Geochemical evidence of cultural continuity in lithic procurement from the Late Pleistocene to recent Holocene at Nombe rockshelter, Highland Papua New Guinea

Emily Nutman; Michelle Richards; Mathieu Leclerc; Mary-Jane Mountain; Tim Denham

doi:10.70460/jpa.v15i1.379

Authors

Emily Nutman Australian National University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8912-7811
Dr Michelle J Richards Indigenous Studies Program, Faculty of Arts; ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Environments and Heritage Futures, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7217-0031
Mathieu Leclerc School of Archaeology and Anthropology, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1093-802X
Mary-Jane Mountain School of Archaeology and Anthropology, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Tim Denham School of Archaeology and Anthropology, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8164-2990

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70460/jpa.v15i1.379

Keywords:

Central Highlands, lithic geochemistry, flaked volcanic assemblage, nephrite, stone procurement, pXRF

Abstract

Despite the central role of lithic analysis within Highland Papua New Guinean archaeology, geochemical characterisation studies are deeply underutilised in the region, especially where Pleistocene and informally flaked assemblages are concerned. This paper presents the geochemical characterisation of the flaked volcanic assemblage and an edge-ground axe from the stratified Nombe site in the Papua New Guinea highlands (25,500 cal BP – present), establishing continuous exploitation of the same raw material types throughout the entirety of the site’s occupation. Similar analysis of an excavated non-local jade (nephrite) artefact demonstrates down-the-line, long distance transport of stone sometime between 5600 and 0 cal BP. The geochemical analyses of the locally acquired igneous artefacts and the non-local jade axe-adze flake technological strategies continued during the region’s incorporation into broader social networks during the Holocene.

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