Ivane Valley early highland agriculture

Record summary

Research at Ivane Valley reported evidence relevant to the antiquity of plant management and agricultural practices in the Papua New Guinea highlands, including the interpretation of stone artefacts, sedimentary sequences, and plant remains. The site matters for comparing independent origins of cultivation and for testing whether highland food production predates or differs from later Austronesian influence. Chronological and behavioural interpretations remain uncertain because preservation is selective, phytolith or starch evidence can be ambiguous, and “agriculture” may encompass several stages of plant management.