ABSTRACT
This chapter presents scenarios for the early phases at Kuk and other highland sites that are based on multidisciplinary research. Of all the wetland archaeological sites in the Highlands, Kuk has been investigated in greatest detail, provides the most comprehensive evidence and is the type site for the interpretation of past agricultural practices in New Guinea. Some traditional food plants in the Highlands are still cultivated in agricultural systems from wild or semidomesticated forms. The early to mid-Holocene clearances in the Highlands were initiated at a time of wetter and slightly warmer climates; hence they are unlikely to be climatically driven. The key to understanding early agriculture in the Highlands of New Guinea lies in uncovering the indeterminate relations between large-scale processes and individual lives. Agricultural practices include various forms of wetland cultivation, intensive forms of dryland cultivation and shifting cultivation. Given the diversity of plant exploitation in contemporary New Guinea, one should allow for similar diversity in the past.
