Citizendia

New Guinea
Political division of New Guinea
Political division of New Guinea
Geography
LocationIsland north of Australian continent
Coordinates5°20′S 141°36′E
Area786,000 km²(303,500 mi sq)
Rank2nd
Highest pointPuncak Jaya
4,884 m (16,023 ft)
Administration
Flag of Indonesia Indonesia
ProvincesPapua
West Papua
Flag of Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea
ProvincesCentral
Simbu
Eastern Highlands
East Sepik
Enga
Gulf
Madang
Morobe
Oro
Southern Highlands
Western
Western Highlands
West Sepik
Milne Bay
National Capital District
Demographics
Population~ 7. This is a list of Islands in the world ordered by area. It includes all islands with an area greater than 2500 km² (970 square miles Puncak Jaya (ˈpʊntʃak ˈdʒaja sometimes called Mount Carstensz or the Carstensz Pyramid, is a mountain in the Sudirman Range, the western central The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. Papua is the largest province of Indonesia, comprising a majority part of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands (see also West Papua ( Papua Barat; formerly West Irian Jaya or Irian Jaya Barat) with population around 800000 is the least populous province of Papua New Guinea (or ˈpæpjuːə in Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini) officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania Central Province is a province in Papua New Guinea located on the southern coast of the country Simbu, also known as (and officially named Chimbu, is a Highlands Region province in Papua New Guinea. Eastern Highlands is a highlands province of Papua New Guinea. East Sepik is a province in Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Wewak. Enga refers to both an ethnic group located in the highlands of Papua New Guinea and the province in which they are the majority ethnic group Gulf Province is a province of Papua New Guinea located on the southern coast Madang is a province on the northern coast of mainland Papua New Guinea. Morobe Province (previously named Adolfhafen in German New Guinea) is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea Oro Province, formerly (and officially still Northern Province, is a Coastal Province of Papua New Guinea. Southern Highlands is a province in Papua New Guinea. Its provincial capital is the town of Mendi. Western Province is a Coastal Province in southwestern Papua New Guinea, bordering the Indonesian province of Papua. Western Highlands is a province of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital is Mount Hagen. Sandaun Province, officially West Sepik Province, is the north-westernmost province of Papua New Guinea. Milne Bay is a province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Alotau. The National Capital District of Papua New Guinea is the incorporated area around Port Moresby, which is the capital of Papua New Guinea 5 million (as of 2005)
Density8/km²

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the world's second largest island, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last ice age. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. This is a list of Islands in the world ordered by area. It includes all islands with an area greater than 2500 km² (970 square miles The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the Temperature of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere resulting in an expansion of continental Ice sheets The name Papua has also been long-associated with the island (see History below). The western half of the island contains the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua, while the eastern half forms the mainland of the independent country of Papua New Guinea. The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. Papua is the largest province of Indonesia, comprising a majority part of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands (see also Papua New Guinea (or ˈpæpjuːə in Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini) officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania

At 4,884 metres (16,023 ft), Puncak Jaya (sometimes called Mount Carstensz) makes New Guinea the world's fourth highest landmass. Puncak Jaya (ˈpʊntʃak ˈdʒaja sometimes called Mount Carstensz or the Carstensz Pyramid, is a mountain in the Sudirman Range, the western central This is a list of Islands in the world ordered by their highest point.

Contents

Political divisions

The island of New Guinea is divided politically into roughly equal halves across a north-south line:

(See also Western New Guinea, which refers to the entire western half of New Guinea)

Each province has an administration headed by a governor who is also a member of the national parliament.

People

Dani tribesman in the Baliem Valley
Dani tribesman in the Baliem Valley

The current population of the island of New Guinea is about 7. The Dani people also spelled Ndani, and sometimes conflated with the Lani group to the west are a people from the central highlands of Western New Guinea The Baliem Valley, also spelled Balim Valley and sometimes known as the Grand Valley, of the highlands of Western New Guinea, is occupied by the 1 million people.

