Publisher's Synopsis
The book "Journey to the Maclay Coast" (2018) tells about the history that has linked Russia and the New Guinea Island for ages. Illustrated popular science publication tells about the exploration of a unique place of the planet by Russian and Soviet scientists in XIX, XX and XXI centuries. The pages presents rare copies of drawings and excerpts from the Miklouho-Maclay diaries of XIX century. "The Maclay Coast is a unique place on the planet, where one can trace the development of human civilization from the "stone age" to the present on the example of the local residents" - said D. D. Tumarkin, Doctor of Historical Sciences, a prominent Russian ethnologist, oceanographer and a specialist in Maclay Heritage, the head of ethnographic team of the expeditions in 1971 and 1977 on the research vessel "Dmitry Mendeleev", conducting a field work on the Maclay Coast (New Guinea) and on the other Islands of Oceania. The diaries, drawings, material culture collections, which became the property of Russia due to the long scientific research by Miklouho-Maclay, are the starting point today for scientists around the world who begin researching the North-East of the New Guinea Island. It is especially valuable that the tradition of researching the Maclay Coast by Russians is not broken and the unique journey was reiterated by his full namesake and the great-great-grandnephew from Russia with a team of scientists from Moscow and Saint-Petersburg. How Maclay from Russia was met? What do they remember about the great researcher? What do they know about Russia? How has the life of the Papuans of the Maclay Coast changed in a century and a half?The reader gets the opportunity to dive into a fascinating true story, where he could learn about the private history of the Miklouho-Maclay's family and the family of the descendants of Tui who was the first to meet a white man as Miklouho-Maclay.
