Abstract
Integration of archaeology, modern genetics, and ancient DNA holds promise for the reconstruction of the human past. We examine the advances in research on the indigenous peoples of Polynesia to determine: (1) what do archaeological and genetic data (ancient and modern DNA) tell us about the origins of Polynesians; and, (2) what evidence is there for long-distance travel and contacts between Polynesians and indigenous populations of the Americas? We note that the general dispersal pattern of founding human populations in the remote islands of the Pacific and long-distance interaction spheres continue to reflect well-established models. New research suggests that the formation of an Ancestral Polynesia Culture in Western Polynesia may have involved differential patterns of dispersal followed by significant later migrations. It has also been suggested that the pause between the settlement of Western and Eastern Polynesia was centuries longer than currently thought, followed by a remarkably rapid pulse of island colonization. Long-distance travel between islands of the Pacific is currently best documented through the sourcing of artifacts, while the discovery of admixture of Native American DNA within the genome of the people from Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is strong new evidence for sustained contacts between Polynesia and the Americas.
Highlights
The biogeographical metaphor of islands ‘as natural laboratories’ has been useful in focusing research on the long-term histories of the people of Polynesia and elsewhere [1,2,3]
We review advances in archaeological and genetic research over the past decade to address two questions that have been central to the region: (1) what do archaeological and genetic data tell us about the origins of Polynesians; and, (2) what do these same lines of evidence tell us about long-distance contacts between
We focus on three high-profile cases of new claims that support Jones and Klar’s model of Polynesian-American contact: (1) direct evidence for transfer of the domesticated chicken (Gallus gallus) from Polynesia to South America [96,97,98,99,100,101,102]; and, (2) skulls of two Polynesians within collections of human remains attributed to a Native American group in Central-Eastern Brazil (Botocudo) [103]; and, (3) full genomic study of modern Rapa Nui indicating pre-European contact admixture with Native
Summary
The biogeographical metaphor of islands ‘as natural laboratories’ has been useful in focusing research on the long-term histories of the people of Polynesia and elsewhere [1,2,3]. As advances in techniques the usedhuman as archaeological and genetic of interaction become a regular parttooffind howgreat we reconstruct past, we find that formetrics humanity it is not at all extraordinary we reconstruct the human past, we find that for humanity it is not at all extraordinary to find great natural isolation paired with strong connectivity. This shift in our thinking about islands is one way natural isolation paired with strong connectivity. All areas of world the world with sound scienceon onhuman human diversity
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