Transpacific Contacts Research Articles

The Philippines (and Chile) in Martínez de Zúñiga's 19th-Century Ideas about pre-Columbian trans-Pacific Contact

ABSTRACT Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga (1760–1818) was one of the earliest scholars to propose a trans-Pacific contact theory in his Historia de las Islas Philipinas. Although his 1803 publication contains the earliest-known theory establishing linguistic comparisons between the Mapuche language of Chile and Tagalog (the Philippines), his ideas and evidence have not been fully explored. This article argues that while Martínez de Zúñiga’s ideas were novel and set some scientific grounds for one of the most resilient debates in the history of archaeology, his evidence was scarce. Furthermore, his attribution as one of the earliest individuals to propose a trans-Pacific contact theory is arguably inaccurate, as similar ideas were pondered as early as the 16th century. This article investigates supporting and opposing ideas proposed by Martínez de Zúñiga and his contemporaries, which were either produced in Spanish and British colonies, or shaped by knowledge about them with a colonial bias. These scholars’ hypotheses were predominantly based on linguistic and anthropological grounds, on the direction of sea currents and winds, and on the numerous islands across the Pacific that could facilitate long-distance voyages. Similar ideas continue to feed into the pre-Columbian trans-Pacific contact debate today.

Uncovering the hidden history of transpacific contact between Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia through skeletal population genetics

AbstractObjectivesThe long history of contact between Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia extending back to the 16th century has only recently been focused upon in the literature, documenting the intersection of their population histories. Specifically, Chinese laborers immigrated to work in a variety of occupations in the region, along with Japanese workers and those of other Asian nationalities. In this study, we seek to uncover these hidden relationships and hypothesize that Latin American and Caribbean populations will show a close affinity to Asian populations due to a shared population history extending from the 16th century and later.Materials and methodsUsing a population structure approach with craniometrics, we analyzed samples of modern individuals from Panamá, Cuba, China, and Japan, using Mahalanobis D2, principal coordinates analysis (PCoA), canonical variates analysis (CVA), minimum Fst, and an R matrix.ResultsThe results from the population structure analyses are consistent with more recent contact between Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia as they cluster together on 3D plots and population genetics parameters align with knowledge of contact among these populations.ConclusionsTranspacific contact between Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia in the 16th–20th centuries is detailed, showing an extensive trade network and evidence of Asian migrations into Latin America and the Caribbean that may be under‐enumerated in the censuses. The population signal in the craniometric data closely follow documented events with Asian populations in Panamá and Cuba in the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as the construction of the Asian Latina/o identity.

Ideas about Trans-Pacific Origins and Voyages in Early Spanish Chronicles from the Americas

ABSTRACT During their explorations of the Americas and the South Sea, the Spanish pondered the question of the origins and ancient voyages of the Indigenous people they encountered. They also documented sightings of local raftsmen along the American Pacific coast and chronicled knowledge gained from them about lands to the west. These writings are not only part of the history of ideas of trans-Pacific contact; they have also been used as evidence demonstrating these contacts—as secondary sources concerning pre-European Indigenous traditions. This article describes and analyzes the earliest European ideas about trans-Pacific contacts or origins concerning the Americas, based on a detailed reading of some of the earliest chronicles. It argues that the central influence of the European intellectual landscape appears to have been the belief that both the biblical traditions and new geographical theories were converging in order to motivate the discovery of lands to the west.

Writing the History of Archaeology in the Pacific: Voices and Perspectives

ABSTRACT In histories of world archaeology to date the Pacific is all but missing. There has been some investigation into the history of archaeology in Australia and New Zealand, and other piecemeal work focusing on single countries or biographies of individuals, but much remains to be done. We offer a critical overview of general literature on the history of archaeology in the Pacific and stress the potential for a deeper knowledge of archaeology's histories in the region to transform current archaeological theory and practice. We then suggest important avenues for further investigation, including the historiography of Pacific archaeology, diverse national and linguistic traditions, international linkages between scholars and practitioners, pre-World War II excavations, theories about trans-Pacific contacts, and the often-hidden importance of women and Indigenous scholars and interlocutors in the field. Each of these themes is addressed by one or more of the papers in this special issue.

