The past: the evidence of archaeology

Papua New Guinea--a country that shows great diversity in a small geographical area--constitutes a unique and fascinating laboratory in which the impact of variety on a human population can be studied. For example, more than a quarter of the world's languages are found there among less than four million people. It can be regarded as a small "cosmos" in which complex interrelationships can be studied within a connected whole. This revealing book describes the human biology of Papua New Guinea. Additionally, studies of the geography, demography, social anthropology, linguistics, and human genetics of the country are presented. These studies are linked to biomedical and epidemiological research. The results are of wider significance and will be of interest to those working in human biology and biomedicine elsewhere in the world