar (2006).
Table 3.3: The number of stone artefacts analysed from the Holocene Layer 2 of the Ivane
Valley, based on site and technological classification. (After Ford, 2012).
Site Unmodified Tool Flake Angular fragment Kosipe Mission site (AER) 7 Joe’s Garden (AAXC) 2 3 2 Airport Mound (AAXD) 3 South Kov Ridge (AAXE) 1 3 5 1 Vilakuav (AAXF) 2 1
65 Chapter Three. Methods
3.2.2. The soil samples
Soil samples from Layer 2 of each site were assayed for starch as background controls
(Table 3.4). It was important to determine if and how much starch was present in the enclosing soil matrix. The assay of starch can assist us in establishing possible contamination of stone tools by naturally decomposed plant materials from the surrounding environments. If the relative amount of starch grains preserved on an artefact’s surface is equal or less than the concentration of preserved starch within the surrounding soils, it is assumed that the artefact is unlikely to have been previously used to process starchy plants (Barton et al., 1998; Langejans, 2011).
Table 3.4: Summary of soil samples collected from the Holocene Layer 2 of the five Ivane
Valley sites, for analysis as background controls of the stone artefact residue study.
Site Layer Spit Depth Sample size Kosipe Mission site (AER) 2 30cm 1.00g Joe’s Garden (AAXC) 2 4.44g Airport Mound (AAXD) 2 2 1.20g South Kov Ridge (AAXE) 2 base of layer 1.00g Vilakuav (AAXF) 2 0.60g
66 Chapter Three. Methods
3.2.3. Collection of residue samples
Residue samples were collected from stone artefacts by three different methods. The residues were collected by Anne Ford at the University of Otago, where the artefacts are currently stored. The samples were then sent to Judith Field and myself (Sindy
Luu) at the University of New South Wales for starch and phytolith analyses.
Bag sample: During excavation, the artefact was exposed by trowel and
immediately removed and stored in a sealed plastic bag for transport back to
the laboratory. The loose sediment was dislodged by gentle rubbing within its
collection bag, removed, and labelled as ‘bag sample’ (Figure 3.3).
Wash sample: The artefact was weighed and subsequently examined for use-
wear with a low-powered microscope. Samples adhering to the artefact surface
(designated here as ‘wash samples’, Figure 3.3) were collected by placing
either the entire artefact or a worked edge in an ultrasonic bath of distilled water
for 30 seconds. The samples were then transferred to a plastic centrifuge tube
for processing.
Pipette sample: Specific areas of the artefact’s surface were also targeted for
residue sampling (A. Ford 2012, pers. comm.); for example, where a handle
may have been hafted, as in waisted axes. An aliquot of distilled water was
deposited onto the targeted region, and the area scraped with a nylon pipette,
before removed with a disposable pipette.
67 Chapter Three. Methods
dry rub to remove 'bag sample' attached soils from artefact surface
artefact ultrasonnication of part or the whole (A) artefact 'wash sample'
pipette targetted areas on an artefact
(B)
Figure 3.3: (A) Residue samples collected from an artefact: a sample of adhered sediments from the artefact’s surface (‘bag sample’), or ‘wash samples’ from the ultrasonnication or pipetting of the artefact’s surface. (B) An example of the samples collected for processing and analysis from a single artefact. (i) The bag (‘bag sample’) holds the sediment that was rubbed off from the artefact’s surface and (ii) the tube holds the ‘wash sample’ (a pipette wash).
68 Chapter Three. Methods
3.2.4. Starch extraction procedures
The following protocol was developed following Piperno (2006) and Kealhofer (2003, on file). The minimal amount of processing was attempted to reduce the number of chances for sample loss between processing steps and transfers between tubes. To minimise contamination from modern sources, all sample processing and microscopy preparations were completed in a regularly cleaned laboratory and starch-free gloves were worn.
Heavy liquid separation techniques were used to extract starch fossils from other organic matter (Figure 3.4). The laboratory processes used for starch extraction also extracted phytoliths from the archaeological materials; however the analyses here were focused on the recovered starchy residues.
remove clay remove deflocculation sieving and silts organics
heavy liquid rinse and remove water microscopy separation dry sample
Figure 3.4: The major processing steps in the extraction of starch grains from the residue samples. The entire sequence relates to the processing of sediment samples (soil samples and ‘bag samples’). Only the shaded steps are relevant to the artefact ‘wash samples’. The minimal amount of processing was attempted, to reduce the number of chances for sample loss between processing steps and transfers between tubes.
69 Chapter Three. Methods
3.2.4.1. Starch extraction from sediment samples
1. Weigh sample: 3 – 5g soil was weighed into a 50mL Falcon tube.
2. Deflocculation: The sample was mixed with 5% sodium polymetaphosphate
(pH 8.5) for deflocculation and agitated on a mixing wheel overnight.
3. Sieve sample: The sample was then sieved through a 125m mesh (Endecott
Sieve) with distilled/RO water. Samples >125m were discarded.
4. Remove excess clay and silts: The <125 m fraction was transferred into a
1L Griffin beaker. This gravity sedimentation was necessary to remove excess
clay particles present in the samples. 800mL water was added and the solution
allowed settling for an hour. The supernatant (which included silt and clay
particles) was decanted. The process was repeated until the solution became
clear. The sample was consolidated into a 50mL Falcon tube by centrifugation
at 2500 RPM for 3 minutes.
5. Remove organics: 6% (v/v) hydrogen peroxide solution was added, mixed by
vortex, and allowed to stand for 20 minutes to remove excess organic materials.
The sample was then rinsed with water by centrifugation at 2500 RPM for 3
minutes. The supernatant was decanted and the pellet transferred to a 15mL
Falcon tube.
6. Remove water: Acetone (approximately 7mL) was added and mixed by vortex
into the sample, and centrifuged at 2500 RPM, 3 minutes. The acetone was
removed and the sample was loosely capped and left overnight to dry.
7. Heavy liquid separation: The extraction of starch from other organic matter
was achieved with sodium polytungstate [Na6(H2W12O40).H2O], specific gravity
2.35. The sample was mixed by vortex before it was spun at 1000 RPM for 15
minutes. The starch fraction, a layer formed at the top of the liquid column, was
collected and transferred into a new second tube (Figure 3.5). The first sample
70 Chapter Three. Methods
was spun again in its remaining heavy liquid and the resulting starch fraction
collected and transferred into its second tube, to ensure complete recovery of
starch fraction.
8. Rinse and dry starch fraction: The starch fraction was rinsed in water by
centrifugation (3 minutes, 2500 RPM). The supernatant was discarded. The
sample was dried with an acetone wash (as described above, step 6) or with an
incubator oven overnight at 30C prior to slide mounting and examination under
a light microscope.
Figure 3.5: Starch fraction from a soil sample, after centrifugation (1000RPM, 15 minutes) in sodium polytungstate [Na6(H2W12O40).H2O], specific gravity 2.3. The empty tube to the
right is where the starch fraction will be transferred into by pipette, and the original
sample will be spun again to ensure complete recovery of the starch fraction.
71 Chapter Three. Methods
3.2.4.2. Starch extraction from artefact residue samples
1. If the collected sample given was very small, it was mounted straight onto a
glass slide for microscopy.
2. Concentrate sample: The artefact ‘wash’ residue samples were delivered from
the University of Otago in 15mL Falcon tubes. The samples were concentrated
by centrifugation at 2500 RPM for 3 minutes and the supernatant was decanted.
3. Remove water: Acetone (approximately 7mL) was added and mixed by vortex
into the sample, and centrifuged at 2500 RPM, 3 minutes. The acetone was
removed and the sample was loosely capped and left overnight to dry.
4. Heavy liquid separation: The extraction of starch from other organic matter
was achieved with sodium polytungstate [Na6(H2W12O40).H2O], specific gravity
2.35. The sample was mixed by vortex before it was spun at 1000 RPM for 15
minutes. The starch fraction, a layer formed at the top of the liquid column, was
collected and transferred into a new second tube (Figure 3.5). The first sample
was spun again in its remaining heavy liquid and the resulting starch fraction
collected and transferred into its second tube, to ensure complete recovery of
starch fraction.
5. Rinse and dry starch fraction: The starch fraction was rinsed in water by
centrifugation (3 minutes, 2500 RPM). The supernatant was discarded. The
sample was dried with an acetone wash (as described above, step 3) or with an
incubator oven overnight at 30C prior to slide mounting and examination under
a light microscope.
72 Chapter Three. Methods
3.2.5. Microscopy
Samples were mounted onto microscope slides in either water or 50% (v/v) glycerol.
Perry (2004) has demonstrated the stability of starch grains mounted in glycerol solution. There were no noticeable changes over four years in the grains’ morphologies or chemistry (Perry, 2004). Glycerol also does not mask surface features, if present (J. Field 2012, pers. comm.). Samples were mounted in an area separate to the processing laboratory and starch-free gloves were worn. The coverslip was sealed with clear nail varnish.
The collected starch fractions were initially scanned under partially open and closed polarised light to maximise the visualisation of individual grains in the slide preparations.
The birefringent extinction cross makes the starch grains identifiable. Carbonised particles, phytoliths and other plant materials may also be present. Total slide scans were performed at 160X and 320X magnifications. Starch grains were photographed at 1000X magnification (oil immersion) under differential interference contrast (DIC), with a Zeiss Axioskop II transmitted light microscope with Nomarski optics, Zeiss HrC digital camera and AxioVision software (ver 4.8.3.0; Carl Zeiss 2006-2011). The total number of grains was recorded for each sample. To be comparative with the other samples, these counts were converted to grains per 100g of sample analysed, where original sample weights were available.
Other starch grain attributes recorded include:
1. Length: Maximum length through the hilum (m).
2. Shape: Two-dimensional (2D) shapes were described according to the
‘International Code for Starch Nomenclature’ (ICSN, 2011) (Figure 3.6).
3. Position of the hilum: The hilum is the growth centre of a grain and its position
is genetically controlled (Field, 2007). A centric hilum occurs within the
73 Chapter Three. Methods
geometric centre of the starch grain; and an eccentric hilum is situated outside
the grain’s geometric centre (Figure 3.7).
4. Faceting: Faceted starch grains possess compressed edges, often due to the
nature of starch granule packing within the plants (Figure 3.8). The presence or
absence of faceting was noted.
5. Lamellae: Lamellae are concentric growth rings around the hilum (Figure 3.7).
The presence or absence of lamellae was noted.
6. Fissures: Fissures are cracks of the granule surface through the hilum (Figure
3.8). Fissures may be caused by various factors. Reichert (1913, cited in ICSN
2011) suggests fissures are formed from packing pressure between grains
within plant cells. Another identified cause is the dehydration of the granule
(Sterling, 1968). Fissures may also be species specific (Piperno et al., 2000,
2009). The presence or absence of fissures was noted.
7. Hilum cavity: Grains were observed to have circular surface depressions at
their hila; and these are labelled as ‘hilum cavities’ (Figure 3.8). The presence
or absence of a hilum cavity was noted.
74 Chapter Three. Methods
circular
oval
semi-circular/bell
square
rod / oblong
triangular
polygon/irregular
Figure 3.6: Starch grains presenting the various 2D shapes, defined according to ‘The
International Code for Starch Nomenclature’ (ICSN, 2011).
75 Chapter Three. Methods
Figure 3.7: Starch grains presenting centric and eccentric hila. Both starch grains have prominent lamellae.
Figure 3.8: Starch grains presenting fissures and hilum cavity. Both starch grains have centric hila and faceting.
3.3. Plant species identification
The plant species identification of unknown starch grains is complex. It can be complicated by the redundancy of grain characteristics within and between species.
There can be also a range of different grain morphologies within species (Loy, 1994;
Perry, 2007; Piperno and Holst, 1998; Piperno and Dillehay, 2008). The process is assisted with the aid of a region-specific modern comparative starch reference collection, and measures of confidence in the classifications.
76 Chapter Three. Methods
3.3.1. The modern comparative starch reference collection
Identifying starch in stone tool residues relies upon access to a modern comparative reference collection relevant to the study area (Field, 2006; Lentfer, 2011; Loy, 1994).
The reference collection needs to capture both the plant materials targeted by prehistoric peoples (roots, tubers, fruits, nuts, seeds, et cetera), and the non-economic starch producing species.
Up to date botanical surveys, access to herbarium records and collection of plant materials are all helpful in trying to assemble a useful comparative reference collection.
The species list included for the Ivane Valley reference collection was developed from historical literature, ethnographies, and herbaria collections. Field interviews had been conducted by Judith Field and Anne Ford over the last few years. Plant samples were obtained from the Ivane Valley, Australian herbariums, private collections, and from the
Australian National University (ANU) Doug Yen and Thomas Loy collection (courtesy of
Geoffrey Hope and Mathew Prebble). Samples collected from the New Guinea
Highlands and Lae markets were also obtained by Michael Lovave, a botanist from the
Papua New Guinea Forestry Research Institute.
Samples were prepared by macerating a portion of the starchy plant tissue in a drop of water with a glass mortar and pestle. If the sample was already dried and grounded, the samples were mounted in 50% (v/v) glycerol. The reference samples were examined with a Zeiss Axioskop II transmitted light microscope under bright field,
Nomarski and/or polarising optics. A minimum of 100 grains were photographed and archived using HrC digital camera and Zeiss AxioVision software (ver 4.8.3.0; Carl
Zeiss 2006-2011).
77 Chapter Three. Methods
3.3.2. Statistical analyses
Statistical analyses were undertaken to explore possible approaches to taxa identification of unknown starch grains. Two analyses were based on modern reference starch materials (hierarchical cluster analysis and discriminant analysis); and another statistical approach (one-way between subjects ANOVA) was utilised for the residue analysis of the archaeological materials.
The cluster analysis was performed on a published study of Musa sp. (banana)
‘variants’ by Lentfer (2009). The ‘variant’ was a tool Lentfer (2009) used to categorise different starch morphological types; and was determined by the qualitative grouping of the starch types, with the assistance of an electronic database (Lentfer, 2009:221). Of note, the variant excluded size and ‘hilum type’ attributes (Lentfer, 2009:221). Lentfer
(2009:235) stressed that the published method and results were preliminary, and she implied that no quantitative or statistical testing had been involved.
Cluster analysis is a statistical technique which organises large volumes of data
(objects) into ‘clusters’ of similar objects. A hierarchical cluster analysis was performed
to explore the robustness of previously identified and published species (Lentfer, 2009)
(Figure 3.9). Hierarchical clustering is based on the notion that objects share more similarities to nearby objects than to those further away and the results of the analysis are represented as a dendrogram. Lentfer’s (2009) published descriptives of the banana starch ‘variants’ were transformed for analysis with IBM SPSS Statistics
(version 21). The same program was used to create the dendrogram, using average linkages between groups.
78 Chapter Three. Methods
Ensete Australimusa Eumusa
banksii
Variant Ensete glaucum Musa maclayi Musa peekeii Fe’i Musa acuminata ssp AA AA? AAA ABB ABB? 1 x 2 x x x x 3 x x x 4 x 5 x 6 x 7 x 8 x 9 x x x 10 x 11 x x x x 12 x x x x 13 x 14 x 15 x 16 x x 17 x 18 x x 19 x 20 x 21 x x 22 x x 23 x x 24 x 25 x 26 x 27 x 28 x 29 x 30 x 31 x 32 x x 33 x 34 x 35 x 36 x 37 x 38 x
Figure 3.9: The classification of the starch variants (diagnostic grain types) of banana sections as organised by Lentfer (2009). The variants are specific to the three sections, with some exceptions: Ensete, Australimusa and Eumusa. (After Lentfer, 2009).
