West Sepik Research Articles

Linguistic prehistory of Papuan-Austronesian contact: An Abu' Arapesh case study

ABSTRACTNew Guinea was settled by ancestors of present day Papuan-speaking communities 40,000 years ago. Between 3 and 5 millennia BP, waves of Austronesians (AN) followed and settled mostly on the offshore islands and along some coastal areas of the New Guinea mainland. According to a well-received view, AN Diaspora originated from Taiwan and dispersed from there to inhabit much of island Southeast Asia, Malagasy and islands of the South Pacific. Austronesian colonisation was augmented by their superior cultural traits including horticulture and marine technology. In their conquest they assimilated weaker, nomadic pre-AN aboriginal communities as was the case with the Negritos of northern Philippines; settled beside or with earlier sedentary communities as was the case in Western Melanesia; or settled on uninhabited islands in Eastern Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia (Pawley & Ross, 1995). Beside demographic movements, other forces were at work. Trade-induced contact between Asia and New Guinea was in place before European contact. A trade link promoted by the Sultan of Tidor was extended to involve some communities of West New Guinea (now Irian Jaya) and the West Sepik Province some 5,000 years ago. As a result, trade items such as plumes of the kumul (bird of paradise), spices, sandalwood, aromatic barks and sea slugs from “islands of the coast of Western New Guinea “found their way into the Middle East markets about 4,000 years ago (Swadling, 1996). Other internal or external forces such as intermarriages and so on were at work also (see Bellwood, 1978). This fairly brief prehistory of what went on in the northern region of New Guinea raises questions about possible cross-cultural or cross-linguistic influences. Indeed, it does pose a challenge to those who endeavour to piece together a pre-linguistic history of lexical “ruins” found to suggest cognate relationships among languages of the northern region of New Guinea. This essay attempts to adumbrate a linguistic etymology of “loan cognates” that Abu', a Papuan language of the Torricelli Phylum of the central Sepik region, shares with AN languages. It commences with a list of lexical items and statements about their etymologies. This approach inescapably leads to a delineation of the kinds of attitudes the Abu' have towards foreign linguistic elements. The paper concludes with a typological statement about grammatical typology as an additional explanation to both the Papuan-Austronesian contact, and the trade-link theory as bases for the diffusion of areal or regional linguistic features among languages of the East Sepik and Sandaun (West Sepik) provinces.

Becoming Sinners: Christianity and Desire among the Urapmin of Papua New Guinea

This article considers the way Christianity has transformed notions of desire among the Urapmin of the West Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea. While Melanesian cargo cults have generally been understood as generated by a relatively comprehensible set of desires, Urapmin Christianity has focused not on realizing desires but rather on defining and controlling them. In its efforts to exercise such control, Christianity has come into conflict with traditional Urapmin social structure. The latter depended upon a dialectical relationship between willfulness and lawfulness that allowed them both to be valued and to set limits on one another. By demonizing all willfulness, Christianity has made sinners of those Urapmin who operate successfully within that social structure. After tracing the way Christianity has created this contradiction, this article concludes by examining new Christian rituals that have developed in order to allow people to resolve some of its effects on their lives. (Christianity, desire, Melanesia, social structure, ritual) The study of religious movements in Papua New Guinea has recently been dominated by a rethinking of the anthropological analysis of cargo cults. Critics have argued that the notion of the cargo cult is a faulty analytic construct (McDowell 1988), a projection of Western models of desire onto Melanesians (Lindstrom 1993), or a concept forged in pursuit of colonial domination (Lattas 1992; Kaplan 1995). One consequence of these claims has been the reopening of ethnographic questions long since thought closed about the nature of colonial and postcolonial Melanesian religious activity. Until recently, educational programs, local development groups, Christian churches, national elections, or almost anything of interest to Melanesians were liable to be described as a cargo cult by some social scientist (for examples, see Swatridge 1985; Walter 1981; see Lindstrom 1993:ch. 3 for a review). At present, by contrast, it is not clear what, if anything, should be described in those terms. This situation presents an opportunity to begin thinking about contemporary Melanesian religion in new ways. This article considers the role of ideas about desire in the Christian religion of the Urapmin of West Sepik Province. As in other parts of Papua New Guinea, Christianity in Urapmin is focused on the millennial themes of Jesus's imminent return and God's impending judgment, and this lends it at least a superficial similarity to cargoism (cf. Gibbs 1977; Guiart 1970; Kempf 1992; Kulick 1992; Lawrence and Meggitt 1965; Ryan 1969). Yet there are at least two striking differences between Urapmin Christianity and cargo religion as the latter has usually been understood, and both differences turn on the role desire plays within Urapmin Christianity. First, for the Urapmin, questions about the nature of desire--about what is desirable and how desires should be acted upon--are one of the primary forces driving their Christian belief and practice. While classic accounts of cargo cultism always acknowledge the very intense desires that drive these movements, they tend to treat these desires as fixed and unproblematic: people are seeking political autonomy in the face of colonial domination (Worsley 1968), moral equivalence with the colonizers (Burridge 1960; Lawrence 1971 [1964]), or cognitive consistency in situations of radical change (Lawrence 1971 [1964]). Instead of considering in detail how people formulated such desires, these authors (with the partial exception of Burridge) primarily investigate the way people go about achieving their goals. It is the means employed in cargo cults (the rituals that mimic colonial routines, the gardens left abandoned, etc.), rather than the desires that put these means in motion, that require explanation. In Urapmin, by contrast, it is desire itself that religious activity seeks to understand and control. …