Many believe human habitation on the island has been dated to as early as approximately 40,000 BP[1], and first settlement possibly dated back to 60,000 years ago has been proposed. Before Present (BP years are a time scale used in Archaeology, Geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred The island is presently populated by very nearly a thousand different tribal groups and a near-equivalent number of separate languages, which makes New Guinea the most linguistically diverse area in the world. A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them Ethnologue 14th edition lists 826 languages of Papua New Guinea and 257 languages of Irian Jaya, total 1073 languages, with 12 languages overlapping. Ethnologue Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics a Christian Papua New Guinea (or ˈpæpjuːə in Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini) officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania They fall into one of two groups, the Papuan languages and the Austronesian languages. The term Papuan languages refers to those Languages of the western Pacific which are neither Austronesian nor Australian. The separation was not merely linguistic; warfare among societies was a factor in the evolution of the men's house: separate housing of groups of adult men, from the single-family houses of the women and children, for mutual protection against the other groups. Endemic warfare is the state of continual low-threshold Warfare in a tribal Warrior society Pig-based trade between the groups and pig-based feasts are a common theme with the other peoples of southeast Asia and Oceania. Pigs, also called hogs or' swine', are Ungulates which have been domesticated as sources of food leather and similar products since ancient times Most societies practise agriculture, supplemented by hunting and gathering. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild Foraging and Hunting

Kurulu Village War Chief at Baliem Valley
Kurulu Village War Chief at Baliem Valley

The great variety of the island's indigenous populations are frequently assigned to one of two main ethnological divisions, based on archaeological, linguistic and genetic evidence: the Papuan and Austronesian groups. The Austronesian people or Austronesian-speaking people, are a population group present in Oceania and Southeast Asia who speak or had ancestors who spoke

Current evidence indicates that the Papuans (who constitute the majority of the island's peoples) are descended from the earliest human inhabitants of New Guinea. These original inhabitants first arrived in New Guinea at a time (either side of the Last Glacial Maximum, approx 21,000 years ago) when the island was connected to the Australian continent via a land bridge, forming the landmass known as Sahul. The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM refers to the time of maximum extent of the Ice sheets during the last Glaciation (the Würm or Wisconsin glaciation) approximately For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. A land bridge, in Biogeography, is an Isthmus or other land connection between otherwise separate areas which allows Animals and Plants These peoples had made the (shortened) sea-crossing from the islands of Wallacea and Sundaland (the present Malay Archipelago) by at least 40,000 years ago, subsequent to the dispersal of peoples from Africa (circa) 50,000 years ago. Wallacea is a biogeographical designation for a group of Indonesian islands separated by deep water Straits from the Asian and Australian Sundaland is a biogeographical region of Southeastern Asia that comprises the Malay Peninsula and the Malay Archipelago islands of Sumatra The Malay Archipelago is a name given to the Archipelago located between mainland Southeastern Asia ( Indochina) and Australia.

Korowai tribesman
Korowai tribesman

The ancestral Austronesian peoples are believed to have arrived considerably later, approximately 3,500 years ago, as part of a gradual seafaring migration from Southeast Asia, possibly originating in eastern China. This article is about the ethnic group in New Guinea For the Māori cloak see Māori traditional textiles. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Austronesian-speaking peoples colonised many of the offshore islands to the north and east of New Guinea, such as New Ireland and New Britain, with settlements also on the coastal fringes of the main island in places. New Ireland ( Tok Pisin: Niu Ailan) is a large Island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 8650 km² in area This article discusses the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea

Human habitation of New Guinea over tens of thousands of years has led to a great deal of diversity, which was further increased by the later arrival of the Austronesians and the more recent history of European and Asian colonisation. This process has been accelerated by the transmigration programs and conscious policies enacted by successive Indonesian governments, which over recent decades has encouraged the resettlement of as many as one million immigrants to western New Guinea, predominantly from the islands of Java, Madura, and Bali. The transmigration program ( Indonesian: Transmigrasi) was an initiative of the Indonesian government to move landless people from densely populated areas The politics of Indonesia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic Republic, whereby the President of Indonesia Java (Jawa is an Island of Indonesia and the site of its Capital city Jakarta. Madura is an Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. Bali is an Indonesian Island located at, the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to

