Kuk

The Kuk Archaeological Site is located in the Papua New Guinea Highlands. The culture which resided there was very prosperous in their agricultural ways. As recently as 1998 an excavation has taken place at the Kuk site. This excavation was to determine what was in the soil and what agricultural practices were used. The scientists dug a large ditch which allowed them to test each layer of soil.

These are some of the findings from the 1998 excavation:

-Palaeosols with sub-angular blocky structure which contained lenses of Tibito ash (this ash dated back to 240 Bp).

-A crumby black, type of granular sub-soil, which was interpreted by the archaeologists as in-washed garden soils subject to in situ modificatin through several phases of drainage. The soil contained lenses of Olgaboli (dating back to 1100-1200 BP) and Baglaga ash (dating to 2250 BP).

-Grey clay deposited like a fan which thins from the southern margin and spreads out northwards. The formation of similar layers between 9,000 and 6,000 BP has been noted at other wetland sites in the highlands of New Guinea.

-Dark clays, peats and mud at greater depths are high in organic content relative to the overlying sediments and contained a range of plant tissues.

The excavation team which headed up this site is said to be returning to the Kuk site to further their findings in the agriculture of the Kuk.

Image Credits http://coombs.anu.edu.au/Depts/RSPAS/ANH/res3.htm

Kuk http://artalpha.anu.edu.au/web/arc/resources/papers/kuk/postfa1.htm

Kyle Dagestad