A new species of Dorcopsinema Mawson, 1977 (Nematoda: Cloacinidae) from the tree kangaroo Dendrolagus mbaiso (Marsupialia: Macropodidae) from Irian Jaya, Indonesia and new host records for Dorcopsinema dendrolagi

A new species, Dorcopsinema mbaiso, from Dendrolagus mbaiso from Irian Jaya, Indonesia is described. It is most similar to D. dendrolagi, the other species of Dorcopsinema occurring in tree-kangaroos, but can be distinguished from it in having a distinct fleshy collar surrounding the buccal capsule, deirids close to the collar, shorter spicules (1,055 µm versus 1,420 in D. dendrolagi), the dorsal lobe of the bursa longer than the lateral lobe rather than the same length as in D. dendrolagi, and the dorsal ray with vestigial lateral branches versus longer lateral branches in D. dendrolagi. It can be distinguished from D. dorcopsinema occurring in Dorcopsis muelleri in having six, not eight perioral cuticular elements, deirids close to the collar (115 µm versus 790 in D. dorcopsis), the dorsal ray with very short lateral branches rather than one third the length of the dorsal ray as in D. dorcopsis, and shorter spicules (1,055 µm versus 2,150 in D. dorcopsis). New host records for D. dendrolagi are Dendrolagus scottae and D. inustus, new localities are Tembagapura in Irian Jaya, Indonesia and the West Sepik region of Papua New Guinea. A key to the species of Dorcopsinema is given.

Familial Burkitt's lymphoma in Papua New Guinea.

A study of Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) in Papua New Guinea for the years 1958-87 revealed four instances of familial BL. Incident cases occurred within 1 year of each other in the four families. Personal follow-up was possible for three of these families whose pedigrees showed that two or more siblings were affected. There was no significant variation of the incidence of BL by year of diagnosis or month of onset. There was significant variation in annual average incidence of BL between the three provinces studied, with the highest incidence in the Nuku and Lumi census districts (of the West Sepik Province). This is the first report of familial BL outside Africa.

DISEASE NOTES OR NEW RECORDS: First record of Melanotaenium euphorbiae in Papua New Guinea

Melanotaeniurn euphorbiae was collected on the naturalised weed Euphorbia heterophylla at locations near Port Moresby, Central Province and Ossima, Sandaun (West Sepik) Province in Papua New Guinea. These collections appear to represent the first confirmed records of this smut outside of North America.

DISEASE NOTES OR NEW RECORDS: First record of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense on banana in Papua New Guinea

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense, was isolated from a wilted cooking banana near Bewani in Sandaun (West Sepik) Province, Papua New Guinea. This is the first confirmed record of Fusarium wilt on bananas in Papua New Guinea.

