The linguistic situation in Near Oceania before agriculture

Abstract

Near Oceania consists of mainland New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago (New Britain, New Ireland and Manus), Bougainville and the Solomon Islands. I divide Near Oceania into two regions which are distinct in terms of their linguistic history. The first region is mainland New Guinea. The second consists of the Bismarcks, Bougainville and the Solomon Islands, which I refer to collectively as Northwest Island Melanesia.