Abstract
Pigs and dogs are not native to New Guinea, and when and how they arrived on the island has been the subject of much debate in the archaeological community. Many researchers support a Lapita-associated introduction, approximately 3,000 BP. However, pig and dog remains have been reported from archaeological contexts dated as early as the terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene in the New Guinea Highlands, and from potentially mid-Holocene contexts along the North Coast. Some researchers have argued these early animals could represent a non-human mediated introduction to the island, but this is disputed by others. Regardless of how and when pigs and dogs arrived in New Guinea, they went on to become highly valued in many communities. Ethnographic research has emphasised the key role these species played in subsistence and ceremonial practices across New Guinea, and the exchange of these species and their remains across the island and beyond.
One aim of this thesis was to reassess the presence of pigs and dogs in five New Guinea sites excavated by Susan Bulmer, from the New Guinea Highlands and South Coast. Only cranial remains had been analysed from many of these sites, and it was thought that more information could be gathered regarding the role of pigs and dogs at these sites through analysis of postcranial material. The second aim of this thesis was to use strontium isotope analysis to assess the extent to which the incorporation of pigs and dogs into exchange networks could affect their distribution. No published studies have investigated the mobility of these species in mainland New Guinea via strontium isotope analysis.
Two stages of research were conducted: an archaeozoological reassessment of fauna from each site, including standard archaeozoological methods and ZooMS (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry); and strontium isotope analysis of tooth enamel. Results found more pig bones than previously recorded at some sites and determined some previously identified dogs had been misidentified. Postcranial remains of pigs were few in number compared to cranial remains and none were found for dogs, suggesting postcranial remains may have been disposed of away from the sites. Strontium analysis found all pigs and some dogs were raised locally to their sites, but several dogs from South Coast sites appear to have been raised elsewhere.
The implications of this research are wide-reaching. Evidence for early dogs in the New Guinea Highlands was decreased, as previously identified dogs from early and mid-Holocene contexts were reidentified as different species. Limited postcranial remains suggest bone disposal practises noted ethnographically in New Guinea communities may extend into the archaeological past. The exchange of dogs (or their teeth) is supported by biomolecular methods for the first time in New Guinea, and evidence supports pig husbandry being established in the Highlands and the South Coast by the late Holocene.