Large swathes of New Guinea are yet to be explored by scientists and anthropologists. The province of Irian Jaya or West Papua is home to an estimated 44 uncontacted tribal groups. Uncontacted peoples are peoples who either by choice or chance live or have lived without significant contact with the 'modern' civilizations of the world [2]

Biodiversity and ecology

Main article: Fauna of New Guinea

With some 786,000 km² of tropical land - less than one-half of one percent (0. The fauna of New Guinea comprises a large number of species of Mammals Reptiles Birds Fish, Invertebrates and Amphibians 5%) of the earth's surface -- New Guinea has an immense ecological value in terms of biodiversity, with between 5 to 10% of the total species on the planet. Biodiversity is the variation of Life forms within a given Ecosystem, Biome or for the entire Earth. This percentage is about the same amount as the United States or Australia. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. A high percentage of New Guinea's species are endemic (found nowhere else), and thousands are still unknown to Western science: probably well over 200,000 species of insect, between 11,000 to 20,000 plant species; over 650 resident bird species, including most species of birds of paradise and bowerbirds, parrots, and cassowaries; over 400 amphibians; 455 butterfly species; marsupials including Bondegezou, Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo, Huon Tree-kangaroo, Long-beaked Echidna, Tenkile, Agile Wallaby, Alpine Wallaby, cuscuses and possums; and various other mammal species. Endemism is the Ecological state of being unique to a place Endemic species are not naturally found elsewhere The birds of paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. This article is about the species of bird called bowerbird For the band see Bowerbirds (band. Parrots are birds of the roughly 350 Species in 85 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes, found in most warm and tropical regions Cassowaries ( Genus Casuarius) are very large flightless Birds native to the Tropical forests of New Guinea and Prehistoric amphibian Amphibians (class Amphibia such as Frogs Toads Salamanders Newts Gymnophiona, Sirens and A butterfly is an Insect of the order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera butterflies are notable for their unusual life cycle with a Marsupials are an Infraclass of Mammals characterized by a distinctive pouch (called the marsupium) in which females carry their young through The Dingiso, Dendrolagus mbaiso also known as Bondegezou is a species of Tree-kangaroo native and endemic to Western New Guinea Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo ( Dendrolagus goodfellowi) also called the Ornate Tree Kangaroo, belongs to the family Macropodidae, which includes kangaroos Matschie's Tree-kangaroo ( Dendrolagus matschiei) also known as the Huon Tree-kangaroo belongs to the family Macropodidae, which includes about 55 The long-beaked echidnas make up one of the two genera (Genus Zaglossus) of Echidnas spiny Monotremes that lives in New Guinea UserPolbot. --> The Tenkile ( Dendrolagus scottae) also known as Scott's Tree-kangaroo, is a species The Agile Wallaby ( Macropus agilis) also known as the Sandy Wallaby, is a species of Wallaby found in northern Australia and New Guinea UserPolbot. --> Calaby's Pademelon ( Thylogale calabyi) also known as the Alpine Wallaby, is a species Cuscus is the common name generally given to the species within four genera of Australasian Possum. A possum is any of about 64 small to medium-sized Arboreal Marsupial Species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi Most of these species are shared, at least in their origin, with the continent of Australia, which was until fairly recent geological times, part of the same landmass (see Australia-New Guinea for an overview). For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The island is so large that it is considered 'nearly a continent' in terms of its biological distinctiveness.

The Western Crowned Pigeon is native to New Guinea.
The Western Crowned Pigeon is native to New Guinea. The Western Crowned Pigeon or Common Crowned Pigeon, Goura cristata, is a large turkey -sized approximately 75cm long blue- Grey pigeon with

