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Cannibalism and developments to socio-political systems from 540 BP in the Massim Islands of south-east Papua New Guinea. In From Field to Museum—Studies from Melanesia in Honour of Robin Torrence, ed. Jim Specht, Val Attenbrow, and Jim Allen

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Shaw, Ben, Coxe, Simon·2021·Technical Reports of the Australian Museum online
DOI 10.3853/j.1835-4211.34.2021.1742
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Abstract

The consumption of human flesh, popularly defined as cannibalism, has arguably occurred throughout much of human history.In New Guinea, it has been associated ethnographically with warfare, mortuary rites and nutrition.However, it often evades detection in the archaeological record because of difficulties in distinguishing it from other social practices.Here we disentangle colonial myths associated with the consumption of human flesh and report disarticulated, burnt and cut human skeletal remains from two coastal sites spanning the past 540 years in the Massim island region of southeast Papua New Guinea.These sites, Wule and Morpa, both occur on Rossel Island.The skeletal evidence is contemporary with the construction of large stone platforms where human victims were often killed and consumed, and inland villages which were established in response to a well-attested period of conflict on Rossel and throughout the region.Within an ethnoarchaeological framework, we argue that cannibalism became increasingly prevalent in association with feasting as a means of maintaining social relationships and personal power.The findings are placed first within an island, then a regional model of emerging pressures on existing socio-political systems.

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  • At Morpa, only one individual was present, represented by long bone fragments; these fragments bear no clear evidence of cut marks and percussion damage, possibly due to high fragmentation and burning.

    “At Morpa site, only one individual was present, represented by long bone fragments (number undetermined in Shaw & Coxe, 2021, pp. 55-56).These fragments bear no clear evidence of cut marks and percussion damage, possibly due to high level of fragmentation and burning of the fragments (Table 2).”

    From The Archaeology of Cannibalism: a Review of the Taphonomic Traits Associated with Survival and Ritualistic Cannibalism (2025) · cites this paper as Shaw & Coxe, 2021

    The Skeletal remains section (cited pp. 55–56) identifies clustered long-bone fragments at Morpa and says they were heavily burnt. It says the fragments *may* have come from a single individual, rather than establishing that only one was present. It does not state that fragmentation and burning explain an absence of clear cut marks or percussion damage. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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7 of the 84 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 30

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Authors
Shaw, B., & Coxe, S.
Affiliations
Australian National University (AU)
Corresponding author
Shaw, Ben
ORCID
Venue
Technical Reports of the Australian Museum online
Publisher
Australian Museum
Published
2021-05-12
Volume
34
Pages
47-60
ISSN
1835-4211 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3853/j.1835-4211.34.2021.1742
OpenAlex
W3162608924
Cited by
2
References
84
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2024: 1
FWCI
0.81
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
Technical Reports of the Australian Museum online (publishedVersion)
Funders
Australian Research Council (DE170100291)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Geography, Planning and Development › Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
Keywords
cannibalism, skeletal remains, Rossel Island, feasting, socio-political systems, colonial myths, funerary practices, stone platforms, conflict, personal power, interpersonal relationships, ethnoarchaeology

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