79 Chapter Three. Methods
Secondly, a discriminant analysis was performed to test the ability of starch grain attributes to differentiate species within a known mixture of plants. Twelve plant species were selected (Table 3.5, Figure 3.10). Most of the samples were sourced from the Ivane Valley modern comparative reference collection developed for this study; with the exemption of Castanopsis jacunda and Castanopsis sclerophylla. C. jacunda and C. sclerophylla are Chinese species, and were only used as part of the discriminant analysis. At that time, PNG Castanopsis sp. reference materials were
unavailable. To obtain a representative sample for the analysis, slide coordinates were
generated with a random number generator (http://stattrek.com/statistics/random- number-generator.aspx). All starch grains per field of view were recorded (1000X magnification, oil immersion; DIC; HrC digital camera and AxioVision software (ver
4.8.3.0; Carl Zeiss 2006-2011). Attributes recorded included: size (maximum length and width through the hilum, m); 2D shape; hilum position; surface texture; presence of facets, lamellae, hilum fissures and hilum cavities (Table 3.6). 2D shape information was relied upon to maintain a consistency of analysis with the analysis of the archaeological residues; as it had not been possible to collect three-dimensional (3D) shape information for the majority of the archaeological residues. Over 100 grains were measured per sample. This would result in the analysis of grains in many orientations, and thereby account for the various orientations that may occur in a sample. The discriminant analysis of the data was performed with IBM SPSS Statistics
(version 21). The cluster diagram was produced by William Parr, from the University of
New South Wales.
80 Chapter Three. Methods
Table 3.5: Modern reference samples used in the discriminant analysis.
Sample Source Mounting media Castanopsis jacunda China water Castanopsis sclerophylla China water Colocasia affinis unknown water Colocasia esculenta Australia 50% (v/v) glycerol in water Cyrtosperma chamissonis Ponape 50% (v/v) glycerol in water Dioscorea alata Solomon Islands water Disocorea bulbifera Australia karo syrup Homalomena sp. Papua New Guinea 50% (v/v) glycerol in water Musa peekelii unknown unknown Pandanus julianetti Papua New Guinea 50% (v/v) glycerol in water Tacca leontopetaloides Australia karo syrup Zingiberacae sp. Papua New Guinea water
81 Chapter Three. Methods
Castanopsis jacunda Castanopsis sclerophylla
Colocasia affinis Colocasia esculenta
Cyrtosperma chamissonis Dioscorea alata
Figure 3.10: Starch grains of the species used in the discriminant analysis.
82 Chapter Three. Methods
Disocorea bulbifera Homalomena sp.
Musa peekelii Pandanus julianettii
Tacca leontopetaloides Zingiberacae sp.
Figure 3.10: (Continued). Arrows point to starch grains.
83 Chapter Three. Methods
Table 3.6: Definitions of the starch grain attributes recorded for the discriminant analysis.
Size Maximum length through the hilum Width through the hilum, perpendicular to axis of maximum length Shape According to ‘The International Code for Starch Nomenclature’ (ICSN, 2011). 2D shapes were focused upon for consistency of use with the analysis of the archaeological materials. round oval polygon/irregular cone bell square oblong/rod triangular Hilum The growth centre of the starch granule, indicated by the extinction cross position centric eccentric Surface smooth: surface is free of irregularities texture undulating: noticeable irregularities on the surface radiating: surface irregularities are spread away from the hilum Lamellae Prominent growth rings concentric about the hilum Marked as presence or absence Fissure An open crack in the surface across the hilum Marked as presence or absence Hilum cavity A visible surface depression or pitting at the hilum Marked as presence or absence Faceting Granule indentations thought to be formed by pressure of adjacent starch grains during its formation Marked as presence or absence
84 Chapter Three. Methods
A one-way between subjects ANOVA, with Tukey HSD and Bonferroni correction post- hoc tests, were used as part of the process to identify plant taxa from unknown archaeological starchy residues. This technique was developed in collaboration with
Adelle Coster from the University of New South Wales. The starch measurements
(maximum length through the hilum, m) of each sample examined were tested against
the measurements of the modern reference collection, at P = 0.05. IBM SPSS
Statistics (version 21) was used. The rejection of the null hypothesis (H0 = the samples
are significantly different to each other) was important. The rejection of H0 means that
the archaeological material and reference sample tested are comparable and
potentially of the same plant genus/species. Tukey HSD and Bonferroni post-hoc tests
were included to adjust for the multiple comparison procedures and the different
sample sizes analysed (A. Coster 2013, pers. comm.).
3.3.3. Plant identification in the Ivane Valley starch residues
A step-wise process was developed for the taxonomic classification of the Ivane Valley archaeological residues (Table 3.7). Each stage of the process involves an increasing confidence of identification. The final result of this step-wise process is a list of putative starchy plants that were likely been processed by the examined artefacts.
The process begins with a comparison of the starch grain sizes between the archaeological residues and the modern reference collection. The construction of descriptive box plots provides a quick visual indication of which samples are comparable with each other. A strong overlap between the archaeological and reference materials suggests that the known plant species were most likely to be present within the archaeological sample.
85 Chapter Three. Methods
Table 3.7: Summary of the step-wise process used to identify plant species of the Ivane
Valley archaeological residues.
Analysis Factor Task Result 1. Descriptive box Maximum length Compared to the entire A strong overlap between plots (m), of all starch modern reference archaeological residues and grains within collection. reference material suggests artefact residue. possible species match. 2. ANOVA Maximum length Compared to the The rejection of the null
(m), of all starch possible plant species, hypothesis (H0 = samples grains within determined from the are significantly different) artefact residue. descriptive box plots. implies the samples are comparable with each other. 3. Population 2D shape, Compared to the The close pattern similarity signature calculated as possible plant species, between residues and percentage of total determined from the reference material confirms sample size. descriptive box plots the likely species and ANOVA. identification.
The next step in the process involves one-way between subjects ANOVA, with Tukey
HSD and Bonferroni post-hoc tests (see Section 3.3.2.). The grain size measurements
of the archaeological residues and reference collection were tested to determine which
samples were statistically significantly different between each other. The use of
ANOVA on grain sizes has not been previously reported as a tool for identifying
species. Previous published statistical methods were aimed at the use of statistics to
assist in the construction of hierarchical taxonomical keys (Torrence et al., 2004), or as
a method for broadly identifying different vegetation types (Lentfer et al., 2002). Allen
and Ussher (2013) have also used statistical analyses, following Torrence et al. (2004),
but they found the technique had returned them equivocal results.
86 Chapter Three. Methods
The population signature approach was incorporated to add further confidence to the classification process (Holst et al., 2007; Piperno and Dillehay, 2008). Where the
previous steps, outlined above, were focused on the size attribute; the population
signatures account for granule 2D shape morphologies and other characteristics. It
has been described as a ‘conservative’ method to differentiate targeted species
(Piperno et al., 2004). The granule shape and other attributes, such as the presence of facets and fissures, were counted and calculated as a percentage of its total sample size. The population signatures of the modern reference collection were characterised from 100 grains of each sample.
87
Chapter Four.
Results
The study of ancient starch is a useful tool for investigating the subsistence strategies in environments where plant macroremains do not preserve well. The results of the ancient starch residue study, on early to mid-Holocene Ivane Valley stone artefacts, will be presented in this chapter. The modern starch comparative reference collection for the Ivane Valley is also described; as are the results of the statistical investigations in the methods of taxa identification from starch grains.
4.1. Ancient starch preservation within the Ivane Valley
Starch grains were successfully extracted and identified from all examined stone artefacts and cultural sediments; with the exception of one artefact (AER09L2S2V)
(Table 4.1). Twenty-three artefacts have relatively higher starch concentrations than their respective soil samples and are considered to have been deliberately used to process starchy materials (Figure 4.1).
Chapter Four. Results
Figure 4.1: Total starch counts, calculated as per 100g of sample, of stone artefacts and soil samples from early- to mid-Holocene (Layer 2) of the Ivane Valley. A logarithmic scale was used.
89 Chapter Four. Results
Table 4.1: Description of the preserved starch from stone artefacts and Layer 2 soil samples from the Ivane Valley; excavated from early- to mid-Holocene deposits. The starch counts were converted to per 100g of sample to allow comparison between samples. There were suspected modern contamination within the sample (denoted by *).
B = Bag sample, W = Wash sample
Sample Sample weight (g) Starch count Starch count per 100g Kosipe Mission (AER) AER09L2S1C 0.46 3 652 AER09L2S1O 1.66 20 1205 AER09L2S2V 0.86 0 0 AER09L2S2X 0.07 17 24,286 AER09L2S2Y 0.88 80 9091 AER09L2AJ 0.07 34 48,572 AER09L2E 6.70 13 194 Layer 2 Soil 1.00 23 2300 Joe’s Garden (AAXC) JG07L2F 0.01 135 13,500 JG07L2N 1.12 10 893 JG07L2K 0.01 22 220,000 JG07L2J 0.01 153 1,530,000 JG07L2-3T 0.02 242 1,210,000 JG07L2G 0.02 30 150,000 JG07L2-3Q 0.01 44 440,000 Layer 2 Soil 4.44 150 3378 Airport Mound 4 TP1 (AAXD) AM07L2A 0.29 14 4828 AM07L2B 0.20 (B) 185 92,500 0.28 (W) 53 18,929 AM07L2C 1.10 (B) 68 6182 0.96 (W) 76 7917 Layer 2 Soil 1.20 56 4667
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Table 4.1: (Continued).
Sample Sample weight (g) Starch count Starch count per 100g South Kov Ridge (AAXE) SKR07L2AK 0.34 26 7647 SKR08L2S1A 0.82 31 3780 SKR08L2S1C 0.05 37 74,000 SKR08L2S1D 0.07 221 315,714 SKR08L2S1F 0.01 70 700,000* SKR08L2S1G 0.04 30 75,000 SKR08L2S1H 0.01 15 150,000 SKR08L2S2AA 0.01 6 60,000 SKR08L2S2AC 0.05 8 16,000* SKR08L2S2Y 0.01 17 170,000* Layer 2 Soil 1.00 34 3400 Vilakuav (AAXF) V08L2H 1.52 159 10,461 V08L2I 0.34 179 52,647 V08L2J 0.01 37 370,000 Layer 2 Soil 0.60 15 2500
A few of these artefacts were not further analysed. SKR08L2S2AA was not examined further. Only six starch grains were counted (Table 4.1); and this sample size was deemed too small for further detailed analysis. There were also suspected modern contamination in three artefact samples. The sources of contamination in the laboratory were identified, contained, and eliminated. These artefacts were not analysed although they have relatively high starch concentrations:
SKR08L2S2Y: wheat
SKR08L2S1F: wheat (Figure 4.2)
SKR08L2S2AC: rice (Figure 4.3)
91 Chapter Four. Results
(A) (B)
Figure 4.2: (A) Wheat has a bimodal distribution of grain sizes and is recognisable by the close association of large (>20m) and small starch grains (>10m). (B) A suspected wheat contamination in SKR08L2S2F
(A) (B)
Figure 4.3: (A) A cluster of compound starch grains in SKR08L2S2AC. Its large quantity of starch grains is unusual within an archaeological sample and resembles (B) Oryza sativa reference material.
92 Chapter Four. Results
Basalt (40%) and schist (45%) were the dominant material types of the artefacts with high concentrations of starchy residues. Most of the schist artefacts examined (9 out of
10) and just over half of the basalt artefacts (8 out of 13) have high counts of starch preserved on their surfaces (Table 4.2).
There was also a prevalence of unmodified artefacts (45%) and an equal proportion of flakes and tools (25% each) with high concentrations of starchy residues. All but one identified tool had greater concentrations of starch residues extracted, compared to their relevant background soil controls (Table 4.3). Ancient starch residues were also successfully extracted from a large percentage of flakes and unmodified artefacts (71% and 60% respectively) (Table 4.3).
Table 4.2: The percentage of raw stone material types of artefacts, within the early to mid-Holocene Ivane Valley assemblage, considered to have been deliberately used to process starchy materials; as determined by starch residues concentrations greater than their respective soil background controls.
Artefacts with high Raw material Total examined concentrations of Percentage type artefacts starchy residues Basalt 13 8 62% Schist 10 9 90% Metagraywacke 5 3 60% Quartz 2 0 0
93 Chapter Four. Results
Table 4.3: The percentage of stone technology types of artefacts, within the early to mid-
Holocene Ivane Valley assemblage, considered to have been deliberately used to process starchy materials; as determined by starch residues concentrations greater than their respective soil background controls.
Artefacts with high Total examined Technology concentrations of Percentage artefacts starchy residues Tool 6 5 83% Flake 7 5 71% Unmodified 15 9 60% Angular fragment 2 1 50%
4.2. The early to mid-Holocene ancient starch assemblage within the Ivane Valley
Intact and well-preserved ancient starch were successfully extracted and recorded from
19 stone artefacts with higher concentrations of starch grains than their respective soil controls (not including SKR08L2S2AA and contaminated samples, Table 4.4). Eight artefacts from across the five sites in the Ivane Valley had produced raw sample counts of greater than 100 starch grains.
The starch assemblage of the Ivane Valley during the early to mid-Holocene was generally no larger than 46m, measured as the maximum length through the hilum, with a few outliers up to 87m (Table 4.4). These outliers were either tuber-like grains
(oval grains with eccentric hila) or discoidal grains (flat and round in plan view; ICSN,
2011) with prominent lamellae. The mean grain size across the artefacts was between
11m and 19m.
94 Chapter Four. Results
A large proportion of the starch assemblage was round to oval in shape (Table 4.5).
Irregular-shaped grains also dominated the starch assemblage. There were minor amounts of grains with square, triangular and rod shapes.
Table 4.4: A description of the starch assemblage and size of the grains (measured as the maximum length through the hilum, m) of stone artefacts from the Ivane Valley with starchy residues; excavated from early to mid-Holocene deposits.
Range of grain Mean of grain Standard Artefact n size (m) size (m) deviation AER09L2S2X 17 5.82 – 87.06 18.9459 18.0965 AER09L2S2Y 80 6.58 – 31.44 16.9409 5.0078 AER09L2AJ 34 7.37 – 26.35 15.7535 4.2637 JG07L2F 135 7.84 – 25.2 17.2791 3.7314 JG07L2K 22 11.63 – 20.78 15.7632 2.5944 JG07L2J 153 7.96 – 25.9 16.2714 3.3654 JG07L2-3T 242 2.55 – 30.37 18.0865 3.8004 JG07L2G 30 10.71 – 25.61 17.422 3.8102 JG07L2-3Q 44 6.88 – 25.39 16.6816 4.0674 AM07L2B 238 2.92 – 32.84 13.2054 5.1728 AM07L2C 144 3.27 – 46.09 12.5079 7.7707 SKR07L2AK 26 3.23 – 33.08 11.1415 6.3812 SKR08L2S1C 37 6.96 – 35.18 15.5208 5.7413 SKR08L2S1D 221 7.81 – 39.99 16.3095 4.7532 SKR08L2S1G 30 4.19 – 29.54 12.4366 6.9456 SKR08L2S1H 15 9.18 – 27.56 17.91 5.036 V08L2H 159 5.93 – 36.61 16.8645 6.388 V08L2I 179 6.19 – 70.09 16.5594 6.3262 V08L2J 37 6.4 – 34.8 17.1089 5.8858
95 Chapter Four. Results
Table 4.5: The frequency of granule shapes of early to mid-Holocene each stone artefact with starchy residues from the Ivane Valley. ‘Other’ granule shapes include square, rod, and triangular shapes.