Human Genetics: Pre-Columbian Pacific Contact

Large-scale genetic analysis of the native inhabitants of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) reveals the expected combination of Polynesian ancestry with later European admixture, but also a contribution from Native Americans dating to1280-1495 AD, demonstrating early trans-Pacific contact.

Genome-wide Ancestry Patterns in Rapanui Suggest Pre-European Admixture with Native Americans

Rapa Nui (Easter Island), located in the easternmost corner of the Polynesian Triangle, is one of the most isolated locations on the planet inhabited by humans. Archaeological and genetic evidence suggests that the island was first colonized by Polynesians around AD 1200, during their eastward expansion. Although it remains contentious whether Polynesians reached South America, suggestive evidence has been brought forward supporting the possibility of Native American contact prior to the European "discovery" of the island in AD 1722. We generated genome-wide data for 27 Rapanui. We found a mostly Polynesian ancestry among Rapanui and detected genome-wide patterns consistent with Native American and European admixture. By considering the distribution of local ancestry tracts of eight unrelated Rapanui, we found statistical support for Native American admixture dating to AD 1280-1495 and European admixture dating to AD 1850-1895. These genetic results can be explained by one or more pre-European trans-Pacific contacts.

Kodamaea transpacifica f.a., sp. nov., a yeast species isolated from ephemeral flowers and insects in the Galápagos Islands and Malaysia: further evidence for ancient human transpacific contacts

Twenty-four yeast strains were isolated from ephemeral flowers of Ipomoea spp. and Datura sp. and their associated insects in the Galápagos Archipelago, Ecuador, and from Ipomoea spp. and associated insects in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. Sequences of the D1/D2 domains of the large subunit rRNA gene indicated that these strains belong to a novel yeast species of the Kodamaea clade, although the formation of ascospores was not observed. The closest relative is Candida restingae. The human-mediated dispersion of this species by transpacific contacts in ancient times is suggested. The name Kodamaea transpacifica f.a., sp. nov. is proposed to accommodate these isolates. The type strain is CLQCA-24i-070(T) ( = CBS 12823(T) = NCYC 3852(T)); MycoBank number MB 803609.

Human Skeletal Evidence of Polynesian Presence in South America? Metric Analyses of Six Crania from Mocha Island, Chile

In 2007 the discovery of pre-Columbian chicken bones from Chile provided the first conclusive evidence for prehistoric Polynesian contact with South America. When looking for further commensal data to address the issue of trans-Pacific contacts, we found a museum collection of human remains recovered from Mocha Island, a small island located approximately 30 km off the Chilean coast. The morphology of the crania suggests they may be of Polynesian ancestry. Here we present craniometric analyses for the six complete crania from Mocha Island, Chile and discuss the implications for further research into prehistoric trans-Pacific interaction.

Transpacific contacts between eastern Asia and precolumbian Mesoamerica: an open question.

A tese dos contatos transpacíficos entre Ásia Oriental e Mesoamérica pré-colombiana é urna das mais controversas da Arqueologia americana. Ao contrário das antigas e amadorísticas hipóteses de navegações egípcias ou fenicias, ela surgiu com status acadêmico a partir do estudo comparativo de motivos iconográficos e simbólicos semelhantes, feito a partir de 1950 por especialistas de reconhecida competência nas duas áreas. Apesar de não haver evidências históricas ou arqueológicas desses contatos, uma série significativa de elementos comuns sugere que eles tenham ocorrido em diversos momentos, durante o primeiro milênio a. C. e o primeiro d.C.

Hookworms in the Americas: An alternative to trans-Pacific contact

Recent New World archaeoparasitological discoveries of hookworm in pre-European contexts have revived a long-standing debate about the origin of hookworms in the Americas. Historically, the climatic conditions of Beringia encountered by migrating people have been considered too harsh for tropical hookworms to survive, suggesting that hookworms must have been introduced into South America by ‘storm-tossed’ fisherman or explorers from Asia. Here, John Hawdon and Susan Johnston review the history of hookworms in the Americas, and propose an alternative to their trans-Pacific introduction based on the unique natural history of one of the human hookworms.