Biogeographically, New Guinea is part of Australasia rather than the Indomalayan realm, although New Guinea's flora has many more affinities with Asia than its fauna, which is overwhelmingly Australian. Biogeography is the study of the distribution of Biodiversity over Space and Time. Australasia is a Region of Oceania: New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and neighbouring Islands in the Pacific The Indomalaya ecozone is one of the eight Ecozones that cover the planet's land surface Botanically, New Guinea considered part of Malesia, a floristic region that extends from the Malay Peninsula across Indonesia to New Guinea and the East Melanesian Islands. Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the boundary of the Indomalaya and Australasia ecozones Malesia was first identified as a Floristic The East Melanesian Islands, also known as the Solomons-Vanuatu-Bismarck moist forests, is a biogeographic region notable for its unique flora and fauna and species richness The flora of New Guinea is a mixture of many tropical rainforest species with origins in Asia, together with typically Australasian flora. Typical southern hemisphere flora include the conifers Podocarpus and the rainforest emergents Araucaria and Agathis, as well as tree ferns and several species of Eucalyptus. Podocarpus is a Genus of Conifers the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family Podocarpaceae. Araucaria is a Genus of Evergreen coniferous Trees in the family Araucariaceae. The genus Agathis, commonly known as kauri or dammar, is a relatively small Genus of 21 species of Evergreen Trees in the The order Cyatheales is a Taxonomic division of the Fern subclass Cyatheatae, which includes the tree ferns. Eucalyptus (From Greek ευκάλυπτος meaning "well covered" is a diverse Genus of Trees (and a few shrubs the members of which

New Guinea has 284 species and six orders of mammals: (monotremes, three orders of marsupials, rodents and bats); 195 of the mammal species (69%) are endemic. Monotremes (from the Greek monos 'single' + trema 'hole' referring to the Cloaca) are Mammals that lay eggs ( Prototheria) instead Marsupials are an Infraclass of Mammals characterized by a distinctive pouch (called the marsupium) in which females carry their young through New Guinea has 578 species of breeding birds, of which 324 species are endemic. The island's frogs are one of the most poorly known vertebrate groups, currently totalling 282 species, but this number is expected to double or even triple when all species have been documented. New Guinea has a rich diversity of coral life and 1,200 species of fish have been found. Also about 600 species of reef-building coral — the latter equal to 75 percent of the world’s known total. The entire coral area covers 18 million hectares off a peninsula in northwest New Guinea.

Ecoregions

Terrestrial

According to the WWF, New Guinea can be divided into twelve terrestrial ecoregions: [3]

Freshwater

The WWF and Nature Conservancy divide New Guinea into five freshwater ecoregions:[4]

Marine

The WWF and Nature Conservancy identify several marine ecoregions in the seas bordering New Guinea:[5]

History

See also: History of Papua New Guinea

The first inhabitants of New Guinea arrived at least around 40,000 years ago, having travelled through the south-east Asian peninsula. An ecoregion ( ecological region) sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area smaller than a "realm" or " The New Guinea mangroves is a Mangrove Ecoregion that covers portions of coastal New Guinea. The Northern New Guinea lowland rain and freshwater swamp forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest Ecoregion of northern New Guinea. The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable Environmental organization working to preserve the Plants, Animals, and natural communities An ecoregion ( ecological region) sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area smaller than a "realm" or " The New Guinea Highlands, also known as the Central Range or Central Cordillera, are a chain of Mountain ranges and intermountain Valleys on the The Bismarck Sea lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean to the north of the island of Papua New Guinea and to the south of the Bismarck Archipelago and The Solomon Sea is a Sea located within the Pacific Ocean. It lies between New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The Gulf of Papua is a 400 kilometer wide region on the south shore of New Guinea. The Arafura Sea is west of the Pacific Ocean overlying the Continental shelf between Australia and New Guinea. The history of Papua New Guinea can be traced back to about 60000 years ago when people first migrated towards the Australian continent. These first inhabitants, from whom the Papuan people are probably descended, adapted to the range of ecologies and in time developed one of the earliest known agricultures. Remains of this agricultural system, in the form of ancient irrigation systems in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, are being studied by archaeologists. This work is still in its early stages so there is still uncertainty as to precisely what crop was being grown, or when/where agriculture arose.

