Bone tool technologies in the Raja Ampat Islands, West Papua: chronology, production, and use
1 : University of Cambirdge
2 : Universitas Gadjah Mada
Early–Mid Holocene sites in northeastern Indonesia and northwest New Guinea may be characterised by few lithics but relatively common bone tools. This paper examines the nature of bone tool production, use, and discard in this region, drawing on recently excavated assemblages from Waigeo Island in the northern Raja Ampat group, off the northwest Bird's Head of New Guinea. It refines the chronology of bone tool production in the area and compares these results with nearby equatorial sites on the Bird's Head of New Guinea, Maluku, and Sulawesi. The implications of this osseous technological zone are discussed in the broader context of human behavioural adaptation and innovation in tropical forests.
| Subject : | : | Oral communication |
| Topics | : | S9-A: Creating in tropical forests: toolkits and technical behaviours of prehistoric hunter-gatherers between 23° North and 23° South. |
| Keywords | : | Bone tools ; Osseous technology ; Tropical forests ; Indonesia ; New Guinea ; Wallacea ; Pacific ; Southeast Asia |
| PDF version | : |  PDF version |
