A renewed archaeological and archaeobotanical assessment of house sites at Kuk Swamp in the highlands of Papua New Guinea

House sites located on the wetland margin at Kuk Swamp in the Upper Wahgi Valley of Papua New Guinea were excavated in 1972 and 1973. Macrobotanical remains collected during excavation of domestic contexts were collected and subject to preliminary identification. Renewed macrobotanical analysis of these remains provides a more reliable foundation for their taxonomic identification to species or genus level. Plant remains include sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum) and probable sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas). Direct accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating of macrobotanical remains provides a reliable basis for determining the antiquity of the house sites and differentiates at least two periods of settlement.