Papuan pasts: Cultural, linguistic and biological histories of Papuan-speaking peoples (review)

Abstract

some stronger or more innovative than others, but all together offering an intellectual feast from the ranks of midcareer and younger scholars of Australia and the Pacific. It demonstrates without question that the field is alive and exciting. Whether the book coheres as well as it might as an integrated overview for undergraduate students, as the series editors claim, is another question. My own view is that it will provide an important sampling of contemporary perspectives, but would be hard pressed to stand alone as a single textbook for an introductory course; the gaps in coverage are too many. But this is a critique perhaps overly focused on sins of omission rather than commission. It is an