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Early Agriculture in the Highlands of New Guinea: an Assessment of Phase 1 at Kuk Swamp

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Early Agriculture in the Highlands of New Guinea: an Assessment of Phase 1 at Kuk Swamp © Copyright Australian Museum, 2004 Records of the Australian Museum, Supplement 29 (2004): 47–57 ISBN 0-9750476-3-9 Early Agriculture in the Highlands of New Guinea: An Assessment of Phase 1 at Kuk Swamp TIM DENHAM Department of Archaeology, School of Humanities, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia [email protected] ABSTRACT. The wetland archaeological evidence for Phase 1 at Kuk Swamp, Wahgi Valley, Papua New Guinea, is evaluated in terms of previous interpretations of the artificiality and agricultural function of the palaeochannel and palaeosurface. The evaluation concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to warrant claims of artificiality for the palaeochannel and some palaeosurface elements. Drawing on previous multi-stranded arguments proposed by Jack Golson and Philip Hughes, new lines of multi- disciplinary evidence suggest a revised interpretation of the wetland archaeological evidence for Phase 1 at Kuk does not negate a long-term trajectory towards agriculture in the highlands of New Guinea from the Early Holocene. DENHAM, TIM, 2004. Early agriculture in the highlands of New Guinea: an assessment of Phase 1 at Kuk Swamp. In A Pacific Odyssey: Archaeology and Anthropology in the Western Pacific. Papers in Honour of Jim Specht, ed. Val Attenbrow and Richard Fullagar, pp. 47–57. Records of the Australian Museum, Supplement 29. Sydney: Australian Museum. Agriculture in the highlands: an old concern Phase 1 at Kuk Swamp, the only site for which agriculture at 9,000 B.P. has been claimed (Golson, 1977, 1989, 1991; The development and antiquity of agriculture in the Golson & Hughes, 1980; Hope & Golson, 1995: 824). highlands of New Guinea, particularly its antiquity, have Although the specific interpretations have changed through been continual concerns since the first archaeological time, it has been consistently argued that wetland excavations in the region. Bulmer sought to elicit signatures agricultural practices were conducted as part of a broader of a transition to agriculture from the lithic assemblages land use strategy that included dryland environments within collected during her excavations at Yuku and Kiowa rock the catchment (Bayliss-Smith, 1996: 509). The evolution shelters in 1959–1960 (Bulmer, 1964, 1966). She suggested of these interpretations will not be reviewed here because that “the direct proof of agriculture must depend on pollen the aim of this paper is to interrogate the evidence upon analysis, on the future fortunes of archaeology in obtaining which they have been based. organic remains, and on the analysis and dating of ditches The interpretation of agricultural activities at Kuk at and drains of agricultural derivation” (Bulmer, 1966: 152). 9,000 B.P. has always been controversial. Golson originally In this paper, multiple forms of evidence claimed to viewed the artificiality of the evidence for Phase 1 with indicate the presence of agriculture in the highlands of New scepticism and uncertainty (Golson, 1977: 613–614). Since Guinea at approximately 9,000 radiocarbon years before then, he has referred to the agricultural interpretation of present (B.P.) are assessed. The main focus of the paper is a Phase 1 as “indirect and unusual” (Golson, 1982: 56), presentation of the wetland archaeological evidence for “possible” (Golson, 1991: 484) and as being based on www.amonline.net.au/pdf/publications/1401_complete.pdf 48 Records of the Australian Museum, Supplement 29 (2004) analogies with more recent prehistoric evidence (Golson, total, over 200 trenches were excavated, and archaeological 1991: 485; Hope & Golson, 1995: 824). In recent years, and stratigraphic recording occurred along approximately the nature and significance of the early phases at Kuk, 10 km of modern plantation drain (Fig. 1). From the particularly Phase 1, have been called into question within thousands of features, mostly prehistoric field drains and the broader archaeological community (e.g., Spriggs, 1996: house sites, Golson identified six major periods of 528). Indeed, some reviews of the global origins of prehistoric agricultural drainage (Table 1). agriculture question whether New Guinea was an The archaeological evidence for Phase 1 was exposed in independent centre due to the equivocal nature of the early relatively few trenches and plantation drains (Fig. 2). The evidence at Kuk (e.g., Smith, 1998: 142–143). majority of trenches were designed to investigate more recent The wetland archaeological evidence for Phase 1 at Kuk, drainage phases, and did not penetrate down sufficiently to together with evaluations of its artificiality and agricultural expose