EXPLOITING PANDANUS 35,000 YEAR ON.
Unique is the Goilala land where “early modern humans” of the past existed 35, 000 years ago is now (in the 21st Century) inhabited by new generation of their kind.
Kosipe, located at 2000 metres above sea level in the heart of Goilala is one of the places perhaps where the first oldest human race settled in mainland Papua New Guinea – a unique history recently uncovered through archeological excavations that shows regular occupation from the late Pleistocene, from as early as 35,000 BP indicating the ability of early modern humans to adapt to different environmental niches, with earliest evidence of humans moving into high altitudes.
New archaeological findings acknowledge the potential for broader-based subsistence and settlement continuity (through the discovery of artefacts like wasted blades and axe-adzes) during the Pleistocene, including the last glacial maximum (LGM).
The existence of the human race then was based on hunting and the exploitation of seasonally-producing high-altitude Pandanus (karuka in pidgin). Exploiting the pandanus is still our way of life today. You can learn more about the Goilala people through the pages of this website – the people, languages, traditions, climate, tourist spots, developments and others.
We dedicate this Website to those that domiciled the land of Goilala before us, 35, 000 years ago and also to those that exists at the present time.