Lyla Lindsey
The first people of Papua New Guinea, commonly known as Papuans, are genetically and culturally distinct from Australia's first people, the Aboriginal Australians. The earliest migrations of humans to New Guinea and Australia occurred between 42,000 and 60,000 years ago, with New Guinea being occupied at least 40,000 years ago. These migrations were part of the earliest human migrations from Africa, and the resulting populations remained isolated from the rest of the world throughout prehistory. While both groups share ancient ties, they began to diverge genetically around 37,000 to 40,000 years ago.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of first human settlement | New Guinea: 42,000-45,000 years ago; Australia: 42,000-60,000 years ago |
| Date of divergence between Aboriginal Australians and New Guineans | 37,000-40,000 years ago |
| Date of New Guinea's independence from Australia | 1975 |
| Genetic similarities | New Guineans carry unique genes that help fight off infections; Aboriginal Australians and New Guineans share 3-5% Denisovan DNA |
| Linguistic similarities | Papuan languages are related to Aboriginal Australian languages, particularly Pama–Nyungan spoken in Northern Australia; English was introduced as a unifying language |
| Cultural similarities | Austronesian influence on pottery-making tradition in New Guinea; Bougainville is culturally linked to the Solomon Islands |
| Agricultural similarities | Agriculture was independently developed in New Guinea; Taro and bananas were cultivated in New Guinea |
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What You'll Learn
Genetic differences
Genetic evidence suggests that Indigenous Australians and New Guineans share close ties, with Indigenous peoples from these regions being more closely related to each other than to anyone else in the world. This indicates that they share a recent common ancestry.
The first major genomic study of Aboriginal Australians confirmed that all present-day non-African populations are descended from the same single wave of migrants, who left Africa around 72,000 years ago. This study sequenced the complete genetic information of 83 Aboriginal Australians and 25 Papuans from New Guinea. The researchers found that the Papuan and Australian groups diverged around 58,000 years ago, and that Papuans and Aboriginal Australians genetically diverged about 37,000 years ago, long before they became physically separated by rising sea levels.
Another study found that the New Guinea and Mamanwa (Philippines area) groups diverged from Aboriginal Australians about 36,000 years ago. There is evidence that these populations are descended from migrants taking an early "southern route" out of Africa, before other groups in the area.
The Indigenous peoples of Western New Guinea in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, commonly called Papuans, are Melanesians. There is genetic evidence for two major historical lineages in New Guinea and neighboring islands: a first wave from the Malay Archipelago perhaps 50,000 years ago when New Guinea and Australia were a single landmass called Sahul, and a later wave of Austronesian people from the north who introduced Austronesian languages and pigs about 3,500 years ago. The genetic makeup of Papuans is primarily derived from Ancient East Eurasians, which relates them to other mainland Asian groups. Papuans may have also received some gene flow from an earlier group (xOoA), next to additional archaic Denisovan admixture in the Sahul region.
Aboriginal Australians, together with Papuans, may either form a sister clade to a single mainland Asian clade consisting of the AASI, Andamanese and East Asians, excluding West Eurasians. Alternatively, they are nested within the Eastern Eurasian cluster without a strong internal cladal structure against mainland Asian lineages.
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Cultural links
There is evidence of cultural links between the first peoples of Australia and New Guinea, as well as the Bismarck Archipelago, dating back to around 42,000–45,000 years ago. These early peoples were likely hunter-gatherers, and there is evidence of their use of art, with pigments found in the earliest occupation levels of many sites, some dated to about 50,000 years ago.
The first peoples of New Guinea and Australia shared genetic ancestry, with evidence of interbreeding between modern humans and Denisovans in the region. The Papuan people of New Guinea are genetically more closely related to Melanesians than to Aboriginal Australians, with both groups carrying unique genes that help their immune systems fight off infection, some of which are derived from Denisovans.
There is also evidence of cultural links between the Austronesian-speaking people from Asia and the existing culture in New Guinea. While it was previously thought that these Austronesian influences had little impact on the existing culture, new analysis of ancient pottery suggests that Austronesian influence made its way up the island thousands of years earlier than once thought.
The concept of a "country" and a shared national identity were foreign to many in New Guinea, even as late as the early 1970s, when the push for independence from Australia gained momentum. The political aims of Australian rule were uncertain, with independence and becoming an Australian state both seen as possible outcomes. During this time, Australian administrators promoted a shared national identity and introduced English as a potential unifying language.
The Bougainville region of Papua New Guinea, which declared independence in 1975, is geographically closer to the British Solomon Islands, and its people are more culturally linked to those islands than to the rest of Papua New Guinea.
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Linguistic diversity
The indigenous peoples of New Guinea, commonly called Papuans, speak languages from many non-Austronesian language families. These languages are only found in New Guinea and on neighbouring islands. They also speak Austronesian languages along parts of the coast and recently developed creoles such as Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu, Unserdeutsch, and Papuan Malay. According to Indonesian national linguistic data, there are at least 428 living Papuan languages (and 37 Papua-based isolate languages) natively spoken by the Papuans in Indonesia alone. This makes the Papuan language family the most linguistically diverse community in Indonesia.
