Papua`s Wondama Bay was first transit point for Austronesian people: Expert

 Wondama bay – 13th April 2016

“They could spot fish at a distance of up to 100 meters in the sea while standing on the beach.”

Manokwari (ANTARA News) – The area around Wondama Bay in West Papua Province was the first transit point for Austronesian people in the land of Papua, according to Andreas Deda, the dean of Papua University’s Faculty of Letters.

The residents of Papua comprise Austronesians and Papuans, who are the indigenous people of Papua, Deda stated here on Wednesday.

Deda explained that the Austronesian people were giant men who were part of human history and the civilization of Papuans.

According to the dean, Austronesian people had a tendency to live and settle in the coastal areas, while the Papuan people were more inclined to live in the mountainous regions.

The first residents of Papua, who lived in the coastal areas, could be called as the early humans who reached a height of three meters or more, he remarked.

“They could spot fish at a distance of up to 100 meters in the sea while standing on the beach,” Deda revealed.

The postgraduate alumni of the University of Hawaii revealed that the traces of Austronesian people in Wondama Bay could be found on the island of Yogmewos as fossil bones of large size and length were excavated there.

Deda noted that besides the fossil bones, several relics of Austronesian civilization were also discovered in the region.

“Historical evidence can be found in the form of working tools and folklore that exist even today,” he added.
(Uu.O001/INE/KR-BSR)