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A culture may disappear through the depop of its bearers, as is the case in about half of Australia, & through replace ment or substitution, -as+the replacement of Maori by Pakeha (white) culture in New Zealand. A culture, however,, may be influenced by an external culture yet retain its traditional institutions & values the Tongan situation. The, situation in. New Guinea & Melanesia is made complex by the long period of contact by a relatively small number of Europeans, the labor-recruitment system, the urbanizing native culture, & the development of new leaders through educ. The situation portends possible pol'al & societal dangers for the future of the area. At present there is a blend of new culture elements with the unexpurgated old. The greatest change in the region has been in improved roads & transport, & ,in the development of a lingua franca. The challenge to anthrop is to record the unchanged cultures in the areas of New Guinea & Melanesia where it is not already too late. The opportunities for res are highest in 3 fields: the `urbanized' native communities, the coastal & hinterland peoples in the 3rd generation of contact, &'the `new' peoples of the interior, esp of the New Guinea Highlands. Though the aboriginals of New Guinea have been studied by anthrop'ts for 30 yrs, the need for follow-up res is of great theoretical & practical importance. B. J. Keeley.