Sample n Round Oval Irregular Bell Other AER09L2S2X 17 5 4 6 0 2 AER09L2S2Y 80 42 9 20 6 3 AER09L2AJ 34 12 5 15 1 1 JG07L2F 135 34 20 65 7 9 JG07L2K 22 4 6 5 1 6 JG07L2J 153 20 26 76 21 10 JG07L2-3T 242 30 34 146 20 12 JG07L2G 30 4 12 9 1 4 JG07L2-3Q 44 10 9 20 3 2 AM07L2B 238 112 61 32 29 4 AM07L2C 144 44 46 38 10 4 SKR07L2AK 26 20 2 4 0 0 SKR08L2S1C 37 21 5 9 2 0 SKR08L2S1D 221 70 58 84 4 5 SKR08L2S1G 30 15 4 9 2 0 SKR08L2S1H 15 10 1 3 0 0 V08L2H 159 67 42 34 4 11 V08L2I 179 57 42 69 9 2 V08L2J 37 12 10 14 0 1
96 Chapter Four. Results
4.2.1. Starch clusters
Clusters of starch grains were identified in the process of investigating the archaeological residues of the Ivane Valley. These were examined separately from their respective residue assemblages.
A cluster of faceted starch grains was isolated from SKR08L2S1G. The grains appear to be packed within membranes. The box plot of grain sizes overlaps with two economic plants with similarly clustered grains: Colocasia esculenta and Dioscorea
esculenta (Figure 4.4).
AM07L2C contained a separate, dense group of starch grains. The analysis of grain
size (Figure 4.5) suggested Hydriastele sp. (sample ANUMP3), Musa peekelii, Cyathea sp. (sample ANUMP9), and Zingiberaceae sp. (sample ANUMP10). An examination of the population signatures of these reference materials can rank the possible species of this starch cluster identity (Table 4.6). Only Hydriastele sp. has a high proportion of round grains.
97 Chapter Four. Results
Figure 4.4: Box plot of the starch grain sizes (measured as the maximum length through the hilum, m) of the SKR08L2S1G starch cluster (n = 20) with Colocasia esculenta and
Dioscorea esculenta. The box represents 50% of the data within the sample, and the line
within the box indicates the median. Also, an image of the SKR08L2S1G cluster; note the
membrane-bound grains.
98 Chapter Four. Results
Figure 4.5: Box plot of the dense starch group (measured as the maximum length through the hilum, m) from AM07L2C and a selection of modern reference New Guinea plant species with similar size characteristics. The box represents 50% of the data within the sample, and the line within the box indicates the median. Also, images of the starch cluster from AM07L2C; note the absence of membrane-bound grains.
99 Chapter Four. Results
Table 4.6: Population signature of grain attributes within modern Hydriastele sp. (sample
ANUMP3), Musa peekelii, Cyathea sp. (sample ANUMP9), and Zingiberaceae sp. (sample
ANUMP10).
Hydriastele sp. Musa Cyathea sp. Zingiberaceae sp. (ANUMP3) peekelii (ANUMP9) (ANUMP10) n 108 93 42 49 Bell 15 (14%) 3 (3%) 13 (31%) 1 (2%) Round 85 (79%) 22 (23%) 11 (26%) 7 (14%) Oval 8 (7%) 42 (45%) 14 (33%) 13 (27%) Irregular 24 (53%) 2 (5%) Square 1 (2%) Rod 2 (2%) 1 (2%) 22 (45%) Triangular 6 (12%)
4.2.2. Tuber-like grains
Tuber-like grains are characteristic and have eccentric hila and are relatively large
(Figure 4.6) (see Fullagar et al., 2006). Kosipe Mission site and Vilakuav both have relatively low concentrations of tuber-like grains, when compared to Joe’s Garden and
South Kov Ridge (Figure 4.7). There are very few tuber-like grains at the site closest to the swamp, at Airport Mound.
Most of these grains were oval in shape and broadly resembled Dioscorea alata. A triangular gain (AER09L2S2Y) similar to Dioscorea hispida and Dioscorea bulbifera was also noted.
100 Chapter Four. Results
Dioscorea alata Dioscorea hispida
Dioscorea nummularia Dioscorea pentaphylla
Figure 4.6: Starch grains of Dioscorea sp. tubers, present in the New Guinea Highlands.
These starch grains are generally oval or triangular-shaped, and have eccentric hila.
Some species have prominent lamellae, e.g. D. alata, D. hispida, and D. pentaphylla.
101 Chapter Four. Results
Figure 4.7: The concentrations of tuber-like grains from early- to mid-Holocene (Layer 2)
stone artefacts of the Ivane Valley. The concentrations are calculated as per 100g of
sample.
102 Chapter Four. Results
4.3. The modern comparative starch reference collection
A modern comparative starch reference collection pertinent to the Ivane Valley was developed (Table 4.7). Confident taxon identification in ancient starch research requires an accurate reference collection designed for the site’s context and region. A number of considerations were therefore implemented in the development process:
Economic starchy plants such as yams (Dioscorea sp.), taro (C. esculenta), and
Pandanus sp.
Plant species which local informants and the ethnographies have described
were previously economically important. For example, Pueraria lobata is known
to have been widely cultivated in the prehistoric New Guinea Highlands, but it is
now only marginally exploited and is considered a famine food (Bulmer and
Bulmer, 1964). Pangium edule is another starchy economic plant that was
once prized but is now only consumed by the older generation (Lepofsky, 1992).
An expanded range of consideration of possible plant species (Field, 2006).
The vegetation history of the Ivane Valley revealed significant changes in the
local environment through time (Hope, 2009). There was a transformation from
the closed Nothofagus-dominated forests to a more open mixed-montane forest
and the presence of sub-alpine grassland species on the swamp declined
during the early to mid-Holocene (Hope, 2009). Ridge sites such as Kosipe
Mission, may also have been different to the swamp flora, as they do not record
sub-alpine elements (Hope 2014, pers. comm.). Overall, the climate warming
associated with the Holocene allowed for the expansion of plant species from
lower growth altitudes, when the colder Pleistocene environment had previously
prevented their successful development (Bourke, 2010; Hope et al., 1983; Hope
and Golson, 1995). Further, it is known that hunter-gatherers carry plant foods
with them as they travel (Hawkes et al., 1982; Kelly, 1995). Therefore, species
103 Chapter Four. Results
outside of the immediate environment and altitudinal range of the Ivane Valley
were also considered as possible resources for hunter-gatherers.
Table 4.7 is organised according to the likelihood of a plant species’ presence within the Ivane Valley during the Holocene. Botanical surveys of the New Guinea landscape have frequently recognised zones of vegetation structures and food procurement
(Bourke, 2010; Paijmans, 1976). These zones are based on a species’ altitudinal limits of growth (Bellwood, 2005; Bourke, 2010; Fairbairn et al., 2006; Golson, 1991; Hope and Golson; 1995). The highlands are recognised as >1200m a.s.l. and plants which can grow at these altitudes were therefore considered here to be ‘most likely’ to have been present in the Ivane Valley, at 2000m a.s.l. ‘Likely’ plants are of the highlands fringe zone, defined between 600 – 1200m a.s.l.; and ‘unlikely’ plants are of the lowland vegetation zone, defined from the coast and up to 600m a.s.l.
Observations of starch grain variability within species have been recorded during the investigation of other ancient starch projects (Holst et al., 2007; Loy, 1994; Perry et al.,
2007). A strategy to account for the variation was to (if possible) include more than one plant sample of each species (Loy, 1994).
Some economic New Guinea plant species were examined but found to not have identifiable storage starch grains; such as Saccharum officinale (sugar cane) and
Canarium indicum (Galip). Also, modern economic starchy crops, such as Ipomoea batatas (sweet potato) and Xanthosoma sagittifolium were not included in the subsequent analyses because these crops were recently introduced (Bourke, 2010) and therefore unlikely to be present in the archaeological starch record.
104 Chapter Four. Results
Table 4.7: Modern comparative starch reference collection species referred to in the
analysis of the Ivane Valley starchy residues, and their respective starch grain
measurements (m). Modern economic and non-economic plants are listed. Endemic
species are considered to have been present before European settlement. Introduced
species are denoted by (*) and are considered to have been present after European
settlement c.1700.
mean median Family Species Sample ID range (m) std dev n (m) (m) Highlands (>1200m a.s.l.) Araceae Colocasia sp. ANU11 4.7219 4.49 1.93 - 9.91 1.5901 293 Colocasia AUSMUS258 4.9913 4.985 0.07 - 9.5 1.1505 150 esculenta ANU1 2.884 2.84 1.79 - 4.57 0.5151 167 ANU13 2.681 2.63 1.54 - 4.29 0.5207 278 ANU14 4.6751 4.495 2.26 - 9.47 1.2376 332 ANU19 4.5742 4.4 2.14 - 8.37 1.1659 259 ANU27 5.2796 5.07 2.86 - 8.74 1.2157 119 ANU39 4.6698 4.465 2.18 - 7.71 1.4106 104 ANU42 4.5073 4.38 2.35 - 8.15 1.1845 151 ANU8 3.4648 3.35 1.89 -6.21 0.8624 146 ANU9 2.6635 2.55 1.48 - 5.09 0.6205 175 Homalomena sp. ANUMP11 9.3772 8.67 4.25 -18.87 3.0666 109 ANUMP12 12.9065 12.68 5.53 -22.58 4.1181 105 *Xanthosoma AUSMUS282 11.4439 11.31 5.05 - 17.68 2.5766 134 sagittifolium ANU24 10.6224 10.585 2.57 - 17.88 2.9314 246 Arecaceae Hydriastele sp. ANUMP3 5.8214 5.24 2.34 - 14.96 2.3906 105 Convolvulaceae *Ipomoea batatas AUSMUS248 9.9995 9.235 3.52 -25.24 3.6642 110 Cyatheaceae Cyathea sp ANUMP6 16.1313 16.165 5.45 -25.6 3.866 168 ANUMP7 3.9072 3.2 1.82 -12.37 1.8194 176 ANUMP9 6.8371 6.41 2.88 -14.99 2.4825 109 sp1-WP71 11.6316 11.365 5.63 - 23.89 3.2066 182 sp2-WPT1 4.1952 3.78 1.9 - 8.93 1.3897 129 Dioscoreaceae Dioscorea alata ANU16 33.5746 32.21 9.31 - 76.69 12.0627 226 ANU22 41.731 40.59 14.89 - 76.6 14.5001 102 Dioscorea ANU12 36.3761 34.7 12.29 - 82.79 12.4622 148 bulbifera AUSMUS271 44.6842 43.95 22.75 - 82.19 11.2575 106 SR33 37.6451 38.31 10.27 - 60.42 10.1952 136 Dioscorea ANU32 3.2164 3.155 1.82 - 4.82 0.5897 142 esculenta ANU6 5.1926 4.78 2.74 - 11.27 1.656 149 LAE05-712 3.8107 3.71 2.34 - 6.58 0.7649 112 Dioscorea 32.0508 32.625 15.46 - 55.86 7.2291 84 nummularia ANU37 35.5968 35.975 16.43 - 50.75 7.4834 110 Dioscorea AUSMUS249 15.7038 15.37 5.63 - 30.66 4.934 96 pentaphylla AUSMUS275 51.6086 51.9 14.68 - 112.88 18.5651 147 Fabaceae Psophocarpus LAE10-712 11.8091 11.65 5.45 - 21.7 3.4456 131 tetragonolobus Pueraria lobata 2 15-1112 9.5518 9.32 4.05 - 21.06 2.6977 143
105 Chapter Four. Results
Table 4.7: (Continued).
mean median Family Species Sample ID range (m) std dev n (m) (m) Highlands (>1200m a.s.l.) Fagaceae Castanopsis A-16-122 20.7114 20.91 7.49 - 30.83 5.1129 111 acuminatissima B-16-112 15.8324 15.405 8.24 - 26.53 4.0804 120 Pandanaceae Pandanus 113 4.5360 4.26 1.2 - 9.12 1.5793 185 julianettii 272 3.5992 3.43 1.22 - 7.1 1.1479 165 Zingiberaceae ANUMP9 8.575 8.15 2.93 - 21.75 3.3412 115 ANUMP10 7.3934 7.08 2.33 - 20.39 3.6999 103 ANUMP2 8.7673 9.005 3.19 - 16.36 2.2637 118 Highlands fringe (600 – 1200m a.s.l.) Araceae Amorphophallus AUSMUS276 15.0575 14.365 6.75 - 24.46 4.0801 112 paeonifolius *Colocasia fallax AUSMUS266 22.7039 21.925 7.72 - 46.3 7.7972 216 ANU17 22.6973 22.21 9.4 - 41.53 7.5855 98 Arecaceae Metroxylon sagu LAE06-712 37.6745 39.835 10.56 - 77.04 11.4207 98 Dioscoreaceae Dioscorea LAE09-712 20.2145 20.39 6.66 - 33.05 4.69 109 hispida Gnetaceae Gnetum gnemon LAE02-412 12.5327 12.465 2.55 - 22.97 4.617 150 Moraceae Artocarpus altilis LAE04-712 5.9763 6.05 1.67 - 10.7 2.017 115 Musaceae Musa peekelii 6.9798 6.34 2.56 - 15.08 2.728 191 Lowlands (<600m) Araceae Cyrtosperma AUSMUS272 13.0699 12.72 6.63 - 19.27 2.5406 136 chamissonis AUSMUS273 12.3768 12.495 4.48 - 18.02 2.6724 116 ANU36 11.1879 11.225 4.16 - 17.21 2.7191 230 Musaceae Musa acuminata SR69a 4.0857 3.38 1.31 - 19.5 2.4116 108
4.3.1. A description of the endemic highlands species
4.3.1.1. Colocasia esculenta
Colocasia esculenta (taro) is both a staple and supplementary crop, depending on the
region across New Guinea. It has an altitudinal growth range of 0 – 2400m a.s.l.
(Bourke, 2010). C. esculenta has an archaeological presence in New Guinea. One of
the earliest reporting of taro starch residues was by Loy et al. (1992), in the Solomon
Islands. Starch was also recovered from early Holocene stone artefact residues from
Kuk Swamp (Denham et al., 2003; Fullagar et al., 2006). C. esculenta starch grains
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are <10m in their maximum size (across the hilum). The grains are round, often with faceted edges and may form starch clusters. From two separate samples, 62% and 52% of the grains presented faceted edges.
C. esculenta is believed to have been the only capable plant to have been cultivated in the highlands prior to the introduction of sweet potato (Bayliss-Smith and Golson,
1992). Isozyme data, rDNA data, RAPDs and UPGMA analyses indicate a broad
Asian-Pacific geography; suggesting independent domestication within SEA and New
Guinea (Lebot, 1999; Lebot et al., 2004) to remove its acridity (Barton and Paz, 2007).