The gardens of the New Guinea Highlands are ancient, intensive permacultures, adapted to high population densities, very high rainfalls (as high as 10,000 mm/yr (400 in/yr)), earthquakes, hilly land, and occasional frost. The New Guinea Highlands, also known as the Central Range or Central Cordillera, are a chain of Mountain ranges and intermountain Valleys on the The word permaculture, coined by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren during the 1970s is a Portmanteau of perma nent agri' Complex mulches, crop rotations and tillages are used in rotation on terraces with complex irrigation systems. Western agronomists still do not understand all practices, and it has been noted that native gardeners are as or more successful than most scientific farmers in raising certain crops. [6] There is evidence that New Guinea gardeners invented crop rotation well before western Europeans. [7] A unique feature of New Guinea permaculture is the silviculture of Casuarina oligodon, a tall, sturdy native ironwood tree, suited to use for timber and fuel, with root nodules that fix nitrogen. Silviculture is the art and science of controlling the establishment growth composition health and quality of Forests to meet diverse needs and values of the many landowners Casuarinaceae is a family of dicotyledonous Flowering plants placed in the order Fagales, consisting of 3 or 4 genera and approximately 70 Pollen studies show that it was adopted during an ancient period of extreme deforestation. Palynology is the science that studies contemporary and fossil Palynomorphs including Pollen, Spores, Dinoflagellate Cysts Acritarchs

In more recent millennia another wave of people arrived on the shores of New Guinea. These were the Austronesian people, who had spread down from Taiwan, through the south-east Asian archipelago, colonising many of the islands on the way. The Austronesian people had technology and skills extremely well adapted to ocean voyaging and Austronesian language speaking people are present along much of the coastal areas and islands of New Guinea.

The first European contact with New Guinea was by Portuguese and/or Spanish sailors in the 16th century. In 1526-27 Don Jorge de Meneses saw the western tip of New Guinea and named it ilhas dos Papuas. Ploeg[8] reports that the word papua is often said to derive from the Malay word papua or pua-pua, meaning 'frizzly-haired', referring to the highly curly hair of the inhabitants of these areas. Another possibility, (put forward by Sollewijn Gelpke in 1993) is that it comes from the Biak phrase sup i papwa which means 'the land below [the sunset]' and refers to the islands west of the Bird's Head, as far as Halmahera. This page is about the island in Papua Indonesia For the language spoken there see Biak language. Halmahera (also Jilolo or Gilolo is the largest Island in the Maluku Islands.

Whatever the origin of the name Papua, it came to be associated with this area, and more especially with Halmahera, which was known to the Portuguese by this name during the era of their colonisation in this part of the world.

In 1545 the Spaniard Yñigo Ortiz de Retez sailed along the north coast of New Guinea as far as the Mamberamo River near which he landed, naming the island 'Nueva Guinea'. Yñigo Ortiz de Retez ( ''fl'' 1545 was a 16th-century Spanish maritime explorer, who navigated the northern coastline of the Pacific - The Mamberamo is a large River on the island of New Guinea, in the Indonesian province of Papua. The first map showing the whole island (as an island) was published in 1600 and shows it as 'Nova Guinea'.

The first European claim occurred in 1828, when the Netherlands formally claimed the western half of the island as Netherlands New Guinea. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Netherlands New Guinea was the official name of Western New Guinea while it was a colonial possession of the Netherlands. In 1883, following a short-lived French annexation of New Ireland, the British colony of Queensland annexed south-eastern New Guinea. New Ireland ( Tok Pisin: Niu Ailan) is a large Island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 8650 km² in area The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent However, the Queensland government's superiors in the United Kingdom revoked the claim, and (formally) assumed direct responsibility in 1884, when Germany claimed north-eastern New Guinea as the protectorate of German New Guinea (also styled Kaiser-Wilhelmsland). The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. German New Guinea ( Ger Deutsch-Neuguinea) was a former German Protectorate from 1884 to 1914 consisting of the northeastern part of Kaiser-Wilhelmsland was the name given to the north-eastern part of the New Guinea mainland while under Germany 's control between 1884 until 1914 when it was conquered The first Dutch government posts were established in 1898 and in 1902 Manokwari on the North coast, Fak-Fak in the West and Merauke in the South at the border with British New Guinea. The Territory of Papua was a de facto Australian possession comprising the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea, existing from roughly 1902

Both the Dutch and the British tried to suppress warfare and head-hunting once common between the villages of the populace.