Papuan languages are related to Aboriginal Australian languages, particularly Pama–Nyungan, spoken in Northern Australia. As Indonesia is the national language of Indonesia, Papuans also speak Indonesian.
The Austronesian-speaking people from Asia who eventually colonized the remote islands of the Pacific were thought to have skirted New Guinea and had little influence on the existing culture there, especially in the interior. However, new analysis of 12 potsherds from a highland site suggests otherwise. The sherds, the oldest known pottery on New Guinea at 3,000 years old, were locally made, suggesting that Austronesian influence (which includes a pottery-making tradition) made its way up the island’s rugged slopes hundreds of years earlier than once thought.
Genetic evidence suggests that the first people of New Guinea and Australia diverged from each other about 37,000 to 40,000 years ago. The people of New Guinea are more closely related to Melanesians than to Aboriginal Australians.
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Colonisation and independence
Colonisation of Papua New Guinea by various European powers began in the 19th century. The Dutch claimed the western half of the island as part of the Dutch East Indies in 1828, while the British and Germans also had a presence on the island. After World War I, Australia was given a mandate to administer the former German New Guinea by the League of Nations. In 1946, New Guinea was declared a United Nations trust territory under Australian governance, and in 1949, the two territories of Papua and New Guinea were combined into the Territory of Papua and New Guinea.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Australia worked to improve education and health services in Papua New Guinea, as well as promote a shared national identity. English was introduced as a potential unifying language. However, the political aims of Australian rule were uncertain, with independence and becoming an Australian state both seen as possible futures.
In the early 1970s, there were growing calls for independence in Papua New Guinea, and the country held its first general elections in 1972. Australia agreed to a push for self-governance, and Papua New Guinea achieved self-government in December 1973. On 16 September 1975, Papua New Guinea gained full independence from Australia. Michael Somare, who had been elected Chief Minister in the 1972 elections, continued as the country's first Prime Minister.
The first decade of independence saw slow but steady economic growth, with an increase in exports of oil, minerals, and forestry products. However, this growth did not reduce inequality, and government services declined. There were also financial issues due to the closure of the Bougainville mine, which led to Papua New Guinea obtaining an emergency loan from the World Bank in 1995.
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Migration patterns
The earliest migrations of humans from Africa to the Australian continent, including New Guinea, took place between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago. At that time, New Guinea and Australia were a single landmass called Sahul. The first inhabitants of this region were hunter-gatherers, and they likely navigated across the sea from Southeast Asia during an Ice Age when sea levels were lower.
The geographical position of New Guinea suggests that it may have served as an early staging post for the settlement of Australia from the Indonesia-Indochina region. However, archaeological evidence previously indicated that the earliest sites in southern Australia were older, dating back 35,000 to 40,000 years, compared to the earliest known site in Papua New Guinea, which was 26,000 years old.
More recent findings suggest that the north coast of Papua New Guinea was occupied at least 40,000 years ago, and the Bismarck Archipelago was settled around this time as well. Bougainville, geographically closer to the British Solomon Islands, was settled approximately 28,000 years ago, and the more distant Manus Island was inhabited by humans around 20,000 years ago.
The populations that settled in New Guinea and Australia remained relatively isolated from the rest of the world throughout prehistory. Rising sea levels isolated New Guinea from Australia about 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. However, genetic evidence indicates that Aboriginal Australians and New Guineans diverged from each other much earlier, approximately 37,000 to 40,000 years ago.
Around 3,500 years ago, a wave of Austronesian people from the north introduced Austronesian languages and pigs to New Guinea. They left a small but significant genetic trace in many coastal Papuan peoples. Additionally, new analysis of pottery shards from a highland site suggests that Austronesian influence made its way into the interior of New Guinea hundreds of years earlier than previously thought.
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Frequently asked questions
The first people to arrive in New Guinea and Australia are thought to have arrived between 42,000 and 60,000 years ago.
The first people of New Guinea likely travelled by sea from Southeast Asia during an Ice Age period when sea levels were lower.
The Indigenous peoples of New Guinea and Australia were part of the earliest migrations of humans from Africa. They share close genetic ties, with evidence of interbreeding between modern humans and Denisovans in the region. They were separated by rising sea levels about 10,000 years ago but had already diverged genetically much earlier, around 37,000-40,000 years ago.
The Papuans of New Guinea speak a diverse range of languages, with at least 428 living Papuan languages natively spoken in Indonesia alone. These languages are related to Aboriginal Australian languages, particularly those spoken in Northern Australia. However, Papuans also speak Indonesian, the official language of Indonesia, and creole languages such as Tok Pisin and Hiri Motu.