The tissues contain calcium oxalate (raphides), which are visible under the light microscope and can act as a diagnostic feature when they are observed in conjunction with their starch grains (Fullagar et al., 2006; Loy et al., 1992). The raphides provide the acrid sensation when eaten raw (Brown, 2000: 247). Detoxification is achieved by boiling; and sometimes by leaching with water, or by grinding and other physical processing (Johns and Kubo, 1988).
4.3.1.2. Homalomena sp.
Homalomena sp. is a wild plant used for medicinal purposes; as a sedative, stimulant, hallucinogen, and insecticide (Brown, 2000). They were also used for tools and weapons, and for dress and body decoration in the Jimi Valley (Gorecki, 1989). The samples included in the reference collection were collected from Kosipe by Matthew
Prebble, from the Australian National University. The starch grains are predominantly oval (64%), with a maximum size up to approximately 23m across the hilum.
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4.3.1.3. Cyathea sp.
Cyathea sp. is a highlands tree fern, with an altitudinal growth range >2000m, and is often associated with subalpine grasslands (Hope, 1976). The species favours grassland and forest margins (Powell, 1982). The fronds of Cyathea sp. are used in material culture: clothes, tools, weapons, construction, and in rituals (Gorecki, 1989;
Sterly, 1997). The leaves are eaten raw by hunters (Sterly, 1997). O'Connell and
Allen (2012) have suggested the value of Cyathea sp. as a readily available source of carbohydrates for prehistoric peoples passing through the Ivane Valley.
An examination of Cyathea sp. starch grains shows two groups of size ranges (Figure
4.8). One group of reference samples have starch grains <10m in their maximum size (across the hilum). The starch grains within the other group of reference samples are larger, with an average size 11 - 16m. Their largest grains are approximately
25m, across the hilum. The morphology of the starch grains across the reference samples examined, however, is similar to each other (Table 4.8). The grains are round to bell-shaped, and may be conjoined (Figure 4.8).
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Figure 4.8: Box plot of the starch grain sizes (measured as the maximum length through the hilum, m) of the examined Cyathea sp. reference samples. The box represents 50%
of the data within the sample, and the line within the box indicates the median. Also, an
example of the conjoined Cyathea sp. starch grains.
Table 4.8: Population signature of Cyathea sp. The grains are mostly round to bell- shaped.
Cyathea sp. Cyathea sp. Shape (WP71) (ANUMP6) n 85 168 Bell 32 (38%) 78 (46%) Round 37 (44%) 51 (30%) Oval 5 (6%) 14 (8%) Irregular 8 (9%) 19 (11%) Square 3 (4%) 6 (4%)
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4.3.1.4. Dioscoreaceae
Yams belong to the Dioscorea genus and are an important food crop in PNG (Bourke,
2010; Field, 2014; Lebot, 2009; Powell, 1976). The tubers contain saponins; and detoxification methods can be achieved by boiling, grinding and other physical processing (Johns and Kubo, 1988).
D. alata has an altitudinal growth range between 0 and 1900m a.s.l. (Bourke, 2010).
Bourke and Harwood (2009) identified D. alata as the yam predominantly relied upon in the Highlands before the adoption of sweet potato. It only exists in a domesticated form; there are no wild types yet discovered (Coursey, 1967; Lebot, 1999; Ucko and
Dimbleby, 1969). PNG has been identified as a possible centre of origin; and was domesticated for shallow rooting (Lebot, 1999; Barton and Paz, 2007). D. alata starch
grains are large (average maximum size is approximately 34 - 42m across the hilum),
with eccentric hila. They are often oval to rod-shaped grains.
D. bulbifera also has a growth range between 0 – 1900m a.s.l. (Bourke, 2010). It is
primarily a domesticated supplementary crop within PNG (Lebot, 1999; Powell, 1976).
Its starch grains are distinctively triangular in shape and have prominent lamellae. The
hilum is eccentric. It was also calculated that, on average, 20% of the recorded grains
had a ‘bend’ at their hila (Figure 4.9).
D. esculenta has a growth limit up to 1550m a.s.l. (Bourke, 2010). The origins of D.
esculenta are obscure; it is only certain that it is an Asiatic plant (Ucko and Dimbleby,
1969). Their starch grains are small, often no larger than 10m in size. They are
compound starch grains and form dense starch clusters. The grains are highly faceted,
with four or more faceted edges.
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D. hispida has a growth limit of 850m a.s.l. and is limited to the highland fringes.
(Barker et al., 2007). It is a wild plant (Coursey, 1967). Its starch grains are triangular and have prominent lamellae.
Figure 4.9: Dioscorea bulbifera starch grain with a ‘bend’ at its hikum. Note also the prominent lamellae and eccentric hilum.
4.3.1.5. Psophocarpus tetragonolobus
Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (Winged bean) grows up to 1900m a.s.l. (Bourke, 2010).
It is a cultivated crop. The root, fruit, leaf and seeds are consumed (Gorecki, 1989;
Sterly, 1997). The legumes of the plant are cooked within their pods, but the pods themselves are not eaten (Sterly, 1997).
The starch grains of P. tetragonolobus are about 5 – 21m in maximum length across the hilum. They are often bell-shaped grains (70%) and have faceted edges. They may also show ‘twinned’ grains.
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4.3.1.6. Pueraria lobata
Pueraria lobata (Kudzu) grows up to 2300m a.s.l. (Bourke, 2010). They are widely cultivated in the Highlands (Bulmer and Bulmer, 1964); and both the cultivated and wild forms are exploited as a secondary crop. The tuber is eaten after work-extensive processing to make the plant palatable (Watson, 1964).
P. lobata starch grains are about 4 - 21m in maximum length across the hilum. Like a few other highland plant species (notably Cyathea sp. and P. tetragonolobus), the grains are often bell-shaped and have faceted edges.
4.3.1.7. Castanopsis acuminatissima
Castanopsis acuminatissima is a wild plant with a seasonal production of nuts. The fruiting of Castanopsis season begins in November - December (M. Lovave 2012, pers. comm.). C. acuminatissima nuts are eaten. A different species of Castanopsis produces smaller acorns within the Ivane Valley and are consumed by the local pigs
(Hope 2014, pers. comm.). The tree is also used for tools and weapons, and for construction and building in the Jimi Valley (Gorecki, 1989).
C. acuminatissima starch grains are often faceted (72%) and have fissures (71%)
(Table 4.13). About 50% of the reference samples are irregular-shaped, and about 35% are round and oval shaped (Table 4.12).
4.3.1.8. Pandanus sp.
Pandanus sp. is a culturally significant plant in PNG. There are 66 species of
Pandanus occur in PNG, from sea-level to highland environments (Hyndman, 1984).
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The nuts and leaves of both cultivated and wild Pandanus species are exploited. The maturation of the nuts can occur any month of the year. Bourke et al. (2004) and
Denham (2007) suspect water stress is the trigger for flowering. The nuts are consumed as supplementary food to provide proteins and fat in their diets (Hyndman,
1984).
Pandanus sp. has an archaeological presence throughout PNG prehistory.
Archaeological macroremains include the Ivane Valley (Fairbairn et al., 2006;
Summerhayes et al., 2010), Yuku (Bulmer, 1975), Nombe (Bulmer, 1975), Manim
(Christensen, 1975), and Talepakemalai Lapita Site on Mussau Islands (Kirch, 1989).
P. julianettii is a domesticated highlands variety. Its starch grains are simple, round
grains, and generally less than 10m in diameter.
4.3.1.9. Zingiberaceae
Zingiberaceae sp. are cultivated plants, used for medicinal purposes (Powell, 1976).
The samples included in the reference collection have yet to be identified to their
respective species. They were all collected from Kosipe by Matthew Prebble, from the
Australian National University. The samples shared a common morphology: the starch
grains were predominantly thin rod shaped grains, with eccentric hila. The grains are
generally small; they have an average maximum size of approximately 7 - 8m across
the hilum.
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4.4. Statistical investigations
4.4.1. Cluster analysis (of published data)
A hierarchical cluster analysis was performed on Lentfer’s (2009) published descriptions of 13 accessions of Musa sp. (from Ensete, Australimusa and Eumusa sections). The hierarchal cluster analysis of this published dataset formed four clusters
(Figure 4.10). There are three major clusters, with further groupings within themselves; and a very minor cluster comprising of variants ‘5’ and ‘6’. The individual samples within a variant are generally organised with each other. However, when the variants are labelled with their identified Musa sp. sections, there was no clear separation as described in Lentfer’s (2009) results (Figures 4.11).
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Figure 4.10: Dendrogram result from a hierarchical cluster analysis on published Musa
starch descriptions (after Lentfer, 2009), with four clusters (numbered) of variants
(labelled as ‘V#’), including a minor cluster comprised of variants ‘5’ and ‘6’ (detail).
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Figure 4.11: Dendrogram result from a hierarchical cluster analysis on published Musa
starch descriptions (after Lentfer, 2009), of variants (labelled as ‘V#’) labelled with their
respective banana sections. There appears to be no separation of variants according to
their sections.
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4.4.2. Discriminant analysis (of reference data)
The discriminant analysis was performed on starch grain descriptions of twelve plant species selected from the Ivane Valley modern comparative reference collection. The structure matrix calculates the relative importance of each attribute to group the different species (Table 4.9). It revealed that length (0.892), width (0.628), and the position of the hilum (.530) were significant attributes. However, the surface attributes documented in this study, such as the surface texture and the presence or absence of fissures and hilum cavities, were poor characteristics to differentiate starch grains between species.
The cross-classification output of the discriminant analysis calculates the success of classifying each sample into their correct species (Table 4.10). The table showed that overall, 58.7% starch grains were correctly classified to species level. There was no clear discrimination between these species and there was a high level of redundancy in granule descriptions. C. esculenta (96.1%) and D. bulbifera (94.4%) were successfully identified, based on their starch descriptions, within the sampled population; the least specific were Castanopsis jacunda (26.7%) and Cyrtosperma chamissonis (37.3%).
The lack of clear separation between species is also reflected in the scatter diagram
(Figure 4.12). Only D. bulbifera formed a discrete and tight cluster. Zingiberaceae sp
formed two clusters, one of which is mixed with the remaining nine species.
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Table 4.9: Structure Matrix result from a discriminant analysis of starch grains from twelve known plant species: Pooled within-groups correlations between discriminating variables and standardized canonical discriminant functions. Variables are ordered by absolute size of correlation within function. (*) denotes the largest absolute correlation between each variable and any discriminant function.
Function 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Length 0.892* 0.299 -0.128 0.129 0.240 -0.072 0.086 -0.112 -0.003 Width 0.628* 0.592 0.325 -0.062 0.002 -0.303 0.021 0.230 -0.031 Hilum position .0530* -0.413 0.154 -0.284 0.409 0.101 -0.401 0.237 -0.223 Faceting -0.240 0.253 0.241 0.684* 0.389 0.294 -0.224 0.245 -0.061 Shape 0.215 -0.521 0.525 0.595* 0.149 -0.061 0.144 -0.004 0.080 Fissure 0.100 0.223 0.468 -0.247 0.525* -0.197 -0.238 -0.448 0.297 Lamellae 0.443 0.161 0.446 -0.127 -0.360 0.543* -0.190 -0.313 -0.060 Hilum cavity -0.055 0.044 0.085 -0.283 0.254 0.259 0.813* 0.156 -0.302 Surface texture 0.033 -0.005 -0.005 -0.184 0.136 0.209 0.206 0.504 0.779*
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Table 4.10: Classification result from a discriminant analysis of starch grains from twelve
known plant species. Group ID: 1. Colocasia esculenta; 2. Castanopsis jacunda; 3.
Castanopsis sclerophylla; 4. Zingiberacaeae sp; 5. Dioscorea alata; 6. Cyrtosperma
chamissonis; 7. Homalomena sp; 8. Musa peekelii; 9. Tacca leontopetaloides, 10.
Colocasia affinis; 11. Pandanus julianetti; 12. Dioscorea bulbifera.
Predicted Group Membership ID# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total Original 1 74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 77 count 2 0 12 5 0 0 1 8 5 10 4 0 0 45 3 0 5 39 0 0 4 0 8 0 5 0 0 61 4 0 0 0 30 0 0 5 8 0 0 3 3 49 5 0 2 3 0 38 2 2 0 3 2 0 0 52 6 18 5 8 0 0 22 1 2 0 3 0 0 59 7 0 3 2 0 0 1 26 17 0 1 4 0 54 8 22 1 0 1 0 1 0 63 0 0 4 1 93 9 0 10 12 0 0 9 5 5 43 5 0 0 89 10 12 10 17 0 0 12 1 11 0 44 1 0 108 11 19 0 0 1 0 0 0 10 0 0 41 0 71 12 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 34 36 % 1 96.1 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 1.3 2.6 .0 100.0 2 .0 26.7 11.1 .0 .0 2.2 17.8 11.1 22.2 8.9 .0 .0 100.0 3 .0 8.2 63.9 .0 .0 6.6 .0 13.1 .0 8.2 .0 .0 100.0 4 .0 .0 .0 61.2 .0 .0 10.2 16.3 .0 .0 6.1 6.1 100.0 5 .0 3.8 5.8 .0 73.1 3.8 3.8 .0 5.8 3.8 .0 .0 100.0 6 30.5 8.5 13.6 .0 .0 37.3 1.7 3.4 .0 5.1 .0 .0 100.0 7 .0 5.6 3.7 .0 .0 1.9 48.1 31.5 .0 1.9 7.4 .0 100.0 8 23.7 1.1 .0 1.1 .0 1.1 .0 67.7 .0 .0 4.3 1.1 100.0 9 .0 11.2 13.5 .0 .0 10.1 5.6 5.6 48.3 5.6 .0 .0 100.0 10 11.1 9.3 15.7 .0 .0 11.1 .9 10.2 .0 40.7 .9 .0 100.0 11 26.8 .0 .0 1.4 .0 .0 .0 14.1 .0 .0 57.7 .0 100.0 12 .0 .0 .0 .0 5.6 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 94.4 100.0
119 Chapter Four. Results
Figure 4.12: Cluster diagram summarising the discriminant analysis of starch grains from twelve known plant species. Colour coded key is as follows: 1. Castanopsis jacunda, 2.
Castanopsis sclerophyllas, 3. Colocasia affinis, 4. Colocasia esculenta, 5. Cyrtosperma
chamissonis, 6. Dioscorea alata, 7. Dioscorea bulbifera, 8. Homalomena sp., 9. Musa
peekelii, 10. Pandanus julianettii, 11. Tacca leontopetaloides, 12. Zingiberaceae sp.
(Image: by William Parr).
120 Chapter Four. Results
4.5. Plant species identification of the Ivane Valley archaeological residues
4.5.1. Descriptive statistics: box plots
Granule size is an effective first pass discriminator between plant species (see Section
3.3.3. and 4.4.2.). The size measurements (maximum length through the hilum, m) of
the archaeological starchy residues were presented as box plots to provide a visual
representation of the range of plants that may have contributed to the starch
assemblage (Figure 4.13). The box plots show an overlap of grain sizes with tubers,
nuts and ferns. The common highland species with closely similar grain sizes to all
examined archaeological samples were Homalomena sp. (sample ANUMP12),
Cyathea sp. (sample ANUMP6), and C. acuminatissima. The tails of the box plots of the archaeological samples also overlapped with other Cyathea sp. samples, P. tetragonolobus, and Dioscorea sp.