In 1905 the British government renamed their territory to Papua and in 1906 transferred total responsibility for it to Australia. During World War I, Australian forces seized German New Guinea, which in 1920 became a League of Nations mandated territory of Australia. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The League of Nations was an International organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920 A League of Nations mandate refers to a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I. The Australian territories became collectively known as The Territories of Papua and New Guinea (until February 1942).

Before about 1930, most European maps showed the highlands as uninhabited forests. When first flown over by aircraft, numerous settlements with agricultural terraces and stockades were observed. The most startling discovery took place on August 4, 1938, when Richard Archbold discovered the Grand Valley of the Balim River which had 50,000 yet-undiscovered Stone Age farmers living in orderly villages. Events 70 - The Destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans. Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Richard Archbold ( April 9, 1907 - August 1, 1976) was an American Zoologist and Philanthropist. The people, known as the Dani, were the last society of its size to make first contact with the western world. The Dani people also spelled Ndani, and sometimes conflated with the Lani group to the west are a people from the central highlands of Western New Guinea [9]

Map of New Guinea, with place names as used in English in the 1940s
Map of New Guinea, with place names as used in English in the 1940s

Netherlands New Guinea and the Australian territories were invaded in 1942 by the Japanese. The Empire of Japan ( {{unicode|Kyūjitai}}: ja 大日本帝國 Shinjitai: ja 大日本帝国 pronounced Dai Nippon Teikoku The Australian territories were put under military administration and were known simply as New Guinea. The highlands, northern and eastern parts of the island became key battlefields in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. The South West Pacific was one of two theatres of World War II in the Pacific region between 1942 and 1945. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Papuans often gave vital assistance to the Allies, fighting alongside Australian troops, and carrying equipment and injured men across New Guinea. In general allies are people groups or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose Following the return to civil administration, the Australian section was known as the Territory of Papua-New Guinea (1945-49) and then as Papua and New Guinea. Although the rest of the Dutch East Indies achieved independence as Indonesia on December 27, 1949, the Netherlands regained control of western New Guinea. Events 537 - The Hagia Sophia is completed 1512 - The Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

During the 1950s the Dutch government began to prepare Netherlands New Guinea for full independence and allowed elections in 1959; an elected Papuan council, the New Guinea Council (Nieuw Guinea Raad) took office on April 5, 1961. Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Council decided on the name of West Papua, a national emblem, a flag called the Morning Star or Bintang Kejora, and a national anthem; the flag was first raised — next to the Dutch flag — on December 1, 1961. An emblem is a pictorial Image, abstract or representational that epitomizes a Concept — e The Morning Star flag (Indonesian Bintang Kejora) represented the territory of West New Guinea from 1 December 1961 until 1 October A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history traditions and struggles of its people recognized either by a nation's Events 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. However, Indonesia threatened with an invasion, after full mobilisation of its army, by August 15, 1962, after receiving military help from the Soviet Union. Events 778 - The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, at which Roland is killed Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Under strong pressure of the United States government (under the Kennedy administration) the Dutch, who were prepared to resist an Indonesian attack, attended diplomatic talks. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of On October 1, 1962, the Dutch handed over the territory to a temporary UN administration (UNTEA). Events 331 BC - Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela. Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security On May 1, 1963, Indonesia took control. Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. The territory was renamed West Irian and then Irian Jaya. In 1969 Indonesia, under the 1962 New York Agreement, was required to organize a plebiscite to seek the consent of the Papuans for Indonesian rule. A referendum (plural referendums or referenda) ballot question, or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita This so called Act of Free Choice (Pepera) resulted, under strong threats and intimidations of the Indonesian military, in a 100% vote for continued Indonesian rule.