Oxiuríase e migrações pré-históricas

Parasite findings in archeological material have made it possible to trace the dispersion of infectious agents and their human hosts in ancient times. These findings allow us to re-examine theories proposed at the beginning of the century concerning transpacific contacts that Asian populations may have had with South America. This has been the case, for example, with hookworm eggs found in archeological material dating up to 7,000 years before present. Because of the increase in scientific production in this area, it has now become necessary to undertake syntheses that assess the state of the art and propose workable paleoepidemological models of the prehistoric dispersion of human parasitoses. Based on findings of Enterobius vermicularis eggs in archeological material in the Americas, the present study is an effort in this direction. Unlike the hookworm, the pinworm does not require a soil cycle in order to be transmitted from one host to another, thereby meaning that its persistence in a given human population does not depend on climatic conditions. Thus, it could have been brought from the old to the new continent, possibly by human migrations across the Bering Strait. This may explain the greater geographical dispersion and dissemination of these findings in North America from 10,000 yrs B.P. till today. In South America, on the other hand, archeological findings have only confirmed existence of Enterobius vermicularis eggs within the Andean region, with findings located specifically in Chile and northern Argentina. Although a large number of samples have been examined, no such eggs have been found in coprolites in Brazil. The paper discusses models that account for the known distribution of this parasitosis in prehistoric populations.

Prehistoric Transpacific Contact and the Theory of Culture Change

Employing genetic theory as an analog, the paper argues that when the concept of culture is separated from the concept of society, anthropology can be shown to have depended for culture-change theory on a genetic model, which predicts pre-Columbian contact between the Old and New World, a prediction which is supported by a growing list of cultural parallels. [prehistoric transpacific contact, culture, society, culture change, scientific explanation]

Jade: An Indicator Of Trans-Pacific Contact?

Jade: An Indicator Of Trans-Pacific Contact? Jerry Towle* The few scholars who have attempted a balanced, rational evaluation of evidence for pre-Columbian contacts between the Old and the New World generally admit that some characteristics of American civilization are not easily explained by local invention. At a superficial level, at least, what may be called the jade complex of the New World is one of these characteristics. Advanced jade carving techniques appeared in Mexico with no evidence of local evolution; from a culture base in which the lapidary arts were virtually nonexistent arose Olmec jade artists who as early as 1000 B.C. displayed a technical proficiency equalling that of China.1 Though it is not the purpose of this investigation to evaluate the importance of trans-oceanic contact in stimulating American cultural development, jade carving is linked with the Olmec, the earliest high culture of Mesoamerica. This trait has parallels not only in Asia but also appeared in the New World at a critical juncture in history.2 While no one claims that artistry in jade is an indispensable stimulus to civilization, it is part of a culture complex that gave rise to great ß Mr. Towle is an Assistant Professor of Geography at California State University , Fresno, 93710. He was a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Oregon when this paper was first presented at the 1971 annual meeting of the Association at Victoria. 1 Matthew Stirling, "The Olmecs: Artists in Jade," in Samuel Lothrop, ed., Essays in Pre-Columbian Art and Architecture, Cambridge, 1961, p. 43. 2 Philip Phillips, "The Role of Transpacific Contacts in the Development of New World Civilizations," in Robert Wauchupe, ed., Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 4, Austin, 1966, pp. 304. 165 166ASSOCIATION OF PACIFIC COAST GEOGRAPHERS ceremonial centers and to the beginning of a religious system that may have been the source of all subsequent high cultures of Mexico.3 The Jade Complex Use of jade as a raw material may be called a culture trait. When the material becomes associated with ritual observance and is the subject of myth or when it is arbitrarily valued above similar materials , a number of traits relating to its use become joined in a culture complex. From archaeological inference to written records of early European observers, it appears that jade was a prized commodity in Maya and in Aztec culture as well as in Olmec. Written accounts deal only with the Aztec period but attest to the exceptional value placed on jade. A relatively small chalcahui was more valuable than a load of gold.4 One of the earliest chronicles of New Spain quoted a native father describing his daughter as "precious as a chalchihuitl."6 Similes involving jade abound; perhaps significantly both the Chinese and Mexicans may say: "He has a heart of jade" in reference to a highly esteemed person.6 In general, comparisons of jade with the good, the beautiful, and the divine are common in Mexico and China. Was the prizing of jade an arbitrary trait? Certainly it has a scarcity value, but this alone does not explain its exceptionally high status. Emerald is at least as rare as jade in Mexico yet seems to have been much less esteemed. Nor does jade lend itself well to carving. Both jadeite and nephrite are hard minerals, 6.25 to 7.0 Mohs, and both have fibrous structures making them difficult to fracture. Nephrite , the jade of early China, is especially liable to show a splinter fracture with no plane of cleavage.7 It seems that Mexico and China were unique in having artists able to make a plastic medium of this refractory material. Though jade was highly regarded in other parts of the Pacific world, a combination of high technical proficiency and 3 Michael Coe, Mexico, New York, 1962, pp. 82-100. 4 Bernardo Diaz del Castillo, The True History of the Conquest of Mexico, New York, 1927, p. 86. 5 Elsie Ruf, 'The Jade Story," The Lapidary Journal, Vol. 14, No. 5 (December , 1960), p. 315. ß Stirling, op. cit., p. 43. 7 John Goetle, Jade Lore, n.d., New York, p. 29. YEARBOOK · VOLUME 35 · 1973167 mystical regard...

