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Circumnavigation of New Guinea: Wewak to Port Moresby

Jayapura, previously called Hollandia, changed names when Indonesia took possession of the western half of New Guinea by popular election in 1969. In contention with the English, it was the Dutch who were the resident colonial power as far back as 1660, and remained so until the Japanese occupation on April 19, 1942. The 19th century saw oil and mineral exploration throughout western New Guinea, and the U.S.-owned Freeport Copper Mine persists today.

On our arrival in Jayapura we were met by a band of enthusiastic dancers in traditional dress. A strong Indonesian influence was immediately noticeable...

Journal Article Excerpt Rock Art in West Papua.

by Chris Ballard

Rock Art in West Papua By Karina Arifin and Philippe Delanghe UNESCO Publishing, Paris, 2004. ISBN 92-3-103906-7. Pp.291.48.80.

Monographs on rock art in the Asia-Pacific region (outside Australia) are few and far between, and one on the rock art of West Papua is a rare bird indeed. Social science research in the Indonesian province of Papua (formerly Irian Jaya), which remains effectively under military control, is virtually impossible for foreigners and difficult even for Indonesian scholars. The authors, an Indonesian archaeologist trained at ANU and a UNESCO Programme Specialist for Culture based in Jakarta, are to be congratulated for their persistence in pursuing a program of field survey, which has resulted in this handsomely produced volume. No fewer than 261 plates, almost all of them in colour, will make this an invaluable resource for anyone interested in rock art, or in the archaeology of ritual and symbolism more generally.

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Jayapura isn't exactly Kaimana District, Provinice of Papua Barat.

Kaimana District looks like a few fishing or logging villages and miles and miles of jungle about 500 miles SW of the city of Jayapura.

yitbos