A Historical Ethnography of the Enga Economy of Papua New Guinea

When people in a small-scale society are first able produce a storable surplus, how does complexity and inequality unfold?

Polly Wiessner (Author), Akii Tumu (Author), Nitze Pupu (Author)

9781009368766, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 June 2024

96 pages
22.9 x 15.1 x 0.5 cm, 0.16 kg

The question addressed in this Element is: What happens to a society when, in the absence of influence from foreign populations, constraints are released by a new crop making possible significant surplus production? We will draw on the historical traditions of 110 tribes of the Enga of Papua New Guinea recorded over a decade to document the changes that occurred in response to the potential for surplus production after the arrival of the sweet potato some 350 years prior to contact with Europeans. Economic change alone does not restructure a society nor build the social and political scaffolding for new institutions. In response to rapid change, the Enga drew on rituals that altered norms and values and resolved cultural contradictions that inhibited cooperation to bring about complexity rather than chaos. The end result was the development of one of the largest known ceremonial exchange systems prior to state formation.

Introduction
1. The Enga, Their Economy and Historical Traditions
2. Baseline: Environment, Population and Economy in the Early Generations
3. The Arrival of the Sweet Potato in Enga: Repercussions
4. The Sangai and Kepele Cults: Relations with the Spirit World
5. The Great Ceremonial Wars
6. The Tee Ceremonial Exchange Cycle
7. Conflict Resolution and Peacemaking
8. The Convergence of the Great Wars, Tee Cycle and Kepele Cult
9. Leadership
10. Outcome
References.

Subject Areas: Archaeology [HD]