Manim (2): 10 years BP: A prehistry of Manim rockshelter, Western Highland Province, Papua New Guinea

The analysis and subsequent interpretation of any archaeological material is heavily dependent upon the observations and recordings compiled in the field; basically in the form of field notes and photographs. Apart from these sources, there are also those observations and experiences that never find their way into the notes but nonetheless play a vital role in the interpretation of the material. In the words of J. B. Watson (1977; viii) 'Whatever the replicable truth of a library or laboratory, in field-based research, when the data are gathered and stored and still await description and analysis, a change of researchers is a serious chnge. The best one can hope for is patience, imagination and courage of the second worker.' The death of Ole Christensen was a great loss to his profession and to his colleagues at the Australian National University fell the responsibility of ensuring that the important work of this young scholar was brought to completion. (Golson, in 'Foreword' to Chrsitensen 1975; 25). It is indeed a sad state of affairs because in a bid to complete this work many scholars have looked at specific aspects of a material collection that was intended to be anaysed as a whole. In 1977 Dr. Phil Huges went back to the site and du up part of the backfilled excavation to look at the processes of the sedimentology. K. Aplin (1981) analysed hte faunal remains from some of the sites and J. Burton has looked at a certain portion of the lithic material in his Doctoral dissertation. D. Donoghue of the University of Qeensland is currently analysing the organic and carbonised remains from these sites. J.P. White (1977) analysed Christensen's ethnographic collection of stone axes. Furthermore, over the years, the field and other records and the excavated finds have also been widely dispersed. During the months of December 1982 and July 1983 I have painstakingly put together all the relevant information regarding the site that I was to analyse from the scattered remains of the original notes and those compiled by others who had worked on the collection after Christensen's tragic death. This included having to copy his field note books, of which only the carbon copies could be found. Briefly these are some of the logistical shortcomings. Therefore, it is only fair at the outset to ask the reader to note that this thesis is set within the confines of these limitations and should be viewed as such.