Predicting Similarity in Material Culture among New Guinea Villages from Propinquity and Language: A Log-linear Approach [and Comments and Reply

Previous articleNext article No AccessPredicting Similarity in Material Culture among New Guinea Villages from Propinquity and Language: A Log-linear Approach [and Comments and Reply]John M. Roberts Jr., Carmella C. Moore, A. Kimball Romney, Guido Barbujani, Peter Bellwood, Robert C. Dunnell, R. C. Green, Patrick V. Kirch, Joyce Marcus, Kent V. Flannery, John Terrell, and Robert L. WelschJohn M. Roberts Jr. Search for more articles by this author , Carmella C. Moore Search for more articles by this author , A. Kimball Romney Search for more articles by this author , Guido Barbujani Search for more articles by this author , Peter Bellwood Search for more articles by this author , Robert C. Dunnell Search for more articles by this author , R. C. Green Search for more articles by this author , Patrick V. Kirch Search for more articles by this author , Joyce Marcus Search for more articles by this author , Kent V. Flannery Search for more articles by this author , John Terrell Search for more articles by this author , and Robert L. Welsch Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Current Anthropology Volume 36, Number 5Dec., 1995 Sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/204431 Views: 4Total views on this site Citations: 21Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1995 The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological ResearchPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Char Sample, Jennifer Cowley, Jonathan Z. Bakdash Cyber + Culture, (Jan 2019): 1–16.https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-7909-0.ch001Noreen von Cramon-Taubadel, Stephen J. Lycett Assessing the relative impact of historical divergence and inter-group transmission on cultural patterns: a method from evolutionary ecology, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 373, no.17431743 (Feb 2018): 20170054.https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2017.0054Char Sample, Jennifer Cowley, Steve Hutchinson, Jonathan Bakdash Culture + Cyber: Exploring the Relationship, (Jun 2017): 185–196.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60585-2_18Char Sample, Jennifer Cowley, Jonathan Z. Bakdash Cyber + Culture, (Jan 2018): 64–79.https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-4053-3.ch004Stephen J. Lycett Cultural patterns within and outside of the post-contact Great Plains as revealed by parfleche characteristics: Implications for areal arrangements in artifactual data, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 48 (Dec 2017): 87–101.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2017.07.003Warebi Gabriel Brisibe Base Camp Architecture, SAGE Open 6, no.11 (Jan 2016): 215824401663694.https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016636942Andrew Fyfe, Jill Bolton Relationships between String Bag Craft Distributions, Language and Geographical Distance in the Upper Sepik and Border Mountains of Papua New Guinea, Australian Geographer 46, no.22 (Apr 2015): 235–253.https://doi.org/10.1080/00049182.2015.1020594Peter Bellwood Cultural Evolution: Phylogeny versus Reticulation, (Jan 2015): 394–400.https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.81039-9Andrew Fyfe, Jill Bolton An Analysis of Arrow and String Bag Craft Variability in the Upper Sepik and Central New Guinea, Oceania 81, no.33 (Jan 2013): 259–279.https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1834-4461.2011.tb00107.xJohn Edward Terrell Chapter 2: Language, Ethnicity, and Historic Material Culture on the Sepik Coast, Fieldiana Anthropology 42 (May 2011): 5–19.https://doi.org/10.3158/0071-4739-42.1.5Stephen J. Lycett, Mark Collard, William C. McGrew Cladistic analyses of behavioural variation in wild Pan troglodytes: exploring the chimpanzee culture hypothesis, Journal of Human Evolution 57, no.44 (Oct 2009): 337–349.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.05.015Andrew Fyfe Exploring Spatial Relationships between Material Culture and Language in the Upper Sepik and Central New Guinea, Oceania 79, no.22 (Jan 2013): 121–161.https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1834-4461.2009.tb00055.xJamshid J. Tehrani, Mark Collard On the relationship between interindividual cultural transmission and population-level cultural diversity: a case study of weaving in Iranian tribal populations, Evolution and Human Behavior 30, no.44 (Jul 2009): 286–300.e2.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2009.03.002Barry Craig, Gilbert Lewis, William E. Mitchell War Shields of the Torricelli Mountains, West Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea, Oceania 78, no.33 (Jan 2013): 241–259.https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1834-4461.2008.tb00040.xMark Collard, Stephen J. Shennan, Jamshid J. Tehrani Branching, blending, and the evolution of cultural similarities and differences among human populations, Evolution and Human Behavior 27, no.33 (May 2006): 169–184.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2005.07.003Jamshid Tehrani, Mark Collard Investigating cultural evolution through biological phylogenetic analyses of Turkmen textiles, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 21, no.44 (Dec 2002): 443–463.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0278-4165(02)00002-8Monique Borgerhoff Mulder Using phylogenetically based comparative methods in anthropology: More questions than answers, Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews 10, no.33 (Jun 2001): 99–111.https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.1020P. Bellwood Cultural Evolution: Phylogeny versus Reticulation, (Jan 2001): 3052–3057.https://doi.org/10.1016/B0-08-043076-7/03102-8D. Andrew Merriwether, Jonathan S. Friedlaender, Jose Mediavilla, Charles Mgone, Fred Gentz, Robert E. Ferrell Mitochondrial DNA variation is an indicator of Austronesian influence in Island Melanesia, American Journal of Physical Anthropology 110, no.33 (Nov 1999): 243–270.https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199911)110:3<243::AID-AJPA1>3.0.CO;2-MGeoff Emberling Ethnicity in complex societies: Archaeological perspectives, Journal of Archaeological Research 5, no.44 (Dec 1997): 295–344.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02229256Peter Bellwood Phylogeny vs reticulation in prehistory, Antiquity 70, no.270270 (Jan 2015): 881–890.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00084131

