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Population Turnover in Remote Oceania shortly after initial settlement

Lipson Mark, Skoglund Pontus, Spriggs Matthew, Valentin F., Bedford Stuart, Shing Richard, Buckley Hallie, Phillip Iarawai, Ward Graeme K, Mallick Swapan, Rohland Nadin, Broomandkhoshbacht Nasreen, Cheronet Olivia, Ferry Matthew, Harper Thomas K, Michel Megan, Oppenheimer Jonas, Sirak Kendra, Stewardson Kristin, Auckland Kathryn, Hill Adrian V S, Maitland Kathryn, Oppenheimer Stephen J, Parks Tom, Robson Kathryn, Williams Thomas N, Kennett Douglas J, Mentzer Alexander J, Pinhasi Ron, Reich David. 2018. Elsevier.
Population Turnover in Remote Oceania shortly after initial settlement
REPORT, (2018 ) - PUBLISHEDVERSION - English (en-GB)
Elsevier
OPENACCESS - .
Audience : RESEARCHERS
Elsevier Ltd
Subject
Archaeology of Oceania, Lapita cultural complex, Pacific History, Prehistorical migration, Pacific settlement, Ancient DNA
Domains
Archéologie
Description

Ancient DNA from Vanuatu and Tonga dating to about 2,900–2,600 years ago (before present, BP) has revealed that the “First Remote Oceanians” associated with the Lapita archaeological culture were directly descended from the population that, beginning around 5000 BP, spread Austronesian languages from Taiwan to the Philippines, western Melanesia, and eventually Remote Oceania. Thus, ancestors of the First Remote Oceanians must have passed by the Papuan-ancestry populations they encountered in New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, and the Solomon Islands with minimal admixture [1]. However, all present-day populations in Near and Remote Oceania harbor >25% Papuan ancestry, implying that additional eastward migration must have occurred. We generated genome-wide data for 14 ancient individuals from Efate and Epi Islands in Vanuatu from 2900–150 BP, as well as 185 present-day individuals from 18 islands. We find that people of almost entirely Papuan ancestry arrived in Vanuatu by around 2300 BP, most likely reflecting migrations a few hundred years earlier at the end of the Lapita period, when there is also evidence of changes in skeletal morphology and cessation of long-distance trade between Near and Remote Oceania [23]. Papuan ancestry was subsequently diluted through admixture but remains at least 80%–90% in most islands. Through a fine-grained analysis of ancestry profiles, we show that the Papuan ancestry in Vanuatu derives from the Bismarck Archipelago rather than the geographically closer Solomon Islands. However, the Papuan ancestry in Polynesia—the most remote Pacific islands—derives from different sources, documenting a third stream of migration from Near to Remote Oceania.

Keywords
Near Oceania, Remote Oceania, Pacific Islanders, Lapita, migration, ancient DNA
Language
English (en-GB)
Creators
Lipson Mark, Skoglund Pontus, Spriggs Matthew, Valentin F., Bedford Stuart, Shing Richard, Buckley Hallie, Phillip Iarawai, Ward Graeme K, Mallick Swapan, Rohland Nadin, Broomandkhoshbacht Nasreen, Cheronet Olivia, Ferry Matthew, Harper Thomas K, Michel Megan, Oppenheimer Jonas, Sirak Kendra, Stewardson Kristin, Auckland Kathryn, Hill Adrian V S, Maitland Kathryn, Oppenheimer Stephen J, Parks Tom, Robson Kathryn, Williams Thomas N, Kennett Douglas J, Mentzer Alexander J, Pinhasi Ron, Reich David
Contributors
Sources
Current Biology 28, 1157–1165
Coverage
OCEANIA, Pacific
Name of newspaper
Elsevier