Men traded wares - but women traded knowledge: what a new archaeological study tells us about PNG sea trade
Published: June 29, 2025 10:06pm EDT
Australia’s closest neighbour, Papua New Guinea, is a place of remarkable cultural diversity. Home to cultures speaking more than 800 languages, this region has been interconnected by seafaring trade networks for thousands of years.
Because seafaring was most often undertaken by men, it has long been assumed by anthropologists and archaeologists that information sharing between different cultures came via men.
Our new archaeological research sheds light on the often overlooked role of women in developing past trade relationships. We found knowledge being shared that couldn’t have been shared among men – pointing the direction towards complicated relationships between women in cultures based hundreds of kilometres apart.
The adventurous deeds of male seafarers
In 1883, Papua New Guinea was colonised and annexed by Britain. Foreign anthropologists such as Darwin’s collaborator Thomas Huxley, Charles Seligman and Bronislaw Malinowski arrived shortly after.
These male anthropologists became enamoured of the region’s seagoing trade networks, featuring huge sailing canoes, dangerous voyages and complex trade relationships.
More:
https://theconversation.com/men-traded-wares-but-women-traded-knowledge-what-a-new-archaeological-study-tells-us-about-png-sea-trade-258184