Shooting the Sun: Ritual and Meaning in West Sepik

Shooting the Sun: Ritual and Meaning in West Sepik

Shooting the sun: ritual and meaning in West Sepik

Shooting the sun: ritual and meaning in West Sepik

Archaeology and geomorphology of the Vanimo Coast, Papua New Guinea: preliminary results

AbstractWe report here excavations at two near‐coastal rockshelters near Vanimo, West Sepik Province. Preliminary results include late Pleistocene occupation and mid‐Holocene ceramics and pigs, along with a continuing, wide‐ranging but marine‐oriented economy. The archaeological sites are integrated into a tectonic uplift history for the region in which a number of coral terraces have been identified.

The mammals of southern West Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea: their distribution, abundance, human use and zoogeography

The mammals of southern West Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea: their distribution, abundance, human use and zoogeography

Child feeding patterns amongst the Au of the West Sepik, Papua New Guinea.

This study describes food consumption patterns and cultural factors influencing them with particular emphasis on young children in an area of West Sepik Province in Papua New Guinea where the health and nutritional status of the population is known to be poor. The people are traditionally hunters and gatherers the main staple being the edible pith of the sago palm. Taro sweet potato and bananas are also important. Animal sources of protein are rare. Breastfeeding is universal and extended although colostrum is believed to be harmful. The 1st supplementary foods (usually sweet potato bananas pawpaw) are introduced late the timing being linked to the eruption of deciduous teeth. Game meat is not introduced until all 1st molars have erupted. Food taboos applying to children are few. Improved growth is dependent on a change in child feeding habits for which a deeper understanding of the cultural meanings of the observed food-related beliefs and behaviors is necessary. (authors)

Decentralization in Papua New Guinea–The West Sepik Provincial Government*

Decentralization in Papua New Guinea–The West Sepik Provincial Government*

Geochronology and geochemistry of the Frieda River prospect area, Papua New Guinea

