ABSTRACT
Maps illustrating conflict and battle generally represent positions of the two opposing military forces while ignoring the presence of a third party affected by the conflict – the people whose land is being fought over. Recent archaeological work in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has highlighted the indigenous history of and continuing presence in the area during the conduct of military operations in the Second World War – the local lives running parallel to the Allied and Japanese actions in the war. Indigenous people are also part of the post-war commemoration of these events and continue to manage these sites for their values and significance to them and to the nations whose soldiers died there. This chapter will investigate some intersections of conflict, indigenous and commemorative landscapes associated with the Second World War in PNG.
