From shells to cuscus: Reevaluating Turbo argyrostoma exploitation at Matenkupkum during the late pleistocene

Abstract

This paper re-examines the exploitation of Turbo argyrostoma at Matenkupkum, a key coastal site in New Ireland, Papua New Guinea, through the analysis of new data on shell size variation and subsistence shifts. While previous interpretations attributed decreases in Turbo size to overexploitation, statistical analyses and environmental considerations suggest a more complex interplay of ecological and environmental factors. The introduction of exotic terrestrial mammals around 20,000 years ago marks a critical turning point in subsistence strategies, highlighting the adaptive flexibility of human populations in response to both environmental changes and resource availability. The results add to global debates on shell midden formation and shellfish exploitation as the study contributes to broader understandings of human–marine resource interactions documented in Pleistocene and early Holocene coastal adaptations worldwide.