Abstract

AbstractHere, we report on the results of microCT scanning and Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating of fragments of charred archaeological parenchyma collected from surface deposits at Nombe rockshelter in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Five fragments are taxonomically identified as sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas). Two subsamples from the largest fragment yield a combined AMS date range of c. 300–148 calBP (with median probabilities of 187 and 195 calBP respectively). Although post‐dating European voyaging in the Indo‐Pacific, these findings contribute to the corpus of information regarding the antiquity of sweet potato on the island of New Guinea.

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