A 40,000 Year History of Hunter-Gatherer Subsistence on New Guinea’s North Coast at Lachitu Cave

Loukas Koungoulos1* and Sue O’Connor2

1University of Western Australia, Australia; 2Australian National University, Australia; *loukas.koungoulos@uwa.edu.au

Lachitu Cave in northwest Papua New Guinea is a critical site in understanding the early human history of New Guinea as an example of Pleistocene occupation in a coastal setting. Here we present the first analysis of faunal remains from the 2004-2005 excavations at Lachitu, focusing on terrestrial vertebrates. These span the breadth of human occupation at the site from ca. 42,000 - 36,700 years ago until recently with notable hiatuses during the LGM and the Middle-Late Holocene transition. Lachitu’s Pleistocene terrestrial subsistence economy focused on cassowary, macropod and cuscus. By the Late Holocene several montane-adapted terrestrial taxa evidenced in earlier times had disappeared whilst the obligate lowland species Dorcopsis hageni became abundant, signalling a major environmental transition and a shifting faunal baseline for people. Marine resources were utilised throughout Lachitu’s occupation but during the Pleistocene appear to have been largely limited to slow-moving marine molluscs and sea urchins. The Holocene saw increased contributions from marine turtles, fish, and crustaceans, likely reflecting transformations in coastal habitat productivity resulting from warmer temperatures, rising sea levels and potentially the introduction of seagoing vessels during the Late Holocene. Lachitu has many similarities with lower-lying archaeological sites elsewhere in the region but is so far unique in demonstrating an economy with a balance of well-developed marine and terrestrial components throughout the majority of its occupation.