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This book is at once a detailed ethnographic and historical analysis of one of the final modern-day experiences of first-culture contact, a classic example of historical geography, and an extraordinary tale of exploration, imperialist arrogance, blood-shed, suffering, courage, and near disaster. By the 1930's, the interior of the island of New Guinea, protected from outside penetration over the centuries by its rugged mountains and unruly rivers, remained one of the few places outsiders had never seen. In early January of 1935, the Papuan colonial administration dispatched patrol officers including 40 Papuan carriers and police, to explore the vast unknown country between the Strickland and Purari rivers. The expedition moved inland along the river systems by steam launch and canoe until, in mid-February, they abandoned their boats and proceeded on foot through the tropical forest and into the mountains. Along the way, the party encountered hitherto unsuspected populations - peoples of six tribes, numbering in the tens of thousands - who had never before seen white men and who were still using Stone Age tools.
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Kenneth Pike's influence spread far and wide during the last half of the twentieth century. The contributors to this volume are just a few of the thousands of scholars whose work was influenced by Pike's teaching and writing. These essays will help younger scholars grasp something of his intellectual influence through his contribution to linguistics, anthropology, and many other disciplines. Long before the concept of "endangered languages" came into vogue in the 1990s, Pike was instilling in his students the importance of recording, preserving, and working to keep alive the thousands of unwritten languages spoken throughout the world. Pike's work with SIL International took him to many part...