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by some tribes living in the south-coast of Papua (Reid, 1985). The tradition of adopted
cultures, such as earthen ceramic making practice has been discovered in the North Coast,
Cendrawasih Gulf, and in the area of Birds Head (Mahmud, 2011). These traditions and
other traditions that have not been discussed here are interesting to research extensively
to understand more about Austro-Melanesian original culture or the product of interaction
culture with the Austronesians. It should be remembered that local wisdom needs to be
elaborated and developed at present. Knowing more about cultural values and actualizing
them will enrich Melanesian identity and also the culture of the nation.

Melanesia in Perspective
The Melanesian population living in the Indonesian Archipelago and the Pacific has gone
through a long journey. Their ancestors were involved in the dynamic life of populations
all around the islands since the second half of the early Pleistocene age. At that time,
their ancestors, the early modern humans, lived across a vast area of Indonesia, South-
east Asia, Melanesia and Australia. Their arrival was one of the four major events of the
history of Melanesia. The existence, origins and the dynamic life of Melanesian population
was clearer than for the Mongolic Race. The origins and the development of Mongolic,
Austronesian speaking population are more complicated and still debatable and different
from the origin and development of Austro-Melanesoid.
The Melanesian population’s ancestors were early modern humans. These are thought
to have originated in Africa, who over time dispersed to many parts of the world including
to Indonesia and further to western Melanesia and Australia. Around 12,000 year ago, when
the Ice Age ended, the sea level rose significantly. Subsequently, there was an increase in
the rate of growth of the population, and these early humans spread to new areas which
had never been inhabited before. In South-east Asia, West Melanesia, and Australia, the
descendants of early modern humans have different features to other populations in the
world (Suroto, 2011). Bio-anthropologists categorize them as the Australomelanesoid
Race, a Homo Sapiens subspecies (Jacob, 1976). These early human populations are the
ancestors of the present day Melanesians.
The descendants of this first wave of early humans produced developments in their
culture, with intensification cave habitation, increase in variation or types of materials used
to make devices, the development of art and the concept of belief. Their lives entered a new
phase when the third big occurrence happened around 4,000 years ago, with the arrival of
the Mongolic Race in the Indonesian Archipelago. The Austronesians came through two

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