EARLY FIRE AND FOREST CHANGE IN THE BALIEM VALLEY, IRIAN-JAYA, INDONESIA

A 3.5m section of organic sediment was obtained from a karstic pond on a hill in the centre of the Baliem Valley, one of the major settled i ntermontane highland areas of New Guinea. The material spans two time periods each of approximately 2 millennia, one from about 2000 BP to t he present and the other from 33,500 to 31,500 BP. The pollen analysis of the earlier section showed that it formed when the valley was fore sted by Nothofagus forest, but a carbonized particle input was consist ently present after about 32,500 years ago. The recent section covers a period when the hill was totally cleared except for grassland and so me open shrubby regrowth. The early burning and associated clearances are tentatively ascribed to a human origin. Fire is associated with sl ope erosion on the hill at 28,000 BP which supports the hypothesis of long term human settlement in the area.