Revisiting the late prehistoric sequence of the Port Moresby region of Papua New Guinea: The continuing contribution of Susan Bulmer

Abstract

Susan Bulmer's PhD thesis, “Prehistoric culture change in the Port Moresby region”, was a very important, and still often cited, contribution to Papuan South Coast prehistory in the 1970s. Fieldwork for the thesis included the excavation of important sites at Taurama Beach and on Nebira Hill. This paper outlines recent archaeological and bioarchaeological research on stone artefacts, pottery and skeletal materials from these sites and discusses the implications of this research for early ideas about late prehistoric culture change in the Port Moresby region. The results of the recent studies suggest a complex of cultural (Austronesian and Papuan) and environmental influences, as well as population movements into the region over the past 1200 years, leading to the state of affairs at the close of prehistory. This picture is similar to that painted by Bulmer and others during the pioneering period of Papuan South Coast archaeology over 40 years ago.