Antara News, Wednesday, April 28, 2010 22:44 WIB
Jayapura (ANTARA News) - Papua`s southern coastal areas are quite strategic for the entry and development of Austronesian culture.
Researcher of the Jayapura Archeological Institute Hari Suroto said here Wednesday Papua is geographically the most western part of the Pacific connecting Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
"This point is a strategic area for migration traffic from the west to the east," ujarnnya.
Hari said many archeological factors and sustainable forms of culture found in Papua`s coastal areas indicated the presence of Austronesian culture in Indonesia`s most eastern parts.
Austronesian culture, he added, is known and spread by nations using Austronesian dialects in areas between Madagaskar in the west, to Easter Island (in the Pasific) in the east, and Formosa in the north.
The result of archeological research shows that the areas in Papua which speak Melanesian are Yapen island, Raja Ampat regency, Biak, Waropen, and the areas of Wandamen Bay, the coastal areas of Cenderawasih Bay, the most eastern part of Papua island from Sorong regency to the south along Sele strait coastal region, Bintuni Bay, Arguni Bay, to the coastal regions of Etna Bay.
Papua people lived in Fak-fak and Raja Ampat regencies, and Yotefa, Waena and Sentani bays north of Jayapura, also applied communal organization based on the hierarchical system under which the leaders are their descendants.
Such culture is not found in the Central Mountains who considered their fellowman equal.
