Discussing West Papua is indeed endless. Starting from its abundant natural wealth, extraordinary biodiversity, to cultural diversity.

Have you ever researched, where did the ancestors of the Papuan people come from?

Based on excavations or excavations by archaeologists, in the form of human bones at the Yomokho site, Lake Sentani, Papua, it shows that the human bones found were Australomelanesid humans.

The Austromelanesids were the first humans to inhabit the Island of New Guinea. They arrived on this island about 50 thousand years ago, first landing in Huon Bay, north of Papua New Guinea.

“So the humans found at the Yomokho site are Australomelanesid whose ancestors came from the east or Papua New Guinea. This is supported by the folklore of the Sentani ethnic group, which says their ancestors came from the east. Austromelanesid humans became the ancestors of today’s Papuans, Papua New Guineans and Melanesians,” said Hari Suroto, Researcher at the Center for Environmental Archaeological Research [BRIN]

According to him, Austromelanesid humans who arrived 50,000 years ago in Huon Bay, Papua New Guinea, moved west and arrived at Lake Sentani around 2,500 years ago. Then, these Austromelanesid humans brought valuable knowledge, namely making fire. Thus, it can be said that the Austromelanesid people who first exploited the area of ​​the Island of New Guinea were hunters and food gatherers.

“The fauna in New Guinea are not used to humans at all when they have to deal with hungry humans. Because of that, the extinction of the large-bodied marsupials, which are endemic to New Guinea, was due to them,” said Hari.

After the extinction of large-bodied mammals, game animals were limited to small animals such as mole rats, cuscus, ground kangaroos and tree kangaroos.

Austromelanesid people from Huon Bay moved to the highlands of Papua New Guinea in the Kuk Site, Waghi Valley, and developed taro farming 8000 years ago. Then, they moved west and arrived at the Baliem Valley in Papua, developing red fruit farming 7000 years ago.

Austromelanesid humans who moved to the highlands never met Austronesian humans, so their culture in the mountains did not know cooking using clay containers.

While the Australomelanesid people lived hunting and gathering, when they arrived at Yomokho Hill, Sentani, Austronesian people came who introduced pottery culture, tattoos, chewed betel nut, raised pigs, dogs and chickens. These Austronesian humans arrived on the coast of Papua, 3000 years ago, they lived on the coast and small islands off the coast.

“Austromelanesid humans who moved west towards Lake Sentani, through coastal areas, had contact with Austronesian humans, so that their culture in Sentani knew cooking using clay containers,” said Hari.

In a scientific publication entitled “Austronesian Culture in the Sentani Lake Area” written by Hari Suroto, one of them reveals the historical relationship between the Vanimo people in Papua New Guinea and the Sentani people in Papua.

This is evidenced not only by the artifacts of glass bracelets and beads, but also by the remains of food materials such as sea mollusk shells at ancient sites in the Lake Sentani area. Also, the existence of mollusk shells as the main ingredient for making lime to eat betel nut.

“That is proof that the Sentani people have a relationship with those who live near the coast of Papua New Guinea [Vanimo, Aitape, east Sepik],” wrote Hari.

According to him, the origin of Austronesian culture in the Lake Sentani area is an interesting point to study. Based on linguistic evidence that the Sentani language is non-Austronesian. It is thought that the Sentani people did not have a direct relationship with Austronesian speakers, but indirectly through the people of Vanimo, Aitape and East Sepik.

From the results of archaeological and ethnoarchaeological research, the influence of Austronesian culture in the Lake Sentani area is pottery artifacts, glass bracelets, glass beads, bronze artifacts, pottery-making traditions, tattoo traditions, and the manufacture of alcoholic beverages from coconut trees. As well as, a hierarchical leadership system, and animal husbandry such as pigs, dogs and chickens.

Regarding the origin of the Papuan people, Enos H. Rumansara in the Journal of Bureaucratic Ecology, quotes Teuku Jacob, Professor of Physical Anthropology at Gajah Mada University, explaining that in the last Ice Age, approximately 800,000 years ago, when Papua was still united with the Australian continent, its inhabitants who are the ancestors of the Papuan and Melanesian people; also the ancestors of Indigenous Australians who have Paleo-Melanesoid physical characteristics.

When the Ice Age ended and sea levels rose, Australia was separated from New Guinea and the Indonesian archipelago. The physical characteristics of the Papuan and Melanesian people developed into the characteristics of the modern Melanesoid race