Page "Papua New Guinea" Paragraph 6

Agriculture was independently developed in the New Guinea highlands around 7000 BC, making it one of the few areas in the world where people independently domesticated plants.

A major migration of Austronesian speaking peoples came to coastal regions roughly 500 BC.

This has been correlated with the introduction of pottery, pigs, and certain fishing techniques.

More recently, in the 18th century, the sweet potato was taken to New Guinea, having been introduced to the Moluccas from South America by Portuguese traders, representing the locally dominant colonial power.

The far higher crop yields from sweet potato gardens radically transformed traditional agriculture ; sweet potato largely supplanted the previous staple, taro, and gave rise to a significant increase in population in the highlands.