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Figure 4.13: Box plot of the starch grain sizes (measured as the maximum length through the hilum, m) from early to mid-Holocene stone artefacts from the Ivane Valley, and a selection of modern reference PNG plant species. The box represents 50% of the data within the sample, and the line within the box indicates the median. The total numbers of starch grains per sample are indicated within parentheses
4.5.2. ANOVA, with Tukey HSD and Bonferroni correction post hoc tests
The ANOVA also examined the granule size of the archaeological residues, but in a more detailed analysis. The rejection of H0 was important for the plant species
122 Chapter Four. Results
identification (highlighted in Figure 4.14); as it indicated that the archaeological and
reference material could not be significantly differentiated from each other. Both the
Tukey HSD and Bonferroni correction post hoc test produced analogous results, with a
few exceptions (Table 4.11).
Pueraria Zingiberaceae Cyathea sp1 Psophocarpus Homalomena sp Cyathea sp Castanopsis Dioscorea nmeans.d. lobata sp A NUM P10 WP71 tetragonolobus ANUMP12 ANUMP6 acuminatissima hispida AM 4 soil 56 9.51 7.19 x x x x AM 07L2B 238 13.21 5.17 xx x AM 07L2C 278 12.51 7.77 xx x JG soil 151 14.47 8.05 xx JG07L2-3Q 44 16.68 4.07 xxx JG07L2-3T 232 18.03 3.65 xxx JG07L2-3T-t 10 21.81 3.45 xxx JG07L2F 128 17.30 3.80 xx JG07L2F-t 7 16.95 2.29 xxxxxxx JG07L2G 23 16.45 3.63 xx xx JG07L2G-t 7 20.62 2.53 xx xx JG07L2J 144 16.15 3.36 xx JG07L2J-t 9 18.15 2.93 xx xxxx JG07L2K 17 15.91 2.78 xx xxxx JG07L2K-t 5 15.27 2.03 xx x x x x x x AER soil 57 13.61 6.75 xx xx AER09L2S2X 17 18.95 18.10 xxx AER 09L2AJ 34 15.75 4.26 xx x AER09L2S2Y 80 16.94 5.01 xx SKR soil 34 17.28 4.99 xxx SKR07L2AK 46 11.25 6.41 xxxx SKR08L2S1C 37 15.52 5.74 xxxx SKR08L2S1D 203 16.25 4.87 xx SKR08L2S1D-t 18 16.96 3.21 xx xx SKR08L2S1G 50 12.44 6.95 xxxx SKR08L2S1H 15 17.91 5.04 xx xx VIL soil 15 20.30 8.51 xxx V08L2J 37 17.11 5.89 xxx V08L2I 162 15.99 4.69 x V08L2I-t 17 21.94 13.78 xx V08L2H 132 15.40 5.56 xx V08L2H-t 27 24.02 5.34 x
Figure 4.14: A Tukey HSD test was performed on the maximum lengths of the starch
grains (m, measured across the hilum) between the archaeological samples and the
modern comparative reference collection. The tuber-like grains were considered
separately, and are labelled with a ‘-t’ suffix. The table marks the samples that could not
be significantly differentiated between each other. The mean difference was significant
at the 0.05 level.
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Table 4.11: A comparison of the results between Tukey HSD and Bonferroni correction.
The disagreements between the outcomes of the two tests are listed here. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.
Archaeological Bonferroni Reference material Tukey HSD sample correction AM4 soil Homalomena sp. ANUMP12 0.047 0.074 JG07L2G Psophocarpus tetragonolobus 0.047 0.075 AER09L2AJ Psophocarpus tetragonolobus 0.048 0.077 SKR08L2S1D-t Psophocarpus tetragonolobus 0.049 0.078
The reference materials that commonly rejected H0 across the examined Ivane Valley
stone assemblage were Homalomena sp. (sample ANUMP12), Cyathea sp. (sample
ANUMP6) and C. acuminatissima. These were the same samples with substantial
overlap with the archaeological materials, as described by the box plot graphs (Figure
4.13). D. hispida, a highlands fringe species, also frequently rejected H0, and had
frequently overlapped the upper tails of the box plots for the archaeological materials
(Figure 4.13). Other reference species which could not be differentiated from some
archaeological samples, include highland species P. lobata, Cyathea sp, (sample sp1
WP71), and P. tetragonolobus.
In regards with the tuber-like grains (samples are labelled with a suffix ‘-t’, Figure 4.14),
the ANOVA consistently indicated similarities with the size measurements of D. hispida.
Other reference samples also rejected H0, when compared with the tuber-like grains’ measurements, and included nut and tree fern species.
The plant assemblages ascertained for the Layer 2 cultural soil samples were different to each other. Kosipe Mission and Airport Mound had the greater number of species than the other sites (n = 4). They also have different possible plant species when
124 Chapter Four. Results
compared to each other. Kosipe Mission site soils include different Cyathea species, P.
tetragonolobus, and Homalomena sp.; whereas Airport Mound soils have identified P.
lobata, Zingiberaceae sp., Cyathea sp., and P. tetragonolobus. Joe’s Garden soils
have the least identified species diversity, with only Homolomena sp. and Cyathea sp.
South Kov Ridge and Vilakuav share the same identified species range: Cyathea sp., C.
acuminatissima, and D. hispida.
4.5.3. Population signatures
Granule shape and other attributes were then considered, to further refine the list of putative archaeological plant species determined from the analyses of their metrical data. The ‘population signature’ approach was adopted for this task (Holst et al., 2007;
Piperno and Dillehay, 2008) (see Section 3.3.3.). The method aims for a close correlation of the relative proportions of shapes between the plant references and archaeological residues.
The results of the population signatures indicate four artefacts (JG07L2F, JG07L2J,
JG07L2-3T and AER09L2AJ) were used to process one particular starchy plant.
Residues from all four artefacts have a close ratio correspondence with C. acuminatissima grains: about 50% of the sample is irregular-shaped, and about 35% of the sample are round and oval shaped (Table 4.12).
C. acuminatissima grains are often faceted (72%) and have fissures (71%) (Table 4.13).
Half (52%) of these irregular-shaped grains have both faceting and fissures. The four artefacts were calculated in a similar manner: JG07L2F and JG07L2J have lower percentages of both faceting and fissures; JG07L2-3T and AER09L2AJ, on the other hand, have a closer match with the reference material.
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Table 4.12: Population signature of grain morphology of Castanopsis acuminatissima, as
suggested by an analysis of their grain sizes, and the residues from Joe’s Garden
JG07L2F, JG07L2J, JG07L2-3T, and AER09L2AJ.
Castanopsis Shape JG07L2F JG07L2J JG07L2-3T AER09L2AJ acuminatissima n 232 135 153 242 34 Bell 25 (11%) 7 (5%) 21 (14%) 20 (8%) 1 (3%) Round 55 (24%) 34 (25%) 20 (13%) 30 (12%) 12 (35%) Oval 26 (11%) 20 (15%) 26 (17%) 34 (14%) 5 (15%) Irregular 126 (54%) 65 (48%) 76 (50%) 146 (60%) 15 (44%) Square 5 (4%) 4 (3%) 5 (2%) - Rod - 3 (2%) 7 (3%) 1 (3%) Triangular 4 (3%) 3 (2%) - -
Table 4.13: Population signature of grain attributes within modern Castanopsis
acuminatissima and the residues from JG07L2F, JG07L2J, JG07L2-3T and AER09L2AJ.
The grains were quantified and given as a percentage of the irregular-shaped grains
within the sample. Note: The irregular + faceting and irregular + fissure counts are not
mutually exclusive.
Castanopsis JG07L2F JG07L2J JG07L2-3T AER09L2AJ acuminatissima n (irregular-shaped grains) 126 65 76 146 15 Irregular + faceting 91 (72%) 30 (46%) 74 (97%) 138 (95%) 11 (73%) Irregular + fissure 89 (71%) 33 (51%) 29 (38%) 70 (48%) 8 (53%) Irregular + faceting 66 (52%) 13 (20%) 28 (37%) 67 (46%) 7 (47%) + fissure
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The remaining examined archaeological residues from the Ivane Valley do not reflect the dominance of a single reference material, as demonstrated with the
C. acuminatissima residues on JG07L2F, JG07L2J, JG07L2-3T and AER09L2AJ. It is possible that the population signatures of the archaeological residues reflect a mixed sample. The residues possessed relatively high percentages of round to oval shaped grains (Table 4.14). This signature is not unlike Homalomena sp. (Table 4.15); a species associated with tools, weapons, and medicine in PNG and the Solomon
Islands (Brown, 2000; Gorecki, 1989). Closer examination of the artefacts’ population signatures of the archaeological residues, however, also shows an abundance of irregular-shaped grains; which Homalomena sp. lacks. The other reference materials that showed similarities (by the box plots and ANOVA) with the remaining artefacts were Cyathea sp. (samples ANUMP6 and WP71), C. acuminatissima, P. lobata, and P.
tetragonolobus. Aside from C. acuminatissima, which was described above, these plant species possess mostly bell-shaped grains (Table 4.15); and is another feature that the archaeological samples do not strongly represent.
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Table 4.14: Grain morphology population signatures of residues from AER09L2S2X,
AER09L2S2Y, JG07L2K, JG07L2G, JG07L2-3Q, AM07L2B, and AM07L2C. The shape of
the grains were quantified and given as a percentage of the sample.
Shape AER09L2S2X AER09L2S2Y JG07L2K JG07L2G JG07L2-3Q AM07L2B AM07L2C n 17 80 22 30 44 238 142 Bell 3 (4%) 1 (5%) 1 (3%) 3 (7%) 29 (12%) 10 (7%) Round 5 (29%) 42 (53%) 4 (18%) 4 (13%) 10 (23%) 112 (47%) 44 (31%) Oval 4 (24%) 9 (11%) 6 (27%) 12 (40%) 9 (20%) 61 (26%) 46 (32%) Irregular 6 (35%) 20 (25%) 5 (23%) 9 (30%) 20 (45%) 32 (13%) 38 (27%) Square 1 (1%) 3 (14%) 4 (13%) 1 (2%) 2 (1%) 2 (1%) Rod 1 (1%) 3 (14%) 1 (2%) 2 (1%) 1 (1%) Triangular 1 (6%) 1 (1%) 1 (1%)
Table 4.15: Population signature of grain attributes of select modern comparative plant
species.
Cyathea sp. Cyathea sp. Homalomena Castanopsis Psophocarpus Shape (WP71) (ANUMP6) (ANUMP12) acuminatissima tetragonolbus n 85 168 102 232 137 Bell 32 (38%) 78 (46%) 5 (5%) 25 (11%) 96 (70%) Round 37 (44%) 51 (30%) 32 (30%) 55 (24%) 27 (20%) Oval 5 (6%) 14 (8%) 65 (64%) 26 (11%) 2 (1%) Irregular 8 (9%) 19 (11%) 126 (54%) 12 (9%) Square 3 (4%) 6 (4%)
Highland fringe species, Amorphophallus paeonifolius and Gnetum gnemon, also
displayed similarities with the Ivane Valley starch record in the metrical analyses (not
shown). Comparisons of their respective population signatures (Table 4.16) show no
strong correspondence with the archaeological record. A. paeonifolius starch grains
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are almost equally bell and irregular-shaped grains, and have a noticeable lack of oval grains. G. gnemon starches, on the other hand, are mostly round to oval in shape.
Table 4.16: Population signature of grain attributes of select modern highland fringe (600
– 1200m a.s.l.) plant species.
Amorphophallus Shape Gnetum gnemon paeonifolius n 103 149 Bell 40 (39%) 8 (5%) Round 15 (15%) 72 (48%) Oval 1 (1%) 69 (49%) Irregular 43 (42%) Square 4 (4%)
4.5.4. Summary and conclusion
In summary, each artefact tentatively identified a group of potential plant species; with the exception of JG07L2F, JG07L2J, JG07L2-3T and AER09L2AJ. These species were unable to be further differentiated from each other in the archaeological starch record, and may in fact represent a mixed population on these artefact surfaces. Tuber grains comparable with D. alata were also observed within the starch residues from across the five archaeological sites. Four stone artefacts – JG07L2F, JG07L2J,
JG07L2-3T and AER09L2AJ – showed the dominant presence of C. acuminatissima starch grains; as determined through a series of methods: box plots, ANOVA and an examination of their respective population signatures.
From a methodological viewpoint, the method used in this thesis is a positive way forward in the identification of archaeological starch residues. This method builds upon
129 Chapter Four. Results
approaches currently used by other ancient starch researchers, such as the effectiveness of granule size as a discriminator (examples include Cosgrove et al.,
2007; Field et al., 2011; Loy, 1994; Loy et al., 1992; Lance et al., 2005; Liu et al.,
2010a, 2010b) and the population signature approach used in South American archaeological studies (Holst et al., 2007; Piperno and Dillehay, 2008; Piperno et al.,
2004). This method also takes into account the variability of starch grains within a species by focusing upon the starch populations to make taxonomic identifications, rather than individual grains.
It may be argued, however, that the use of 2D shape information is a weakness of the method applied in this ancient starch analysis. 2D information has been recognised to be less effective than 3D granule shape to differentiate between species (ICSN, 2011).
Whereas over 100 grains were measured per modern reference sample, to account for the various orientations that may occur; similar starch numbers are not guaranteed to have been preserved within archaeological residues and therefore reduce the efficacy of this method. Further development of this method will look to incorporate 3D shape information to improve its practicality to interpret archaeological residues.
130 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
Chapter Five.
Discussion and Interpretation
The Holocene was a period of great transformation and innovation. It included the development of agriculture around the world; of which Kuk Swamp is listed as a site with evidence for the independent development of wetland cultivation technologies
(Bellwood, 2005; Denham et al., 2004b). The Holocene was also a period of increased population densities, together with technological and subsistence changes, as people adapted to the environmental and climatic changes. The study of ancient starch is a valuable technique for the investigation of these human behaviours and subsistence strategies within tropical environments (examples include Barton and White, 1993;
Barton, 2005; Cosgrove et al., 2007; Field et al., 2011; Fullagar et al., 2006; Loy et al.,
1992; Summerhayes et al., 2010).
In this chapter, the results of the ancient starch analyses undertaken on the Holocene lithic materials from the Ivane Valley are discussed in detail. Firstly, the degree of preservation of ancient starch within the valley during the Holocene is briefly remarked upon. Comments are made on the functions of the stone artefacts, as inferred from their starchy residues. The processes undertaken to identify plant taxa from archaeological starch residues, which were tested with statistical investigations, are also discussed.
The range of economic plants exploited by the people visiting the valley is inferred from the residue analysis and is interpreted in light of previous archaeological investigations.
131 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
Finally, the significance of these residue results are discussed in comparison with other open archaeological sites and subsistence strategies, such as the mortar and pestle complex and wetland cultivation at Kuk Swamp.