The Frieda River prospect is located between the Frieda and Lagaip fault zones, two major structural features of the New Guinea Mobile Belt in the West Sepik District, Papua New Guinea. The prospect can be subdivided into three spatially and geologically different areas: Frieda Complex, Mianmin area, and Nena Diorite area. The Frieda Complex is the remnant volcanic edifice of an island stratovolcano interstratified in the mid-Miocene Wogamush Formation. Intrusive and volcanic units in the complex are texturally similar andesitic hornblende-plagioclase porphyries and are probably comagmatic. Pyritic replacement copper-gold and porphyry copper deposits are associated with early and late phases, respectively, of extensive district-scale advanced argillic alteration along the central axis of the Frieda Complex. The Mianmin area is a separate, unmineralized volcanic center that contains igneous rocks similar to those of the Frieda Complex. The Nena Diorite, a composite, holocrystalline, intermediate to mafic body, intrudes Upper Cretaceous- to Eocene-age basement rocks. It is located north of, and separated from the Frieda Complex by, the Frieda Fault.Igneous activity in the Frieda River prospect extended over an interval of at least 4 m.y. On the basis of field relations and K-Ar ages, this igneous activity is subdivided into early intrusion (17.3 to 16.8 m.y. ago), main intrusion (16.3 to 13.1 m.y. ago), and late alteration (about 12.8 to 11.2 m.y. ago) events. K-Ar ages on alunite appear to be too young to be those of formation of this mineral, and the oldest (13.0 + or - 0.4 m.y.) is interpreted as a minimum age for the Nena pyritic replacement copper-gold deposit. Geothermal activity, which caused district-scale alteration, extended from earlier than 14.0 + or - 0.4 m.y. until about 11.2 + or - 0.2 m.y. ago. The discordance of about 2 m.y. between K-Ar ages of coexisting hornblende and biotite in two diorites is thought to register the cooling history of the hydrothermal system. A K-Ar age of 13.6 + or - 0.4 m.y. was obtained on hornblende from a sample of Horse microdiorite, regarded as the progenitor of porphyry copper mineralization. This age is interpreted as near that of emplacement and provides an older limit for the age of vein-controlled transitional alteration associated with most porphyry copper mineralization. The primary biotite apparent K-Ar age of 11.5 + or - 0.2 m.y. from the same sample is accepted as a younger limit for the age of porphyry copper mineralization.K-Ar ages from the Mianmin area and the Nena Diorite area are very similar to those found for dioritic intrusions in the Frieda Complex.Intrusive and volcanic rocks of the Frieda River prospect exhibit limited compositional variation; they are all of andesitic composition and belong to a normal K calc-alkaline suite. The three geologically distinct areas of the prospect are distinguishable on the basis of rock and mineral chemical differences. Textural and chemical features of the Freida Complex and Mianmin area igneous rocks are compatible, with much of their diversity in lithology and dispersion in chemistry being due to their representing cumulate-melt mixtures. They are thought to have crystallized from hot (>900 degrees C), oxidized magmas which were emplaced at a shallow level in the crust (P total

A Small Footnote to the ‘Big Walk‘: Environment and Change among the Miyanmin1 of Papua New Guinea

OceaniaVolume 52, Issue 1 p. 39-65 Article A Small Footnote to the ‘Big Walk‘: Environment and Change among the Miyanmin1 of Papua New Guinea George E. B. Morren Jr., George E. B. Morren Jr. Department of Human Ecology and Social Sciences, Cook College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.A.Search for more papers by this author George E. B. Morren Jr., George E. B. Morren Jr. Department of Human Ecology and Social Sciences, Cook College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.A.Search for more papers by this author First published: September 1981 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1834-4461.1981.tb01484.xCitations: 4 †† Fieldwork among the Miyanmin was conducted from January, 1968 to September, 1969 and was supported by the National Science Foundation. I am grateful to Professor A. P. Vayda for thoughtful criticism and suggestions which I was not always able to follow. Conversation and correspondence with Ruth and Barry Craig, anthropologists with extensive experience in the West Sepik including Telefomin, and Don Gardner, an anthropologist who recently conducted fieldwork in West Miyanmin, provided valuable information, particularly on recent events. Particular communications are noted in the text. I alone am responsible for the final product. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume52, Issue1September 1981Pages 39-65 RelatedInformation

Changing Others: The Anthropological Study of Therapeutic Systems

environments to facilitate change; and an evaluation of consequences and personal standards (i.e., what kind of behavior will assist the individual in feeling better about him/herself?). The speakers and invited representatives of self-help groups led workshop discussions on the final afternoon. The San Francisco Women's Health Collective presented a film and discussion on gynecological self-help. Zola discussed the Boston Self-Help Center, an organization of chronically diseased and physically handicapped people. Gerald Matteson and Ruth Ann Williamson (Nevada-Reno) described a program in which they taught basic self-help skills to residents of rural Nevada communities which lacked adequate medical resources. David Hayes-Bautista (UC-Berkeley) spoke of his involvement with La Clinica de la Raza, a Chicano community organization in East Oakland providing health services as part of a more comprehensive, politically-oriented program. Recovery, Inc., a San Francisco Bay Area association of past and present mental le ; restructuring of social, physical, and community patients, discussed their program. Fries, Levin and Thorensen devoted their workshops to more extensive examinations of issues raised in their presentations. Werner, with the assistance of Martin Reyes, a native health worker from the highland Mexico village in which Werner had established the indigenous health program noted above, spoke more about this crosscultural venture.

