How can we create a situation where the New Guinea lowlands are dominated by Austronesian cultures, and what would the consequences of such a change be? Ideally, how can we create a scenario where the New Guinea lowlands are home to Malay peoples and incorporated into the Malay cultural-political sphere? Under some definitions I've seen New Guinea is included in Melanesia, but I don't see that as a particularly useful grouping. The inhabitants of island Melanesia speak Austronesian languages and my understanding is that their culture is generally thought to be derived from the Lapita culture, none of which is the case for the New Guinean peoples. Anyway, that's a long way of saying that while Melanesian settlement of New Guinea would be interesting in it's own right, it isn't quite what I'm thinking of here.
I'm envisioning a network of cities and kingdoms along the coasts and filling up the lowlands that are economically, politically, and culturally tied to the rest of Indonesia. The Highlands are likely still going to be home to the native New Guinea peoples and cultures. In some ways this would seem to parallel the conditions of Borneo, where the Dayaks inhabited the interior of the island while Malay polities ring the coast. It seems to me that the most promising area for Malay polities and settlement would be in the southern lowlands, particularly around the Fly River. It would seem to be much more suitable than the highlands or the Malay agricultural package, it avoids at least some conflict with the New Guineans, the bulk of whose population is concentrated in the highlands, and the big rivers like the Fly or Sepik will naturally form intersections between trade with the interior and the rest of the archipelago. We know that there are plenty of valuable resources in New Guinea that would provide an economic basis for these settlements and tie them into wider networks. There are certainly significant gold deposits, but I doubt those would be very accessible so I think timber and other plant and animal products will dominate. Bird-of-paradise fethears are likely to be important.
One issue I can see is that the Torres Strait would be an impediment to maritime trade, but I don't think it is insurmountable because the Strait can be navigated, albeit with care.
Obviously so much activity and development in New Guinea is likely to have effects on Australia- once things really get going in the lowlands it seems likely that they'll have at leadt some interaction with northern Australia, even fit it's just an earlier start to the trepaning expeditions. But thinking about that does seem rather like putting the cart before the horse!
So, what are your thoughts on how to get greater Austronesian settlement of New Guinea and what effects would stem from it?
Thanks!
I'm envisioning a network of cities and kingdoms along the coasts and filling up the lowlands that are economically, politically, and culturally tied to the rest of Indonesia. The Highlands are likely still going to be home to the native New Guinea peoples and cultures. In some ways this would seem to parallel the conditions of Borneo, where the Dayaks inhabited the interior of the island while Malay polities ring the coast. It seems to me that the most promising area for Malay polities and settlement would be in the southern lowlands, particularly around the Fly River. It would seem to be much more suitable than the highlands or the Malay agricultural package, it avoids at least some conflict with the New Guineans, the bulk of whose population is concentrated in the highlands, and the big rivers like the Fly or Sepik will naturally form intersections between trade with the interior and the rest of the archipelago. We know that there are plenty of valuable resources in New Guinea that would provide an economic basis for these settlements and tie them into wider networks. There are certainly significant gold deposits, but I doubt those would be very accessible so I think timber and other plant and animal products will dominate. Bird-of-paradise fethears are likely to be important.
One issue I can see is that the Torres Strait would be an impediment to maritime trade, but I don't think it is insurmountable because the Strait can be navigated, albeit with care.
Obviously so much activity and development in New Guinea is likely to have effects on Australia- once things really get going in the lowlands it seems likely that they'll have at leadt some interaction with northern Australia, even fit it's just an earlier start to the trepaning expeditions. But thinking about that does seem rather like putting the cart before the horse!
So, what are your thoughts on how to get greater Austronesian settlement of New Guinea and what effects would stem from it?
Thanks!