There has been considerable resistance to Indonesian integration and occupation, both through civil disobedience (such as Morning Star flag raising ceremonies) and via the formation of the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM, or Free Papua Movement) in 1965. The Free Papua Movement (Indonesian Organisasi Papua Merdeka, abbreviated OPM) is a Separatist organization established in 1965 which Amnesty International has estimated more than 100,000 Papuans, one-sixth of the population, have died as a result of government-sponsored violence against West Papuans,[10] while others had previously specified much higher death tolls. Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is a Western based international Non-governmental organization which defines its mission as "to The term Papuan languages refers to those Languages of the western Pacific which are neither Austronesian nor Australian. [11]

From 1971, the name Papua New Guinea was used for the Australian territory. On September 16, 1975, Australia granted full independence to Papua New Guinea. Events 1400 - Owain Glyndŵr is declared Prince of Wales by his followers Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Papua New Guinea (or ˈpæpjuːə in Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini) officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania

In 2000, amid increasing discontent and opposition to Indonesian rule, Irian Jaya was formally renamed "The Province of Papua" and a large measure of "special autonomy" was granted in 2001. Papua is the largest province of Indonesia, comprising a majority part of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands (see also This law on special autonomy, however, was never implemented. On the contrary, at the beginning of 2003 President Megawati Sukarnoputri announced the division of the province into three parts, while the name "Papua" for the province would again revert to Irian. Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Soekarnoputri (born January 23, 1947) was President of Indonesia from July 2001 to October 20, With strong public protest by Papuans, only the province of West Irian Jaya (with Manokwari as its capital and covering the Bird's Head Peninsula) was split from Papua Province. West Papua ( Papua Barat; formerly West Irian Jaya or Irian Jaya Barat) with population around 800000 is the least populous province of Manokwari is a city and regency in the Indonesian province of West Papua, at the western end of New Guinea. "Bird's Head" redirects here The Bird's Head ( Indonesian Kepala Burung, Vogelkop Peninsula or Doberai Peninsula In 2005 a new proposal came from Jakarta to split the province into five provinces. This plan has not yet been implemented.

Geography

Topographical map of New Guinea.
Topographical map of New Guinea.

A central east-west mountain range dominates the geography of New Guinea, over 1600 km in total length. The western half of the island of New Guinea contains the highest mountains in Oceania, rising up to 4884 m high, and ensuring a steady supply of rain from the equatorial atmosphere. The tree line is around 4000 m elevation and the tallest peaks contain permanent equatorial glaciers - which are disappearing due to a changing climate. "Glacial" and "Glaciation" redirect here For the geological periods see Glacial period. Various other smaller mountain ranges occur both north and west of the central ranges. Except in high elevations, most areas possess a warm humid climate throughout the year, with some seasonal variation associated with the northeast monsoon season.

The Three Highest Peaks on the Island of New Guinea are:

Puncak Jaya, sometimes known by its former Dutch name Carstensz Pyramid, is a mist covered limestone mountain peak 4884 m above sea level on the Indonesian side of the border. Puncak Jaya (ˈpʊntʃak ˈdʒaja sometimes called Mount Carstensz or the Carstensz Pyramid, is a mountain in the Sudirman Range, the western central

Mount Wilhelm is the highest peak on the PNG side of the border at 4,509 meters. Mount Wilhelm (Wilhelmsberg is the highest Mountain in Papua New Guinea at. Its granite peak is the highest point of the Bismarck Range.

Mount Giluwe 4,368 meters is the second highest summit in PNG it is also the highest volcanic peak in Oceanea. Mount Giluwe is the second highest Mountain in Papua New Guinea at 4368 metres (14331 feet ( Mount Wilhelm being the highest

Another major habitat feature is the vast southern and northern lowlands. Stretching for hundreds of kilometers, these include lowland rainforests, extensive wetlands, savanna grasslands, and some of the largest expanses of mangrove forest in the world. The southern lowlands are the site of Lorentz National Park, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lorentz National Park is located in the Indonesian province of Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya (western New Guinea) United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex

The Sepik, Mamberamo, Fly, and Digul rivers are the island's major river systems that drain in roughly northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest directions respectively. The Sepik is the longest river on the island of New Guinea. The majority of the river flows through the Papua New Guinea (PNG provinces of Sandaun The Mamberamo is a large River on the island of New Guinea, in the Indonesian province of Papua. The Fly at, is the second longest River, after the Sepik, in Papua New Guinea. The Digul (Digoel Rivier is a major River in southern Papua province Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. Many of these rivers have broad areas of meander and result in large areas of lakes and freshwater swamps.

In New Guinea is many of the world’s ecosystem types: glacial, alpine tundra, savanna, montane and lowland rainforest, mangroves, wetlands, lake and river ecosystems, seagrasses, and some of the richest coral reefs on the planet.