5.1. The starch analysis
5.1.1. Residues on stone artefacts
Five archaeological sites from across the Ivane Valley were examined for starchy residues: Kosipe Mission site, Airport Mound, Joe’s Garden, South Kov Ridge, and
Vilakuav (see Summerhayes et al., 2010). The results demonstrate that all sites have artefacts that have been used to process starchy materials during the early to mid-
Holocene (8000 – 4000 cal. BP). The accumulation of residues on the surfaces of these artefacts (to magnitudes of 106 per 100g sample, Table 1) was likely to have
derived from the deliberate manipulation of starchy plants by people.
5.1.1.1. Taphonomic issues
Confidence in the results of a residue analysis is dependent upon the potential for contamination on the examined artefact (Barton et al., 1998). The Ivane Valley archaeological sites are open sites and are therefore exposed to the natural decomposition of plants from surrounding vegetation (Fullagar, 2006). Artefacts with similar starch grain frequencies as the examined soil controls, as would be assumed from a cross-contamination event from the surrounding soils (Barton et al., 1998), were therefore not considered to have been used as tools to process starchy materials. The cross-contamination of starches from naturally decomposed plants onto the surfaces of
132 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
the examined artefacts in this study, however, is not considered to be of a major issue.
There are instances of artefacts with lesser numbers of, or no, starch grains preserved on their surfaces.
5.1.2. The artefacts and their use
The variety of raw material types and technologies with starchy residues suggests an opportunistic use of their tool kits, and/or the multipurpose use of these artefacts.
There appears to be no correlation between stone material type and technology for the processing of starchy plants. Schist, basalt, and metagraywacke tools, flakes and unmodified artefacts have high frequencies of starch grains preserved on their surfaces.
There are a high proportion of flakes and unmodified artefacts within the Ivane Valley
Holocene assemblage (Ford, 2012). An unmodified artefact was defined as an artefact with no evidence for modification or usewear. Of those artefacts with starchy residues, more than half lacked wear traces. The residue analyses, therefore, indicated they may have been used as expedient tools. In these cases, residue analyses can be especially useful.
The lithics of New Guinea archaeology has been described as ‘amorphous’, with few formal stone types (Ford, 2012; Mountain, 1991; G.R. Summerhayes 2014, pers. comm.; White and Thomas, 1972). The ready use of unmodified artefacts was argued to be reflective of the ‘relaxed’ decision making process with stone tool use in the highlands (White and Thomas, 1972). Ethnographic observations of modern highlanders and their use of stone flakes showed no ‘functional’ discrimination between flakes and cores, and were used if they were considered ‘suitable’ (by their edge-type or size) for the task (White and Thomas, 1972).
133 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
5.2. Starchy plant use in the Ivane Valley
Stone artefacts, particularly those relating to subsistence, can be used for more than one task. The expectation for a mixture of residues on an artefact surface is consistent with groups practicing hunting and gathering, since they carry a portable tool kit capable of undertaking a variety of tasks (Evans and Mountain, 2005). Perry (2004) has compared the use of artefacts in hunter-gatherer subsistence contexts to the modern kitchen experience. A tool may have a specialised function - peeling, grinding, et cetera - but the actual foods processed will vary during the artefact’s period of use.
Therefore, one can expect an artefact to carry residues from multiple sources, regardless of taphonomic considerations.
There is currently no singular method/approach for identifying plant taxa from unknown starch grains (examples include Barton and Paz, 2007; Fullagar et al., 2008; Lentfer,
2009; Perry, 2004; Piperno and Dillehay, 2008). A commonly used approach is to visually identify many points of similarities between archaeological grains and the relevant modern comparative reference collection. The greater the similarity of grain features between the unknown archaeological residue and a known plant species, then the more confidence can be placed in the former’s taxonomical identification (Barton and Paz, 2007; Perry, 2004). The ‘population signature’ approach was developed by
Piperno and Holst, with others (Holst et al., 2007; Piperno et al., 2000, 2004; Piperno and Dillehay, 2008); and has a quantitative element in the identification process. The basis for the population signature advises that combinations of multiple granule attributes are required to accurately identify a species. The method measures the relative proportions of selected diagnostic starch morphological attributes (Piperno and
Dillehay, 2008). The approach implemented for the analysis of the Ivane Valley materials has combined elements used by others and introduced further statistical analyses.
134 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
5.2.1. Testing the methods for identification
Statistical investigations (hierarchical cluster analysis and discriminant analysis) were conducted on modern starchy reference materials to explore the methods of starch taxa identification. The ‘variant’ was a tool Lentfer (2009) used to categorise different starch morphological types (refer to Section 4.4.1).
In her construction of these variants, Lentfer (2009) observed the variants were clustered into the three sections: Ensete, Australimusa, and Eumusa. A hierarchical cluster analysis was executed in an attempt to replicate the results. The hierarchical clustering method builds clusters based on their degree of similarities. The resulting dendrogram separated the variants into four clusters. A minor, fourth cluster was comprised solely of variants 5 and 6 (Fe’i banana, Figure 4.10); possibly because they were the only variants with sub-ovate and sub-ovoid grains (see Table 1 in Lentfer,
2009). There was also a lack of grouping between the samples according to their banana sections. The Australimusa section variants intermixed with the Eumusa section. The Ensete sample, which only has two variants (Figure 4.11), also had not formed its own distinct cluster. The outcome of the hierarchical analysis demonstrated that the process for the differentiation between banana species is complex. In light of this result, it was considered that the variant alone cannot be used to confidently identify unknown species from within a mixed population.
A discriminant analysis was performed on samples from the Ivane Valley reference collection (see Section 4.4.2.). Twelve plant species were tested. These were either endemic to PNG or related to endemic species. At the time of the analysis,
Castanopsis jacunda and Castanopsis sclerophylla were included as Castanopsis acuminatissima was not available at that time.
135 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
A cluster diagram of the discriminant analysis results was created. The cluster diagram of the discriminant analysis demonstrates a redundancy of starch morphologies between the species sampled (Figure 4.12). There is a large cluster of approximately nine different plant species that the multivariate analysis could not separate out. Only
Dioscorea bulbifera formed a distinct cluster, which was predicted, due to its highly distinctive grain morphology (triangular with lamellae and eccentric hilum).
Zingiberaceae sp. separated into two clusters. A large proportion of the Zingiberaceae sp. comprised rod-shaped grains and these can be easily differentiated from the other eleven plant species (Figure 5.1). The remaining grains were less distinctive and similar to the other plant species in the study: round to oval shaped grains with some lamellae.
Figure 5.1: The two starch grains variants of Zingiberaceae sp.: rod-shaped grains and round to oval shaped grains.
The discriminant analysis ranked discriminating attributes. The structure matrix presents the correlations between each variable in the analysis; and variables with correlations equal to or greater than 0.3 are generally considered important. Therefore, the length (0.892), width (0.628), and the position of the hilum (0.530) for the Ivane
136 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
Valley reference materials, are significant descriptors (Table 4.9). It was unsurprising that size was determined as the primary discriminator because it has been previously demonstrated to continually discriminate between species (examples include Cosgrove et al., 2007; Field et al., 2011; Loy, 1994; Loy et al., 1992; Lance et al., 2005; Liu et al.,
2010a, 2010b). For example, Hordeum marinum was excluded as the potential source
of starchy residues on grinding stones from Ohalo II (Israel) despite the presence of
numerous macrofossil remains because the granule sizes did not correspond (Piperno
et al., 2004). An analysis of starchy residues from a grinding stone from north-eastern
Queensland (Australia) also excluded the probability of the locally available Cycas
media nut because of significant incongruity in size (Cosgrove et al., 2007).
Shape (0.215) has minor importance within the list of attributes examined here (Table
4.9). Shape descriptors are very subjective and are often worded to cover the
variability of both the starch grains themselves, and the varied understanding between
researchers (Figure 5.2). For example, grains of a species are described as round to
oval, kidney-shaped or ‘irregular’. As such, shape can be a weakness in an attribute
list.
In summary, these statistical investigations demonstrated the extent of both the
dissimilarity and similarity of grain morphologies. The hierarchical analysis described
the variation of morphologies within a species, such as the Musa banana. The
discriminant analysis revealed the high degree of redundancy between species. Some
key starch grain attributes were identified with the statistical investigations and will be
useful in studies exploring grain shape, grain size and the position of the hilum. 2D
shape was less useful to discriminate between species. As Henry (2012) noted,
confidence in the identification of starch grains to their respective taxa relies upon an
experience and familiarisation of the suite of probable species. She effectively notes
137 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
that to study starch from any region, some familiarity with the flora and potential economic species from that region is essential.
Figure 5.2: List of attributes used to describe starch grains, compiled by Lentfer (2011). A single starch grain is described by assigning a characteristic from each attribute (1 – 12).
5.3. The ancient starch results
A step-wise approach was undertaken for the identification of the Ivane Valley stone tool use-related residues and utilised a region-specific modern reference collection
(see Section 3.3.). Most of the stone artefact residues represent a mixed population of plants. People exploited tubers, nuts, and other as yet unidentified plants during the
138 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
early to mid-Holocene. In the following section, details of the notable taxonomic identifications from this starch analysis will be discussed.
5.3.1. Dioscorea sp.
The antiquity of tuber and aroid exploitation in PNG has been determined through palaeobotanical studies. Some of the earliest archaeological evidence for their exploitation comes from the Solomon Islands, with the identification of Colocasia sp. residues (Loy et al., 1992). In the PNG highlands, the Ivane Valley and Kuk Swamp have identified yam (Dioscorea sp.) and taro (Colocasia esculenta) on stone artefacts
dated to the Pleistocene and the early-Holocene (Denham et al., 2003; Fullagar et al.,
2006; Summerhayes et al., 2010). It was plausible for the continued exploitation of tubers by humans on their return to the Ivane Valley in the early to mid-Holocene.
Tuber-like grains are characteristic (see Fullagar et al., 2006). They are relatively large, often greater than 20m in size, and have eccentric hila. Currently, none of the tuber- like grains within the Ivane Valley’s Holocene archaeological residues have been confidently identified to their plant taxa. For example, the ANOVA results for V08L2H-t indicated significance between the sample and Dioscorea hispida in terms of their grain size (Figure 4.14). When their granule shapes were considered as part of their population signatures, however, the tuber-like grains from V08L2H-t were mostly rod- shaped and not the triangular grains characteristic of D. hispida (Figure 4.6). It is further considered unlikely that D. hispida was within the Ivane Valley, as it is a predominantly lowland crop and has an altitudinal growth limit of 850m a.s.l. (Barker et al., 2007). Rather, the box plots, of the grain sizes of V08L2H and the other stone artefacts with tuber-like grains, have overlaps with Dioscorea alata (Figure 4.13). Their grains also broadly resembled D. alata in shape (Figure 4.13) (Section 4.2.2.). D. alata has a modern altitudinal growth limit of 1900m a.s.l. (Bourke, 2010).
139 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
The concentrations of tuber-like grains at each site show a localisation towards the ridges of the valley, particularly at Joe’s Garden and South Kov Ridge (Figure 4.7).
Yams are shade-sensitive and do not grow well in wet conditions (Lebot, 2009). The ridges can offer the necessary sun exposure and dry conditions for successful yam growth (Lebot, 2009:239-240). There are very few tuber-like grains at the site closest to the swamp, Airport Mound.
In summary, yams and other tubers were identified on flaked stone artefacts, close to the forest resources from where they were likely to be harvested. They were also consumed at campsites near the swamp.
5.3.2. Castanopsis acuminatissima
Tubers are a good source of dietary carbohydrates and often retain their nutritional properties without the need for storage for 4 to 6 months in tropical conditions (Lebot,
2009). It has been noted that a tuber-focused diet is, however, nutritionally poor and the missing proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals are often supplemented by secondary crops (Oomen, 1971; Powell, 1977). In the highlands, Pandanus sp. is highly valued as a food supplement (Hyndman, 1984). Dioscorea sp. provides 1.0 – 2.5g of protein and 0.05 – 0.2g of fat per 100g edible raw portion; whereas Pandanus nuts can have
24 – 28.9g of protein and 18 – 46.2g of fat per 100g edible raw portion (Miller et al.,
1993; Powell, 1976). The consumption of nuts as a supplement crop is common within
PNG (Bourke, 1996; Kennedy and Clarke, 2004). In his botanical surveys, Bourke
(1996) highlighted eleven out of 40 edible endemic nut species for their ‘very significant’ contribution in PNG diets. P. julianettii nuts were listed as ‘very significant’.
Another important tree crop is Castanopsis acuminatissima (Bourke, 1996; Powell,
1982). C. acuminatissima (from the Fagaceae family) is a dominant canopy tree in
140 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
mixed-montane PNG forests at altitudes of 500m and upwards (Womersley, 1995).
Castanopsis sp., with Lithocarpus sp., is ubiquitous in the local flora across the highlands since the Holocene (see Haberle et al., 1991; Hope, 1976, 2009; Paijmans,
1976). The pollen records within the Ivane Valley documented the transformation of
Pleistocene Nothofagus-dominated forests into secondary mixed-montane forests during the Holocene, in which Castanopsis-Lithocarpus sp. featured strongly (Hope,
2009) (Figure 5.3). The tree is used for tools, weapons, construction and building in
the Jimi Valley (Gorecki, 1989). C. acuminatissima nuts can also be eaten and are
non-toxic. Ford (2012) has recently observed local men eat wild C. acuminatissima
nuts during a hunting trip in the Ivane Valley.
Figure 5. 3: Pollen diagram of KPA core, derived from Kosipe Swamp. (After Hope, 2009).
141 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
C. acuminatissima grains are irregular-shaped with faceting and fissures (Table 4.13).
Four stone artefacts (JG07L2F, JG07L2J, JG07L2-3T and AER09L2AJ) had
Castanopsis sp. identified as a major component in their use-related residues (Table
4.12). The starch from these nuts was also noted across the analysed artefact assemblage as part of the mixed population of plants preserved on their surfaces
(Table 4.14). Overall, the results suggest the exploitation of C. acuminatissima by hunters across the valley.
Bourke (1996) identified two significant PNG mainland altitudinal zones for important modern tree crops: the highland fringe (600 – 1200m) and the high (and very high) altitudinal zones (1800 – 2400m). The highland fringe was notable for its wide variety of important tree species; for example, Aleurites moluccana (Candle nut), Artocarpus altilis (Breadfruit), Canarium indicum (Galip), Pangium edule (Sis), and Terminalia catappa (Sea almond). In contrast, the high altitudinal zones were mostly focused on the Pandanus (Karuka) nuts and C. acuminatissima was listed by Bourke (1996) to only have importance as a supplementary crop within the highland fringe environments in modern times. The prevalence of Castanopsis sp. starches on the Ivane Valley stone artefacts provides support to the exploitation of tree species other than
Pandanus sp. Bulmer and Bulmer (1964) have suggested the economic value of
Elaeocarpus sp., Castanopsis sp., Sloanea sp., Finschia sp. and Sterculia sp. for sustenance of hunter-gatherer groups in PNG highlands.
5.3.3. Pandanus sp.
Pandanus sp. is an important economic plant within PNG. The various species are utilised differently; some are valued for their leaves, others for their drupes, and some
142 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
for their fleshy exocarp (Lepofsky, 1992). Wild varieties are also culturally important as sources of sustenance during hunting trips into the forests (Hyndman, 1984).
