Research in the Mountains of the Island of New Guinea

Abstract

This paper summarizes the studies, both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, that have been carried out in the central cordillera of the island of New Guinea, both in the western sector, Irian Jaya which is part of Indonesia, and in the eastern sector which is the nation of Papua New Guinea. The highland valleys between 1,200 and 2,850 m have been inhabited by relatively large populations since prehistoric times. Early studies, beginning in the 1950s, were mainly ecological and related the people to their environment but more recent work has emphasized change and continuity through time, reconstructing landscapes and climates from prehistoric times, through a brief period of colonialization, to present independence. The landscape, with cultivation dependent on the sweet potato and pig breeding, is a result of environmental, economic, and social factors. Of concern for human occupation of the highlands are severe droughts, killing frosts, and heavy rains, and the possible consequences of global warming. The implications of research in terms of practical management relate to the effectiveness of indigenous land-use systems and their sensitivity to climatic and other variables.