THE DEVELOPMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE BLOWGUN

ABSTRACT The blowgun appears to have been invented in Southeast Asia in relatively ancient times. Its elaboration took place in the Malaysian culture area, particularly in Borneo. Double-tube bamboo types, split-and-grooved wooden weapons, and solid bored wooden blowguns evolved from simple reed and bamboo forms. Clay pellets probably preceded darts as missiles; darts were eventually poisoned. Indonesian trade and migrations took the blowgun to Japan, South India, Madagascar, and Melanesia. Blowguns were also widespread in northwestern South America (the core area), much of Middle America, and the eastern United States. American forms and uses are similar to Malaysian ones and may reflect early transpacific contacts.

A Comment on Rowe’s “Duffusionism and Archaeology”

The authors express regret that Rowe's article tends to perpetuate emotional aspects of diffusion-independent invention controversy. They feel that Rowe places too narrow limits on kind of evidence he will consider that he is either unaware of or ignores published works pertaining to this controversy. It is pointed out that, contrary to Rowe's contention, much evidence exists proving possibility of early oceanic voyaging that, in view of this evidence, large numbers of shared traits argue for diffusion. Rowe's contention that general presentations of diffusionist principles are lacking is refuted by citations of such presentations, it is argued that diffusionism's threat to comparative studies is exaggerated is irrelevant to its validity as an explanation. Rowe seeks to show bias on part of by suggesting that they ignore Mediterranean-American similarities while emphasizing circumpacific but authors cite examples of studies suggesting transatlantic contacts. WE MUST express our regret that an article (Rowe 1966) in a scholarly journal should be filled with such imputations directed at professional colleagues as strident claims, fantasies, evasion, selection, nonsense, 16th-century thinking, so forth. We must agree with Rowe's (1966: 334) statement that the general public tends to assume, with a touching innocence, that scholar with a Ph.D. can be trusted to present evidence fairly; we feel that Rowe's article amply proves this lack of fairness (though doubtless in a different fashion that Rowe intended) by perpetuating same lack of objectivity which he decries in diffusionists, by which he apparently means those suggesting cultural diffusion (especially within or to New World) over long distances, particularly by ocean voyaging. His allusions to Ecuador Japan, etc., demonstrate that he includes among diffusionists even such careful cautious workers as Meggers, Evans, Estrada (1965). We agree with Rowe's (1966: 337) statement, What is needed is an impartial general inquiry into significance of cultural parallels, but we feel that remainder of his article belies this professed attitude of objectivity. The diffusionism-independent invention controversy has for too long been a conflict in which, as Hamblin (1964: 70), describing another controversy, has put it, scholars have put forward one doctrinaire type of explanation or another, and then (have) sat back with cocked typewriters in a sort of literary High Noont, ready to fire at other typewriter that moved. We agree that many fanciful diffusionist theories have been put forth (as well as many imagination-straining claims of independent invention), but we feel that there has been too much reflex reaction to new ideas which threaten entrenched ones. Attachment to ideas of one's teachers, of one's colleagues, or of one's own has too often led to an unreasoned resistance to innovation. Rowe seems afraid that young archaeologists in United States are being seduced from traditional isolationist viewpoint by biased presentations of diffusionist theories warns (1966: 337) that any innocent archaeologist who comes away . . . convinced that transpacific contacts are wave of future is sadly deluded; we disagree that these presentations are particularly biased would warn equally against antidiffusionist indoctrination, or, indeed, against indoctrination of stripe. We believe in letting facts speak for themselves; we believe that doctrinaire diffusion doctrinaire anti-diffusion should both be obsolete. There will doubtless be many cases in which a definitive conclusion will be impossible, in which some will prefer diffusion as an explanation, others independent invention. But honest opinions of scholars should be respected no matter how divergent they may be from

