Archaeological Investigations at Momorikotey: A Late Holocene Site in Southern Cenderawasih Bay, West New Guinea

Klementin Fairyo1* and Dylan Gaffney2

1Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia; 2University of Oxford, United Kingdom; *fairyoklementin@yahoo.co.id

The Momorikotey site is located on Kapotar Island in the southern part of Cenderawasih Bay. It is one of a growing number of Late Holocene sites in West New Guinea that attest to maritime population movements and the emergence of ceramic technology. These movements may coincide with the arrival of East-Malayo-Polynesian (Austronesian) language speakers along the coasts of northern New Guinea and their broader expansion eastwards into the Pacific. This presentation describes archaeological excavation at the Momorikotey site in 2018 and 2021, along with radiocarbon dating and provisional artefact analyses. Radiocarbon dating establishes an important pulse of activity at the site about 3000-2800 years ago. Artefacts recovered from the site include stone flakes and axes, shell artefacts, pottery, bone tools, and grinding stones. Ecofactual remains include shell midden, animal bone, human remains, and macrobotanicals. A later period of occupation is also clearly visible, demonstrated by the presence of iron axes, beads, and European ceramic fragments.