A short study of Melpa [rehistory]
Patrick Howley
Abstract
More than 40,000 years ago the Melpa speaking people made their way by land and sea from Asia to New Guinea and then into the Highlands. First as cave dwellers and gatherers, they adapted to the extreme cold and eventually became one of the first farming people of the world. Lacking native seeds and domesticated animals they built a culture on pigs as a source of protein and exchange. This short prehistory illustrates their success in building a unique culture in the face of isolation and extreme hardship.
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