| Abstract: |
In this paper, I review pottery manufacture and pottery decoration techniques that I have recorded between 1965 and 1972 in several areas of the northern mainland of New Guinea in an attempt to discuss possible reasons for the diversity of the ceramic in this region. This leads me to the conclusion that differentiated, yet related pottery styles seem, as much as words, sentences or grammatical structures, to be part of the identity of the people linked to each other by many strong, yet different bonds and that regional or local differentiation is an end in itself, not the product of linear technical evolution or linear geographical expansion. This conclusions are further situated within the context of actual archaeological knowledge and theory.
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