Cannibalism

New Guinea is well-known in the popular imagination for ritual cannibalism that was apparently practised by some (but far from all) ethnic groups. Cannibalism (from Spanish es ''caníbal'' in connection with cannibalism among the Antillean Caribs, also called anthropophagy (from Greek ἄνθρωπος [12] The Korowai and Kombai peoples of southeastern Papua are two of the last groups in the world said to have engaged in cannibalism in the recent past. This article is about the ethnic group in New Guinea For the Māori cloak see Māori traditional textiles. In the Asmat area of southwestern Papua, it may have occurred up until the early 1970s. Asmat Regency is one of the Regencies ( kabupaten) in Papua province, Indonesia. Among the Fore people in Papua New Guinea, ritualized cannibalism led to the spread of kuru, prompting the Australian administration to outlaw the practice in 1959. Kuru is a disease which affects the Brain. It was endemic among the Fore tribe of Papua New Guinea and was universally fatal

Cannibalism may have arisen in New Guinea due to the scarcity of sources of protein. Proteins are large Organic compounds made of Amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by Peptide bonds between the Carboxyl The traditional crops, taro and sweet potato, are low in protein compared to wheat and pulses, and the only edible animals available were small and unappetizing, such as mice, spiders, and frogs. Taro (from Tahitian or other Polynesian languages) more rarely kalo (from Hawaiian) and gabi in The Philippines, is a The sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas) is a Dicotyledonous plant which belongs to the family Convolvulaceae Wheat ( Triticum spp is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Levant area of the Middle East. Pulses are annual leguminous crops yielding from one to twelve Grains or Seeds of variable size shape and color within a Pod, according [13] Anthropologists dispute this theory, pointing out that a number of medium-sized marsupials are endemic to the island, and are hunted by the natives, and that pigs were introduced several thousand years before contact with Europeans.

See also

References

  1. ^ Groube, Chappell, et al., Letter to Nature Dec 1986
  2. ^ First contact with isolated tribes?
  3. ^ Wikramanayake, Eric; Eric Dinerstein; Colby J. Melanesia (from Greek: μέλας black, νῆσος island) means "islands of the black-skinned people" Papua is the largest province of Indonesia, comprising a majority part of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands (see also Papua Region is one of four regions of Papua New Guinea. It comprises Central Province Gulf Province Milne Bay Province Loucks; et al. (2002). Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a Conservation Assessment. Island Press; Washington, DC
  4. ^ Abell, Robin, Michele L. Thieme, et al. (2008). "Freshwater Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Biogeographic Units for Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation". Bioscience" May 2008 / Vol. 58 No. 5, pgs. 403-414
  5. ^ Spalding, Mark D. , Helen E. Fox, Gerald R. Allen, Nick Davidson et al. "Marine Ecoregions of the World: A Bioregionalization of Coastal and Shelf Areas". Bioscience Vol. 57 No. 7, July/August 2007, pp. 573-583. [1]
  6. ^ Diamond, Jared. Collapse. (German translation), Frankfurt 2005, p. 350.
  7. ^ Diamond, Jared. Collapse. (German translation), Frankfurt 2005, p. 351.
  8. ^ Ploeg, Anton. 2002. '"DE PAPOEA" What's in a name?'. The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology 3(1), pp. 75-101
  9. ^ Diamond, Jared. The Third Chimpanzee. Harper Collins, 1993
  10. ^ Report claims secret genocide in Indonesia - University of Sydney
  11. ^ West Papua Support
  12. ^ Sleeping with Cannibals
  13. ^ Diamond, Jared (1997). TemplateInfobox writer --> Jared Mason Diamond (b 10 September, 1937) is an American Evolutionary biologist Guns, Germs, and Steel. W. W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-03891-2.  

External links

Dictionary

New Guinea

-proper noun

  1. A large island in the Pacific Ocean, north of Australia, whose territory is divided between Indonesia in the west and Papua New Guinea in the east.
  2. (Formerly) the northern part of what is now called Papua New Guinea, administered as a separate territory to Papua.
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