Phase 3: The emergence of ditches

Ditches and associated artefacts ranging in age from roughly 4000–2000 years old have been documented at Kuk and several other wetlands in the highland interior of New Guinea (Fig. 13.1 and Table 13.1). Ditches and ditch networks have been mapped and investigated in greatest detail at Kuk, while more limited excavation, recording and dating have occurred elsewhere: in the upper Wahgi Valley at the Manton site on Warrawau Plantation; in the middle Wahgi Valley at Kana; at Tambul in the upper Kaugel Valley; and at Haeapugua in the Tari Basin (see Table 13.1). The archaeological remains at Kuk have guided the interpretation of finds at other sites