The presence of humans within the Ivane Valley, a region at high altitudes, has often been associated with the exploitation of Pandanus sp. (Summerhayes et al., 2010;
White et al., 1970). Waisted axes and charred Pandanus remains were recovered from
the archaeological sequences (Summerhayes et al., 2010). A wild Pandanus sp.,
named ‘Taip’, was confirmed from morphometric analysis of Layers 3 and 4 macro-
remains (Summerhayes et al., 2010). Bulmer (1975) also noted that the Kosipe
Mission lacked the full range of stone tool technologies seen at Yuku, a contemporary
prehistoric hunting camp. It was concluded that the visits to Kosipe Mission were for a
more targeted activity (Bulmer, 1975), such as Pandanus sp. Foraging (White and
O’Connell, 1982).
Pandanus sp. has starchy plant material within the interior of its fruit (Figure 5.4), and
can therefore potentially be identified within the archaeological record (Table 4.7). P.
julianettii starch grains are simple, round grains, and generally less than 10m in
diameter and were not abundant. The starch grains documented in the archaeological
residues, however, were generally greater than 10m in length (Figure 4.13). It was
therefore deemed unlikely that Pandanus sp. starch residues were preserved on these
particular stone artefacts.
The absence of Pandanus sp. starch in the archaeological residues may be due to
other factors, because charred Pandanus sp. nutshells were excavated from Layer 2 at
South Kov Ridge and Vilakuav (Summerhayes et al., 2010). The absence of starch on
the stone artefacts suggests that these artefacts were not used for the processing of
Pandanus sp. The ethnographic literature is not directly comparable with the
behaviours recorded in the archaeology, but can provide useful analogies. Pandanus
sp. fruits can weigh between 5 and 10kg (Hyndman, 1984) and are often processed
143 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
near their groves. Bonnemere and Lemonnier (2002) described this practice from the
Eastern Highlands: the men collected the nuts, dried and smoked them in ‘Pandanus camps’, before they returned to their villages. P. antaresensis, which has the same altitudinal growth ranges as P. julianettii, have thick drupe shells and require two stones to crack open (Hyndman, 1984). There are a range of possible methods for splitting open Pandanus sp. fruits, other than stone tools. A coastal variety, P.
conoideus, was reported to have been opened and prepared with a cassowary femur
knife (Hyndman, 1984). Therefore, the absence of Pandanus sp. within the Ivane
Valley’s starch record is possible, despite the identification of preserved charred
Pandanus sp. macro-remains (Fairbairn et al., 2006; Summerhayes et al., 2010).
Figure 5.4: Fragment of a ripe Pandanus julianetti fruit, with its starchy sections labelled.
(Photo: Michael Lovave.)
144 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
5.3.4. Overview
The people who visited the Ivane Valley during the early to mid-Holocene were focused on the seasonally available forest resources. The starch results have identified the harvesting of Dioscorea sp. tubers and C. acuminatissima nuts. Starch residues resembling D. alata were identified, which is comparable to the residue results of stone
artefacts dated to the Pleistocene (Summerhayes et al., 2010). The KPA pollen core
analysed by Hope (2009) documented the rise of Castanopsis sp. between 8000 and
4000 BP. The forest became more diverse with increased secondary taxa, though
Pandanus sp. declined (Hope, 2009). Nevertheless, carbonised Pandanus sp. macro- remains were excavated from cultural sequences during the Holocene, indicating that it remained as a subsistence focus (Fairbairn et al., 2006; Summerhayes et al., 2010). In summary, the people who returned to the Ivane Valley during the Holocene continued to practice a hunting and gathering economy within the region.
5.4. The wider picture
The PNG highlands are well known for the emergence of tuber-based agriculture during the Holocene. For some, this reputation produced a negative effect on the New
Guinea archaeological narratives (Denham et al., 2009; Lourandos, 2008; Yen, 1995).
There was an expectation for prehistoric PNG communities to develop towards an
agricultural subsistence, thereby resulting in the marginalisation of the study of PNG
hunter-gatherer societies after the Pleistocene (Lourandos, 2008). The investigation of
starchy plant use during the Holocene in the Ivane Valley presented an opportunity to
explore the subsistence strategies of hunter-gatherers in the PNG highlands. The
145 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
results provide an interesting contrast to the agricultural developments at Kuk Swamp and the Wahgi Valley.
Barker (2006) has reviewed the history of the various models on the transitions from a hunter-gatherer economy to an agricultural economy, from the 19th to the 21st Century.
One of the major points he emphasised was the overall agreement by scholars of the
slow transition from ‘foragers’ to ‘farmers’. The relevant biological, cultural, and
ideological processes involved in plant and animal domestication, the development of
relevant technologies, and the integration for the ideologies of farming into their
societies, can involve many thousands of years. For Barker (2006:13), “the eventual
change from hunting to farming was probably the climax of a long process”. He
concluded that:
“...it seems more likely that in many instances foragers were
attempting to preserve their way of life at a time of stress, rather
than deliberately seeking to transform it.” – Barker, 2006:392
(italics are his).
The archaeological sequence from Niah Cave lends support to Barker’s model. Niah
Cave is a series of inter-connected caverns in the Gunung Subis massif of Sarawak,
Borneo. The archaeological record shows a discontinuous occupation through the
Pleistocene and the Neolithic, at 4000 – 2000 years BP (Barker et al., 2011). The rich cultural materials excavated from the Pleistocene and Mesolithic (early Holocene,
11,500 – 8000 BP) document a hunter and gatherer regime from tidal waterways, mangrove swamps, and rainforest environments (Barker et al., 2011).
Archaeobotanical studies of the cultural sediments have identified plant species, such as D. hispida and Alocasia sp., which require detoxification methods to render them edible (Barton, 2005; Barton and Paz, 2007). Of note, their reliance on tubers, fruits and nuts through hunting and gathering persisted during the Neolithic (Barker et al.,
146 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
2011:503). There were also rice remains identified in pottery temper dated to the
Neolithic (Barker et al., 2011; Doherty et al., 2000). Doherty et al. (2000) have concluded that the rice remains were likely to have been accidental inclusions. There is currently no evidence to strongly support local cultivation of rice (Barker et al., 2011).
Archaeological evidence across the PNG highlands also supports Barker’s model, with the repeated use of highland rock shelters and caves for hunting expeditions (see
Section 1.2.3.3). The faunal remains at Nombe document the continued consumption of wild forest resources (Evans and Mountain, 2005; Mountain, 1991). Gaffney’s (2013) lithics analysis at Kiowa also showed the continuation of broad-spectrum hunting, despite an increased site use and a reduced mobility of occupation.
The behaviour exhibited within the Ivane Valley during the early to mid-Holocene is representative of a continuation of mobile hunting and gathering practices, until at least
4000 cal. BP. There appears to be no interest in manipulating the environment for agriculture, as evidenced at other open highland sites.
5.4.1. The stone mortar (JG07L2F)
JG07L2F (Figure 5.5) is a mortar shoulder fragment excavated from Joe’s Garden in the Ivane Valley. It was recovered from Level 2 and has a close association with a charcoal dated to 4410 – 4160 cal. BP (G.R. Summerhayes 2014, pers. comm.;
Summerhayes et al., 2010). The fragment weighs 155.91g and has a cup depth of
4.7cm, height of 6.8cm, and maximum thickness between 1.5 and 4cm (Ford
2012:219-221). Cortex is present on the outer surface of the fragment and grinding is apparent on the interior surface. A bevelled top is indicative of grinding use (Ford,
2012:219). Residue sampled from the surface of this artefact resulted in the recovery of 135 starch grains (Table 4.1, Figure 4.1). On the basis of measurements and
147 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
morphological attributes, the predominant starch recovered was identified as
C. acuminatissima.
Stone mortars and pestles are ubiquitous across PNG. Over 120 stone mortars and 29 pestles were counted from most parts of the highlands, although not all have stratigraphic contexts (Bulmer and Bulmer, 1964; Swadling, 2005; Swadling and Hide,
2005). Only five mortar artefacts are from dated contexts (Table 5.1) (Bulmer and
Bulmer, 1964; Golson, 2000). Modern PNG communities have no knowledge of their manufacture or use of stone mortar and pestles and often have status as cult objects
(Ambrose, 1991; Aufenanger, 1960; Bulmer and Bulmer, 1964; McArthur, 2000).
Figure 5.5: Basalt mortar fragment from Joe’s Garden (JG07L2F). (After Ford, 2012).
Table 5.1: Locations of dated mortar finds in the Highlands.
AMS 14C date Site Location Site type Reference (years BP) Joe’s Garden Ivane Valley Open site 7489 32 Summerhayes et al. 3855 30 (2010) NFB Eastern Highlands Open site 3000 above Watson and Cole 3500 below (1977) Nombe Simbu Rock shelter <4500 White (1972) Warrawau Western Open site <5000 Golson (2000) Highlands Kuk Western Open site 7000 – 7500 Golson (2000) Highlands
148 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
It is thought that these mortar and pestles formed a single technological complex during the mid-Holocene, between 8000 and 3000 years (Bulmer and Bulmer, 1964;
Swadling and Hide, 2005). No stone mortar or pestles are found in Lapita sites
(Swadling and Hide, 2005). There are a few models regarding the use and significance of PNG prehistoric mortar and pestles, and their relationships with plant subsistence strategies. Ambrose (1991) suggested a correlation between mortar and pestles, although from the Admiralty Islands, and Piper sp. (kava). The processing of kava leaves with mortars was within the living memories of the inhabitants, for use in rituals and medicine (Ambrose, 1991).
Another model of interpretation focused on the evidence from the Sepik-Ramu, a coastal basin in the East Sepik and Madang provinces of northern PNG (Swadling,
2005; Swadling and Hide, 2005) and argues that the use of stone mortars and pestles was restricted to certain agricultural communities. The distribution of the stone mortar and pestles was said to be ‘irregular’, with the greatest density in the hinterlands of coastal embayments, particularly the Sepik-Ramu Sea and the Oro Coast (Swadling and Hide, 2005:295). The more elaborate forms of stone mortar and pestles were also concentrated to coastal regions, including the Sepik-Ramu, and are thought to be the point of origin for these artefacts (Swadling, 2005; Swadling and Hide, 2005). Today, the Sepik-Ramu region is a series of floodplains and swamps. During the Holocene, it was a shallow and brackish inland sea. The delta was of low salinity, and would have been suitable for agriculture, such as taro cultivation (Swadling, 1997).
Swadling and Hide (2005) proposed that the distribution of stone mortar and pestles can act as proxies for agriculturalists in the Holocene. There was an apparent relationship between the distribution of mortar and pestles and taro cultivation, possibly for the grinding of taro pudding or ‘paste’. They discovered that the distribution of
149 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
mortars and pestles coincided with areas with taro cultivation (Swadling and Hide, 2005;
Swadling et al., 2008). No mortar or pestle has been found in regions with another plant as their staple crops, such as banana or yam (Swadling and Hide, 2005). For
Swadling and Hide (2005), this pattern was also applicable in the PNG highlands. The proposed function for mortars and pestles in relation to taro, however, was based from ethnographic references (Swadling and Hide, 2005). Swadling and Hide (2005:296) admit that their model for the highlands has yet to be demonstrated with archaeological residue analyses.
An alternative explanation for the use of stone mortar and pestles in the highlands was proposed by Bulmer and Bulmer (1964). Based on their small size and dimensions, the mortars and pestles found in the highlands were proposed to have been used to process nuts and seeds, specifically C. acuminatissima and Elaeocarpus sp. (Bulmer and Bulmer 1964:70). It was argued that these artefacts were used during a period of root crop cultivation and a simultaneous reliance on forest resources, such as the economic nut-bearing trees (Bulmer and Bulmer, 1964). The decline of mortar and pestles in the archaeology was attributed to a decline in nut consumption (Bulmer and
Bulmer, 1964; Golson, 2000). However, Swadling and Hide (2005) has disagreed because there was no evidence for the processing of nuts with mortars and pestles in the ethnographic literature. The findings regarding JG07L2F are therefore a significant step towards resolving questions of mortar function within the highlands. It supports the interpretation that the use of mortars and pestles, within the highlands, more likely relates to pounding tree nuts and not the production of taro pudding (Swadling and
Hide, 2005).
What makes the presence of Castanopsis sp. on JG07L2F interesting is that
C. acuminatissima is non-toxic. Nuts from the Fagaceae family often contain tannins and other toxins, and their safe consumption requires detoxification processing. There
150 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
are many ethnographic accounts and archaeological evidence for these detoxification processes, often in the form of grinding and leeching (Basgall, 1987; Cosgrove et al.,
2007; Field et al., 2011; Liu et al., 2010a, 2010b). Gorecki (1989) witnessed an event where hundreds of Pangium edule seeds were processed in a site with six flat, large river stones. Fragmented nutshell remains have been excavated from late Holocene sites in the Australian tropical rainforests (Cosgrove et al., 2007). Residue analyses of excavated grinding stones from this same region found starches consistent with
Endiandra palmerstonii (Black walnut) and Beilschmiedia bancrofti (Yellow walnut)
(Cosgrove et al., 2007). Similarly, there are grinding stones with use-wear and starchy residues characteristic of acorn processing from early Holocene sites in North China
(Liu et al., 2010b).
A hypothesis for the high numbers of Castanopsis sp. starch grains on this mortar fragment is another pragmatic action. The pounding of nuts by the locals was observed during the 2013 field excursion into the Ivane Valley (J. Field 2013, pers. comm.). The action was explained for making the meal edible for their elderly (or the very young). The grinding of non-toxic nuts may imply the presence of complete family units up at the high altitudes of the Ivane Valley during the Holocene. These family units were likely to be small and mobile. The limited stone artefact recovery from Layer
2 (n = 45) was suggestive of the lack of permanent occupation, which differed from the trend for an increased sedentism in the Pleistocene Layers 3 and 4 (Ford, 2012:250-
251). Further, Ford (2012:252) concluded that the people’s mobility remained high during the Holocene. If the model for Pandanus sp. foraging remains valid, then their visits were likely to have lasted up to a few weeks. Bonnemere and Lemonnier (2002) have recorded outings of 2 – 3 weeks by the Eastern Highlanders, to collect and process Pandanus sp. at their ‘Pandanus camps’.
151 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
On the whole, the mortar fragment excavated from Joe’s Garden adds to the evidence for a foraging behaviour by mobile groups during the early to mid-Holocene. It does not provide evidence for a practice for taro cultivation within the Ivane Valley, or the production of taro puddings, as proposed by the research undertaken with the Sepik-
Ramu assemblages. Colocasia esculenta starch grains were not identified from the mortar surface (Figure 4.13). Overall, the lithics and palaeobotanical evidence within the Ivane Valley depicts a unique subsistence strategy in comparison with other open archaeological sites.
5.4.2. The Ivane Valley and Kuk Swamp
An approach for the interpretation of Sahul subsistence strategies and lifestyles was forwarded by Denham et al. (2009). Rather than emphasise the end-result of an agricultural society in PNG, they focused on the gradual accumulation of differences between regions. Each community underwent a process of ‘regional specialisation’.
According to Denham et al. (2009), a region was ‘bundled’ with a suite of local resources and abiotic contexts available to a particular community. A bundle associated with one community differed to the resources and conditions of other communities. It was through the nuanced intensification of certain behaviours that led to the distinctive lifestyles across Sahul. Therefore, the events occurring at Kuk
Swamp and the Wahgi Valley are not necessarily translatable at Kosipe Swamp and the Ivane Valley. The people within the Ivane Valley during the Holocene retained their hunting and gathering strategies and appear to have no interest in their swamp resources.