Tuna Tagging and the Extra-Oceanic Distribution of Curved, Single-Piece Shell Fishhooks in the Pacific

AbstractCurved, single-piece shell fishhooks are found archaeologically in Oceania, Ecuador, southern Peru and northern Chile, and the Santa Barbara region of southern California. The hypothesis that fish were possible transpacific carriers of these shell fishhooks is examined in the light of recent tuna-tagging research. Tag release and recovery data show that three species of tuna are capable of undertaking long-range migrations. Skipjack tunas are known to migrate from Baja California to Hawaii. Some bluefin tunas have migrated from Baja California to Japan. Albacore, which is believed to consist of a single population in the northern Pacific Ocean, probably circumnavigates the Pacific. A migration model of the northern Pacific albacore population suggests at least one possible transportation route of shell fishhooks between Hawaii and the Santa Barbara region. Heyerdahl has postulated that the association at historic contact in the Santa Barbara region of the curved, single-piece shell fishhook, the frameless plank canoe, and the Polynesian-type cosmogony of the Chungichnish cult is evidence for pre-Columbian transpacific contact. Contrary to his theory, reasons are advanced here to suggest that these traits may instead be fortuitously associated rather than diffused as a complex.

Transpacific Contacts, by Gordon F. Ekholm. Prehistoric Man in the New World, edited by J. D. Jennings and E. Norbeck. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1964, pp. 489–510.

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Possible Transpacific Contact on the Coast of Ecuador

The earliest pottery-producing culture on the coast of Ecuador, the Valdivia culture, shows many striking similarities in decoration and vessel shape to pottery of eastern Asia. In Japan, resemblances are closest to the Middle Jomon period. Both early Valdivia and Middle Jomon are dated between 2000 and 3000 B.C. A transpacific contact from Asia to Ecuador during this time is postulated.

Symposium: Time Depths of American Linguistic Groupings

SOME time depths of American Indian groupings are set forth here in Table 1. A supplement, Table 2, gives additional details on internal relationships within the Salishan stock. These time depths have been calculated from percentages of agreement in noncultural vocabulary, according to the method known as glottochronology or lexical statistics which is described in articles cited in the bibliography. The material was prepared under the Language Divergence Project sponsored by the Social Science Research Council of Columbia University. The aim has been in general to give time depths for all language groupings where a percentage of agreement was available to the compiler either in published sources or in research completed though not yet published. The classification of families and stocks follows established lines except for the recognition of some recently demonstrated groupings, to wit, the Huavemayan complex, bringing together Mayan, Zoquean, Totonacan and Huave; and the connection of Jicaque with Hokan. On the other hand, MixeZoque is not included in Penutian, as Sapir and Freelander have proposed, because it seems to have a closer relationship with the Huavemayan languages. This of course is not to deny that Penutian and Huavemayan are related at a more remote time depth. All the time depths given here have to be regarded as provisional in greater or lesser degree. This follows, first, from the fact that the lexicostatistic method has not yet been developed to its maximum reliability (it cannot be until more research has been done on control cases); second, the test lists are much too limited in some cases; and, finally, the phonological formulas and structural reconstruction necessary for maximally reliable identification of cognates in each pair of languages has not been sufficiently worked out. Despite these limitations, it seems desirable to publish a list of tentative dates so that the provisional determinations may be known pending eventual verification or improvement.