3.7 International Spice Trading
51
moving into the Bismarcks after the Mount Witori eruption 3,600 years ago, possibly to secure the trade resource of Lou Island and Talisean obsidian which, Spriggs
[9] argued, they were soon trading over the 8,000 km from Sabah to Fiji.
The claim for obsidian trade reaching from Lou Island and Talisea to Sabah in
Borneo 6,000 years ago fits sensibly with other evidence for long-distance trade in
the same area and era. It is relevant to remember that the proportion of the longdistance maritime trade in the area for which there is archaeological evidence may
be miniscule. To what extent Spice Islanders were responsible for such trade, or for
trade for which we have no evidence, is unguessable. Halmahera is known to have
had an ancient plume trade in red parrot feathers. It is possible that about 6,000
years ago the Spice Islanders sought to extend their plume trade to Asia by accessing
Bird of Paradise plumes from the New Guinea highlands through the Sepik River
area. A 5,800-year-old betel nut (an Asian narcotic plant) found in a midden at
Dongan in the Sepik/Ramu area of New Guinea supports Pamela Swadling’s claims
for ancient trade links between New Guinea and Asia, based on trade in Bird of
Paradise plumes. And she suggests that the pre-Lapita development of incised and
applique pottery in the Sepik/Ramu area, and more definitively further to the west,
was associated with the plume trade [18]. She points to the fact that J. Roder found
early incised and applique pottery at the base of his excavation at Dudumunir cave
on Arguni Island, on the Onin coast of Berau Bay, in Irian Jaya and she comments
that “Ian Glover considers this pottery to be comparable to the 5000 BP ware found
in Timor.”
Swadling’s argument that the pottery found in Dudumuni cave was associated
with the plume trade seems partly to be based on the fact that this area was such
an important source of plumes both during the period of Asian trade and during the
European plume-hunting boom of the early 20th century.
Swadling draws attention to the presence in the Sepik/Ramu area 6,000 years
ago of an inland sea accessible from the north New Guinea coast, which would have
facilitated trade between those living on the coasts of this inland sea and the highlands beyond, where Birds of Paradise were to be found. This inland sea would have
given long-distance maritime traders ready access to plumes for trading to Asia.
That such trading occurred is shown not only by the betel nut in the Dongan midden but also, Swadling implies, by the production of incised and applique pottery
presumably needed to protect plumes in transit.
Although there is no direct evidence of Spice Island involvement in this trade, as
we shall see in the next section, there are certainly strong suggestions of Spice Island
connections with the Sepik/Ramu area. At the very least, evidence for long-distance
maritime coastal trading with Mesopotamia from the region stretching from Borneo
to the Sepik/Ramu area provides a context which makes long-distance spice trading
from the Spice Islands with Asia probable in this period.
3.7 International Spice Trading
Clear archaeological evidence for a Spice Island-based international spice trade can
only be dated to 1721 BC.
51
moving into the Bismarcks after the Mount Witori eruption 3,600 years ago, possibly to secure the trade resource of Lou Island and Talisean obsidian which, Spriggs
[9] argued, they were soon trading over the 8,000 km from Sabah to Fiji.
The claim for obsidian trade reaching from Lou Island and Talisea to Sabah in
Borneo 6,000 years ago fits sensibly with other evidence for long-distance trade in
the same area and era. It is relevant to remember that the proportion of the longdistance maritime trade in the area for which there is archaeological evidence may
be miniscule. To what extent Spice Islanders were responsible for such trade, or for
trade for which we have no evidence, is unguessable. Halmahera is known to have
had an ancient plume trade in red parrot feathers. It is possible that about 6,000
years ago the Spice Islanders sought to extend their plume trade to Asia by accessing
Bird of Paradise plumes from the New Guinea highlands through the Sepik River
area. A 5,800-year-old betel nut (an Asian narcotic plant) found in a midden at
Dongan in the Sepik/Ramu area of New Guinea supports Pamela Swadling’s claims
for ancient trade links between New Guinea and Asia, based on trade in Bird of
Paradise plumes. And she suggests that the pre-Lapita development of incised and
applique pottery in the Sepik/Ramu area, and more definitively further to the west,
was associated with the plume trade [18]. She points to the fact that J. Roder found
early incised and applique pottery at the base of his excavation at Dudumunir cave
on Arguni Island, on the Onin coast of Berau Bay, in Irian Jaya and she comments
that “Ian Glover considers this pottery to be comparable to the 5000 BP ware found
in Timor.”
Swadling’s argument that the pottery found in Dudumuni cave was associated
with the plume trade seems partly to be based on the fact that this area was such
an important source of plumes both during the period of Asian trade and during the
European plume-hunting boom of the early 20th century.
Swadling draws attention to the presence in the Sepik/Ramu area 6,000 years
ago of an inland sea accessible from the north New Guinea coast, which would have
facilitated trade between those living on the coasts of this inland sea and the highlands beyond, where Birds of Paradise were to be found. This inland sea would have
given long-distance maritime traders ready access to plumes for trading to Asia.
That such trading occurred is shown not only by the betel nut in the Dongan midden but also, Swadling implies, by the production of incised and applique pottery
presumably needed to protect plumes in transit.
Although there is no direct evidence of Spice Island involvement in this trade, as
we shall see in the next section, there are certainly strong suggestions of Spice Island
connections with the Sepik/Ramu area. At the very least, evidence for long-distance
maritime coastal trading with Mesopotamia from the region stretching from Borneo
to the Sepik/Ramu area provides a context which makes long-distance spice trading
from the Spice Islands with Asia probable in this period.
3.7 International Spice Trading
Clear archaeological evidence for a Spice Island-based international spice trade can
only be dated to 1721 BC.