Philip Hughes worked full time as the project’s geoarchaeologist from 1974 to 1977 while at ANU. From 1985–1991, while at University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG), working with colleagues and students, he undertook research into soil erosion and catchment and swamp hydrology at Kuk aimed at further understanding the site’s geoarchaeology and human impact on soil erosion in the catchment from the late Pleistocene to the present.