the older stratigraphy. The evidence for Phase 1 was function are presented in the first half of the paper. However, located in the southeastern portion of the plantation, close Golson, both individually and with Hughes, has drawn on to a former margin of the wetland. Test excavations located a wide range of evidence to support a claim of agriculture to the north did not detect any artificial features beneath at 9,000 B.P. (Golson, 1977, 1991; Golson & Hughes, 1980). the grey clay or equivalent stratigraphic unit. In the second half of this paper, and in accordance with Golson’s multi-stranded approach, a range of new evidence Table 1. Prehistoric agricultural phases at Kuk Swamp (Golson, and ideas with a bearing on agricultural origins in New 1982). All ages given in uncalibrated radiocarbon years. Guinea is briefly reviewed. This review concludes with a re-evaluation of the idea of agricultural origins at 9,000 B.P. phase age (B.P.) in the New Guinea highlands. 6 250–100 Phase 1 at Kuk: the evidence 5 400–250 4 2,000–1,200 Golson and co-workers intensively investigated Kuk Swamp 3 4,000–2,500 in the 1970s and 1980s, with additional fieldwork being 2 6,000–5,500 undertaken in 1998 and 1999 by Denham and Golson. In 1 c. 9,000 Fig. 1. Location map depicting excavations at Kuk. Denham: Early Agriculture in the Highlands of New Guinea 49 The evidence for Phase 1 at Kuk Swamp has two main The palaeochannel inter-related components, a major palaeochannel and a palaeosurface comprised of inter-cut features. The pre-grey The major palaeochannel was traced in excavation trenches clay palaeosurface was inferred to be “chronologically and and plantation drain walls across the southeast portion of perhaps functionally associated” (Golson, 1982: 56) with the plantation (Fig. 2). The field evidence suggested that it the palaeochannel. The evidence and possible interpretations flowed northeast across the wetland margin, that it was of each major component are described below. relatively wide and shallow and that it dated to approx- Stratigraphically, the palaeochannel and palaeosurface imately 9,000 B.P. (Golson & Hughes, 1980). The were filled and sealed by a massively structured grey clay. palaeochannel was presumed to have been dug in order to The grey clay was a component of a fan emerging from the divert drainage waters from the southern catchment away low-lying hills and drainage basin to the south of the from the swamp margin, thereby enabling cultivation of wetland. Similar deposits, superimposed on Pleistocene adjacent surfaces (Golson, 1977: 614; Golson & Hughes, fans, extended south onto the northern margins of the 1980: 298). Four aspects of the palaeochannel have been wetland from a ridge to the north (Ep Ridge). The grey clay proposed as indicators of its artificiality: straightness of has been interpreted to represent accelerated erosion course, passage through elevated areas, morphology, and (Hughes, 1985; Hughes et al., 1991), which was a product its temporal occurrence and duration (Golson, 1991: 484; of agricultural clearing for swidden-type, dryland cultivation J. Golson & P.J. Hughes, pers. comm.). Each aspect is (Golson, 1991: 485). It has been presumed that deposition discussed in detail below. of this fan commenced with the abandonment of the short- Firstly, the straightness of the palaeochannel’s course lived Phase 1 palaeochannel, which occurred at c. 9,000 between marked curvatures was suggested as an indicator B.P.; formerly the palaeochannel had transported sediments of its artificiality through analogy with the major away from the swamp margin. palaeochannels of later phases (Golson, 1991: 484). In a Fig. 2. Map of palaeochannel course relative to Phase 1 excavations (e.g., T-A12b/75–77) and plantation drains (e.g., drain A12a/b) with inset of previous course depiction (latter based on P.J. Hughes plan). 50 Records of the Australian Museum, Supplement 29 (2004) previous reconstruction, undertaken while fieldwork was was adopted by the original excavators based on the apparent ongoing, the course of the palaeochannel was not entirely passage of the palaeochannel through a locally elevated straight and changed direction markedly in at least two mound (implied in Golson, 1991: 484). locations (Golson, 1977: 615; Fig. 2 inset). The straight Based on a reconstruction of the Phase 1 palaeosurface sections of the palaeochannel were considered unlikely to have topography and an examination of associated stratigraphic formed naturally across this low gradient swamp margin. sections, the palaeochannel did not cut through significantly Replotting of the palaeochannel’s course, based on the elevated ground. The area of greatest interest includes blocks excavation trenches and plantation drains in which it was A12b, A12c and A12d (Fig. 3). Between drains A12a/b and exposed, clearly shows that straight sections are
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