Caves and Karst of the Hindenburg Ranges

The expedition investigated 2500 km of rugged limestone country in the West Sepik province of Papua New Guinea, between the Strickland Gorge and the Irian Jaya border. The main objectives were the location and mapping of caves in the high altitude karst of the Hindenburg mountains and the study of their biology, hydrology and structure. Two hundred systems were recorded and some were of vast dimensions. One open pit was 280 m deep and descents were made into other shaft systems for 340 m and 360 m. The longest cave located was Selminum Tem, in which 20-5 km of passages were surveyed and the fossil skeleton of a Miocene syrenian was discovered. Three appendices report briefly on the geomorphology, biology and anthropology of the area.

MASS HYSTERIA IN THE NEW GUINEA HIGHLANDS

OceaniaVolume 47, Issue 2 p. 106-133 Article MASS HYSTERIA IN THE NEW GUINEA HIGHLANDS A Telefomin Outbreak and its Relationship to Other New Guinea Hysterical Reactions Stephen Frankel, Stephen Frankel Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, U.K. Some time District Health Officer, West Sepik District, Papua New Guinea.Search for more papers by this author Stephen Frankel, Stephen Frankel Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, U.K. Some time District Health Officer, West Sepik District, Papua New Guinea.Search for more papers by this author First published: December 1976 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1834-4461.1976.tb01275.xCitations: 9 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume47, Issue2December 1976Pages 106-133 RelatedInformation

Music in Umeda Village, New Guinea

meda is one of four villages, the other three being Punda, Sowanda, and Waina-Wyalla, which make up the Waina-Sowanda census area in the West Sepik District of New Guinea, lying between the Bewani and Border Mountains and close to the West Irian border. The population of the Waina-Sowanda area is sparse, because it is one of the less ecologically favoured regions of New Guinea. In 1969 the population of the whole area numbered only about 960 individuals. Contacts with outsiders, mainly Malay, Dutch and Australian, have been sporadic and with little effect on the people. The economy depends mainly on hunting and collecting, with little emphasis on either gardening or livestock. Ceremonial exchange and Big Men, both of which are typical of New Guinea as a whole, are not encountered in the Waina-Sowanda area. With the lack of the Big Men, the emphasis in Umeda society is on equality. There are no specialist economic roles, and a relative lack of division of labour. In respect to the degree of specialization, Umeda society is not typical of the general Sepik region, where knowledge, and especially some forms of musical knowledge, is the preserve of particular clans. The general lack of specialization in Umeda is reflected in the music, where all men play the huf trumpets and everyone knows the repertoire of songs. Umeda society, however, though unspecialized, demands a high degree of coordination and cooperation between its members, especially in the production of sago. This, too, is reflected in the music. A particularly important aspect of Umeda society is the division of the village into two ritual moieties: edtodna (of the men) and agwatodna (of the women). In Umeda there are three edtodna hamlets and three agwatodna hamlets, and each hamlet is itself divided into two other moieties which come into their own in lesser rituals, such as curing and garden magic. In rituals involving the whole village, notably the important ida sago fertility ritual, each ritual role must be duplicated, one ritual actor coming from each of the two moieties. For this reason obviously both moieties, despite their names, contain men; furthermore, women are not significant in the rituals where moiety affiliation is important.

A MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF CRANIOMETRIC DATA FROM THE TERRITORY OF PAPUA AND NEW GUINEA

T3R0VENIENCED human skeletal remains from the Territory of Papua and New ■*· Guinea are very few, and until 1968 the only well-documented ones consisted of a fragmented frontal bone and other cranial fragments from Aitape, West Sepik, found in 1929 by Hossfeld and later described by Fenner (1941), which have since been assigned a date of 5000 b.p. (Hossfeld, 1964). In 1968, archaeological excavations in the Port Moresby area recovered material that is to date the largest assemblage of well-documented prehistoric human skeletal remains from New Guinea now available for study by physical anthropologists. With the addition of this important assemblage of skeletal material it can be hoped that a better appreciation of the prehistory of the area and the biological relationships of the people will be had through an osteological study of these and other remains from the Territory. In this paper multivariate analyses are applied to craniometrie data from two archaeological sites for a comparison with data from three widely separated and linguistically distinct areas of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea.