Robert L. Welsch is now retired from teaching anthropology at Franklin Pierce University and Dartmouth College and was formerly affiliated with The Field Museum in Chicago. In addition to conducting extensive field research in Papua New Guinea, he is co-author of a series of textbooks with Oxford University Press. His most recent publication is Anthropology: Asking Questions About Human Origins, Diversity, and Culture (OUP, 2024).

“This book is a strong contribution to the literature. Very few studies of “friendship,” ... bind together regional networks of small societies, in a region of great linguistic diversity, have ever been undertaken.” • Richard Scaglion, University of Pittsburgh

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroduction: New Approaches to Understanding Traditional Economic ActivityChapter 1. Exploring Historic Relationships Along the North Coast of New GuineaChapter 2. Linguistic Diversity Along the North Coast of New GuineaChapter 3. Is Material Culture Variation Correlated with Language Affiliation?Chapter 4. Studying Friendship Networks Along the North CoastChapter 5. How Friendship Functioned Along the North Coast: Trying to Make Sense of These Long-Term RelationshipsChapter 6. The Nature of Friendship Along the North Coast: What Holds These Relationships Together from One Generation to the Next?Conclusion: Exploring the Impact of the Tsunami of 1998 on Friendship Networks Around AitapeEpilogueReferencesIndex

Robert L. Welsch is now retired from teaching anthropology at Franklin Pierce University and Dartmouth College and was formerly affiliated with The Field Museum in Chicago. In addition to conducting extensive field research in Papua New Guinea, he is co-author of a series of textbooks with Oxford University Press. His most recent publication is Anthropology: Asking Questions About Human Origins, Diversity, and Culture (OUP, 2024).

“This book is a strong contribution to the literature. Very few studies of “friendship,” ... bind together regional networks of small societies, in a region of great linguistic diversity, have ever been undertaken.” • Richard Scaglion, University of Pittsburgh

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroduction: New Approaches to Understanding Traditional Economic ActivityChapter 1. Exploring Historic Relationships Along the North Coast of New GuineaChapter 2. Linguistic Diversity Along the North Coast of New GuineaChapter 3. Is Material Culture Variation Correlated with Language Affiliation?Chapter 4. Studying Friendship Networks Along the North CoastChapter 5. How Friendship Functioned Along the North Coast: Trying to Make Sense of These Long-Term RelationshipsChapter 6. The Nature of Friendship Along the North Coast: What Holds These Relationships Together from One Generation to the Next?Conclusion: Exploring the Impact of the Tsunami of 1998 on Friendship Networks Around AitapeEpilogueReferencesIndex

Robert L. Welsch is now retired from teaching anthropology at Franklin Pierce University and Dartmouth College and was formerly affiliated with The Field Museum in Chicago. In addition to conducting extensive field research in Papua New Guinea, he is co-author of a series of textbooks with Oxford University Press. His most recent publication is Anthropology: Asking Questions About Human Origins, Diversity, and Culture (OUP, 2024).

“This book is a strong contribution to the literature. Very few studies of “friendship,” ... bind together regional networks of small societies, in a region of great linguistic diversity, have ever been undertaken.” • Richard Scaglion, University of Pittsburgh

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroduction: New Approaches to Understanding Traditional Economic ActivityChapter 1. Exploring Historic Relationships Along the North Coast of New GuineaChapter 2. Linguistic Diversity Along the North Coast of New GuineaChapter 3. Is Material Culture Variation Correlated with Language Affiliation?Chapter 4. Studying Friendship Networks Along the North CoastChapter 5. How Friendship Functioned Along the North Coast: Trying to Make Sense of These Long-Term RelationshipsChapter 6. The Nature of Friendship Along the North Coast: What Holds These Relationships Together from One Generation to the Next?Conclusion: Exploring the Impact of the Tsunami of 1998 on Friendship Networks Around AitapeEpilogueReferencesIndex