Pre-Austronesian dispersal of banana cultivars West from New Guinea: linguistic relics from Eastern Indonesia

Against the backdrop of a comprehensive archaeobotanical review, we present linguistic evidence that allows us to develop a model of the dispersal of bananas westwards from New Guinea. This westward dispersal is a window on pre-Austronesian contact between New Guinea and regions to the west. The linguistically-derived model is compatible with archaeobotanical and botanical data. Our interpretation accords with evidence for maritime interactions from the early Holocene in western New Guinea and eastern Indonesia.