In the Shadows of Kuk: Evidence for Prehistoric Agriculture at Kana, Wahgi Valley, Papua New Guinea

Archaeological survey with limited excavation at the Kana site revealed evidence of prehistoric agricultural practices in the form of ditches and other cut features on an abandoned river terrace of the Minj River. Based on the stratigraphy and radiocarbon dating, the features have been cross‐correlated to Phases 2, 3, 4 and 5 at Kuk Swamp, in the Upper Wahgi Valley. Peter Matthews identified exocarp fragments and seeds of a gourd collected from the fill of a ditch to be wax gourd ( Benincasa hispida ). The gourd exocarp fragments were radiocarbon dated to 2450 ± 200 BP (ANU 9487).