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Pre‐Austronesian dispersal of banana cultivars West from New Guinea: linguistic relics from Eastern Indonesia
Author(s) -
DENHAM TIM,
DONOHUE MARK
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
archaeology in oceania
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1834-4453
pISSN - 0728-4896
DOI - 10.1002/j.1834-4453.2009.tb00041.x
Subject(s) - new guinea , biological dispersal , archaeology , austronesian languages , geography , holocene , ancient history , history , ethnology , linguistics , population , philosophy , demography , sociology
Against the backdrop of a comprehensive archaeobotanical review, we present linguistic evidence that allows us to develop a model of the dispersal of bananas westwards from New Guinea. This westward dispersal is a window on pre‐Austronesian contact between New Guinea and regions to the west. The linguistically‐derived model is compatible with archaeobotanical and botanical data. Our interpretation accords with evidence for maritime interactions from the early Holocene in western New Guinea and eastern Indonesia.