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Origins of agriculture at Kuk Swamp in the highlands of New Guinea

journal contribution
posted on 2003-10-11, 00:00 authored by T Denham, S Haberle, C Lentfer, R Fullagar, J Field, M Therin, Nicholas PorchNicholas Porch, B Winsborough
Multidisciplinary investigations at Kuk Swamp in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea show that agriculture arose independently in New Guinea by at least 6950 to 6440 calibrated years before the present (cal yr B.P.). Plant exploitation and some cultivation occurred on the wetland margin at 10,220 to 9910 cal yr B.P. (phase 1), mounding cultivation began by 6950 to 6440 cal yr B.P. (phase 2), and ditched cultivation began by 4350 to 3980 cal yr B.P. (phase 3). Clearance of lower montane rainforests began in the early Holocene, with modification to grassland at 6950 to 6440 cal yr B.P. Taro (Colocasia esculenta) was utilized in the early Holocene, and bananas (Musa spp.) were intensively cultivated by at least 6950 to 6440 cal yr B.P.

History

Journal

Science

Volume

301

Issue

5630

Pagination

189 - 193

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Location

Washington, D.C.

ISSN

0036-8075

eISSN

1095-9203

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2003, American Association for the Advancement of Science

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