Kosipe Swamp dominates the valley floor. It is suspected that Kosipe Swamp was not conducive for drainage and cultivation, like the manner in the Baliem Valley and at Kuk
152 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
Swamp. Aerial observations and photography also show a lack of evidence for prehistoric drainage networks (J. Field 2013, pers. comm.). The KPA pollen core analysed by Hope (2009) was taken from Kosipe Swamp and about 450m east of the
Kosipe Mission site. The aquatic taxa increased dramatically during the Holocene.
Hope (2009) inferred the increased wet conditions around 6000 cal. BP were indicative of a ‘drainage disruption’ in the swamp. There was an ‘invasion’ of new mire species, and Kosipe Swamp became peaty. There was a probable rapid increased retention of water within the swamp (Hope, 2009:2274).
Kuk Swamp, within the Wahgi Valley, is an ancient example of systematic wetland manipulation by humans for plant exploitation, leading to tuber cultivation (Denham et al., 2004b). The early archaeological phases (Phases 1 – 3) are contemporary with the occupation of Ivane Valley, between 10,000 and 4000 cal. BP (Denham et al., 2004b).
There is current debate about the artificial nature of the early palaeochannels from
Phases 1 and 2. According to Denham, the evidence is equivocal about their origins; whereas Golson and Hughes interpreted the straightness and placement of these palaeochannels to have only been able to be formed by the work of people (Denham et al., 2004b). Regardless, it is agreed that people were manipulating the swamp since c.10,000 years BP (Phase 1). Wetland cultivation of Colocasia esculenta (taro) and
Musa sp. (banana) was in train by 6950 cal. BP (Phase 2), (Denham et al., 2003;
Denham et al., 2004b; Fullagar et al., 2006).
The archaeological evidence at Kuk Swamp reveals a practice of alternating wetland and dry land cultivation since c.10,000 years BP (Denham et al., 2004b:259). The increasing use of the swamp for agricultural purposes is thought to be related to the recovery of the forest (Golson, 1974). The increased rate of soil erosion into the swamp, creating the distinct ‘grey clay’ layer between the phases, was suspected to have derived from the repeated forest clearings of a shifting cultivation regime (Golson,
153 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
1991a, 1991b, 2007). The ‘high pulses’ of charcoal in the pollen diagrams of the valley are representative periodic forest burning and corroborates the practice of shifting cultivation within the forests (Denham et al., 2004a). For Golson (1974), the exploitation of the swamp placed less stress on forest resources. Eventually, the establishment of permanent grasslands by 6950 – 6440 cal. BP represented a decreased variability of forest resources (Golson, 1974; Haberle et al., 2012).
Therefore, for both Golson and Yen, what was ‘lost in the bush’ due to the forest clearings needed to be replaced by other means. This was in the form of mixed-crop gardens, and then soil tillage as the swamp became more difficult to manage (Golson,
1982).
From Denham and Barton’s (2006) perspective, the degree of residential mobility was another significant factor in the increased use of wetland resources at Kuk Swamp.
Hunter-gatherer communities during the Pleistocene were faced with a wide spread distribution and seasonality of resource patches, forcing the communities to be highly mobile. The foraging ranges of the prehistoric hunter-gatherers are expected to be greater than the modern foraging communities recorded in the ethnographies (Denham and Barton, 2006:255). The targeted resources also involved minimal processing and were not stored prior to consumption. Therefore communities were not obligated to remain within an area, as would be expected from a seed-based agricultural system
(Denham and Barton, 2006:261). Denham and Barton (2006) suspect that it was a reduced mobility which led to the increased reliance on nearby patches of wild resources and swidden cultivation in the Wahgi Valley.
The pattern of subsistence behaviour documented at Kuk Swamp, approximately
450km to the northwest of Kosipe Swamp, appears to not have occurred within the
Ivane Valley. Rather, the people within the Ivane Valley successfully developed strategies appropriate to their environment, between 8000 and 4000 cal. BP. There
154 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
was a continuation of hunting and gathering economies and the people remained highly mobile (Ford, 2012:250-251). The different use of the Ivane Valley, compared to the other archaeological sites in the highlands, may have been affected by its physical location. The sites in the Ivane Valley are approximately 2000m a.s.l. and there is a lack of easy access into the region (J. Field 2014, pers. comm.). The local climate and high altitudes may have also been too stressful for the successful cultivation of traditional plants, such as yam and taro (Bayliss-Smith, 1985; Brookfield, 1964).
5.4.3. The impact of Kuk Swamp in the archaeological narrative of
New Guinea
Kuk Swamp and its technological developments have made a significant impact in the archaeological narrative of New Guinea. The expectation for prehistoric PNG communities to involve an agricultural subsistence during the Holocene has controlled the research designs and interpretations of the data (Denham et al., 2009; Lourandos,
2008; Yen, 1995). For Lourandos (2008:72), prehistory was often structured by an environmentally-deterministic socio-cultural transformation. The emphasis on their active manipulation of the environment, such as forest clearing with fire and/or stone tools in archaeological interpretations, was reminiscent of agricultural practices
(Lourandos, 2008). However, the evidence for agriculture was rare outside of the
Wahgi Valley (G.R. Summerhayes 2014, pers. comm.).
Summerhayes et al. (2009) have reviewed the New Guinea archaeological record for the human impacts of their subsistence practices on their environments. The authors examined Lapita sites across the Bismarck Archipelago. Lapita peoples were agriculturalists: residue studies of their pottery resulted in the identification of
C. esculenta and aroid starches and Eumusa phytoliths (Summerhayes et al.,
155 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
2009:738). Lapita peoples also raised domesticated pig, chicken and dogs
(Summerhayes et al., 2009). In their review, Summerhayes et al. (2009) have identified further archaeological and environmental ‘fingerprints’ of agricultural activities.
For example, Apalo was a village of stilt houses in the Arawe Islands. Over thousands of years, the soil erosion from their gardens settled behind their stilt houses. This, combined with their midden rubbish, formed a dam and artificial lagoon (Summerhayes et al., 2009). Similar major environmental changes were identified at Talepakemalai and Kamgot (Summerhayes et al., 2009).
Environmental impacts made by ancient agricultural activities are visible at Kuk Swamp; through their extensive use of the swamps, soil erosion into the swamp, and the establishment of permanent grasslands (Denham et al., 2004b; Haberle et al., 2012;
Hughes et al., 1991). Yet, the technology developed within Kuk Swamp can be considered to have been locally restricted and there was no transfer of knowledge across the highland cordillera. Denham (2005) has summarised the data of other archaeological sites with similar ditch networks. A result is the demonstration of their close proximity to each other, with most from within the Wahgi Valley (Denham, 2005a)
(Figure 5.6). Most of these sites also have Kuk Swamp’s Phase 3 features (Denham,
2005a).
5.5. Summary and conclusions
There were two components of this research. The first was an exploration of the methodological approaches to the study of ancient starch residues. This was achieved through the use of hierarchical cluster analysis and discriminant analysis on modern starchy reference materials. Both statistical investigations demonstrated that ancient
156 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
starch analyses are complicated by a redundancy of granule size and shape between plant species, and significant variation within species (see Section 5.2.1.).
Figure 5.6: Map of the wetland sites with evidence for ditch network systems. (After
Denham, 2005a).
From a methodological viewpoint, the method used in this thesis, to analyse and identify the archaeological starchy residues, is a positive way forward in the identification of archaeological starch residues. This method builds upon approaches
157 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
currently used by other ancient starch researchers, such as the effectiveness of granule size as a discriminator (examples include Cosgrove et al., 2007; Field et al.,
2011; Loy, 1994; Loy et al., 1992; Lance et al., 2005; Liu et al., 2010a, 2010b) and the population signature approach used in South American archaeological studies (Holst et al., 2007; Piperno and Dillehay, 2008; Piperno et al., 2004). This method also takes into account the variability of starch grains within a species by focusing upon the starch populations to make taxonomic identifications, rather than individual grains.
It may be argued, however, that the use of 2D shape information is a weakness of the method applied in this ancient starch analysis. 2D information has been recognised to be less effective than 3D granule shape to differentiate between species (ICSN, 2011).
Whereas over 100 grains were measured per modern reference sample, to account for the various orientations that may occur; similar starch numbers are not guaranteed to have been preserved within archaeological residues and therefore reduce the efficacy of this method. Further development of this method will look to incorporate 3D shape information to improve its practicality to interpret archaeological residues.
The second, and primary, component of this research was the exploration of the archaeobotanical record of the Ivane Valley during the early to mid-Holocene. As part of the process, the preservation of starch grains within the Ivane Valley was assayed, and patterns in the stone artefact use to process starchy plants were examined. The preservation of ancient starch grains on the stone artefacts was excellent, despite the open nature of the archaeological sites. The starch residue study has also validated the value of unmodified stone artefacts – artefacts with no evidence for modification or usewear – as subsistence-related artefacts. These were used to process starch plants, as were stone flakes and tools.
The ancient starch study was undertaken to identify the range of starchy plants exploited by the people as they returned to the valley. Dioscorea sp. and
158 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
C. acuminatissima starches were identified from stone artefacts across the valley.
C. acuminatissima was the predominant starch identified from at least four artefacts, including a stone mortar fragment. The other stone artefact demonstrated the exploitation of a mixed population of starchy plants.
The spread of the individual archaeological sites in the valley allowed for some observation of spatial patterns in plant use. Overall, the starch results indicate that the hunter-gatherers returned to the Ivane Valley and focused on the forest resources, rather than the swamp and rivers. The greatest concentrations of tuber-like starches were on the ridges at Joe’s Garden and South Kov Ridge. C. acuminatissima was a
common species noted in the archaeological starch assemblage across the sites.
There was also a temporal scale available in the interpretation of the Ivane Valley
archaeological record. The Holocene starch results show no significant changes in
their subsistence strategies, when compared with its Pleistocene archaeobotanical
record (Fairbairn et al., 2006; J. Field 2013, pers. comm.; Summerhayes et al., 2010).
Observation of tuber-like grains with morphological similarities with D. alata (see
Section 5.3.1.) are consistent with the starch residues from Layer 3 and 4 stone
artefacts from Joe’s Garden and South Kov Ridge (J. Field 2013, pers. comm.;
Summerhayes et al., 2010). Human presence in the Ivane Valley during the
Pleistocene was often associated with the exploitation of Pandanus sp. (Summerhayes
et al., 2010, White et al., 1970). There were no for Pandanus sp. residues identified in
its Holocene archaeological starch record. This does not mean, however, that the plant
was not consumed. On the contrary, excavated charred Pandanus sp. remains from
Layer 2 at South Kov Ridge and Vilakuav is evidence for the species’ continued
exploitation in the valley (Summerhayes et al., 2010).
Finally, this research had potential to examine the relationships between the Ivane
Valley and Kuk Swamp in the Wahgi Valley. The general view of subsistence
159 Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation
strategies in Holocene PNG highlands have been heavily biased by the archaeological discoveries within the Wahgi Valley. The overall evidence from contemporaneous open archaeological sites, such as the Ivane Valley, however, does not demonstrate similar agricultural economies. The ancient starch analyses, presented here, give no evidence for systematic, agricultural practices within the Ivane Valley during the early to mid-Holocene. The mortar fragment, JG07L2F, contests the possibility of taro cultivation for the consumption of taro puddings. Further, Kosipe Swamp may not have been favourable for wetland cultivation of taro, yams and banana, like at Kuk Swamp.
The agricultural subsistence at Kuk Swamp appears to have been largely localised to the Wahgi Valley in the highlands during the Holocene.
Overall, the starch results indicated that a mixed population of starchy plants were exploited: tubers, nuts, possibly ferns, and unidentified plant species. The Ivane
Valley’s ‘bundle’ of technology had not included wetland agricultural techniques, despite the dominant presence of Kosipe Swamp and the emergence of wetland agriculture at Kuk Swamp, approximately 450km to the northwest. The people returning to the Ivane Valley during the early to mid-Holocene had retained their hunting and gathering strategies, and made opportunistic use of their local environments.
160
Chapter Six.
Conclusions
There have been few direct investigations of the nature of plant strategies in PNG highlands, particularly of hunter-gatherers during the Holocene. This study of the archaeological starch record from the Ivane Valley was part of a collaborative project, and aimed to illuminate the character and continuity of starchy plant use by foragers in the early to mid-Holocene (c.8000 – c.4000 cal. BP).
The starch analyses, of both modern reference materials and archaeological residues, has found that a combination of techniques was necessary to handle the complexity in the taxonomical identification of unknown starch residues: the examination of the maximum size of the grain; the calculation of the variability in their shape and surface features; and an understanding of the potential for the plant’s presence in the archaeological record. The process gave increasing confidence to our identification and interpretations.
The investigation of the Ivane Valley Layer 2 starch residues showed that there were some differences in the use of stone artefacts. There was the expedient use of the artefacts to process a mixed population of plants, which included Dioscorea sp. tubers and Castanopsis acuminatissima nuts. The stone mortar fragment also gave direct evidence for the pounding of C. acuminatissima. This stone mortar result implies the
possibility of family groups, and mobile hunting parties, visiting the valley. Chapter Six. Conclusions
Another outcome of this study is the inference of the complexity in human behaviours and subsistence strategies during the Holocene in the PNG highlands. It appears that a variety of subsistence strategies coexisted in separate regions along the cordillera.
The archaeological record of the Ivane Valley presented interesting contrasts with Kuk
Swamp. There was an absence of swamp use in the valley, in contrast to the intensive wetland exploitation seen at Kuk Swamp. Also in contrast with the stone artefact residue analyses from Kuk Swamp (Denham et al., 2003; Fullagar et al., 2006),
Colocasia esculenta starch grains were not documented within the Layer 2 ancient starch record of the Ivane Valley.
Overall, the Ivane Valley was likely to have been visited by family groups, for hunting game and for foraging Pandanus sp. The people were focused on the forest resources, in the early to mid-Holocene, and consumed Dioscorea sp. yams and Castanopsis sp. nuts during their activities within the valley.
162
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183
Appendix.
The following are representative images of the starch grains collected for the modern comparative reference collection, developed for the Ivane Valley. They are organised alphabetically by Family and then genus.
Araceae
Amorphophallus paeonifolius Colocasia sp.
Colocasia esculenta Colocasia fallax
Appendix.
Homalomena sp. Cyrtosperma chamissonis
Xanthosoma sagittifolium
Arecaceae
Hydriastele sp. Metroxylon sagu
185 Appendix.
Convolvulaceae Gnetaceae
Ipomoea batatas Gnetum gnemon
Cyatheaceae
Cyathea sp.
186 Appendix.
Dioscoreaceae
Dioscorea alata Dioscorea bulbifera
Dioscorea esculenta Dioscorea hispida
Dioscorea nummularia Dioscorea pentaphylla
187 Appendix.
Fabaceae
Psophocarpus tetragonolobus Pueraria lobata
Fagaceae
Castanopsis acuminatissima
188 Appendix.
Musaceae Musa acuminata Musa peekelii
Pandanaceae Pandanus julianettii
Zingiberaceae
189