Population Turnover in Remote Oceania Shortly after Initial Settlement

Population Turnover in Remote Oceania Shortly after Initial Settlement.

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...

A History of Ethnobotany in Remote Oceania

Ethnobotany has had a relatively short history as a scientific or scholarly discipline, and according to R. L. Ford still lacks a unifying theory. In this paper the history of ethnobotany in Remote Oceania is reviewed. In sequence, the roots of Pacific ethnobotany in European exploration and colonial expansion are discussed, then the contributions of early foreign residents, and finally the rap...

A Polynesian motif on the Y chromosome: population structure in remote Oceania.

The Polynesian motif, a mitochondrial DNA marker of ancestral Polynesian communities, has filled a critical role in reconstructions of remote Oceanic history. Although the motif provides an effective narrative for Polynesian females, no equivalent male history is available from paternal lineages. Here, we describe a Y-chromosome binary polymorphism with absolute Polynesian affinity. We illustra...

Population size predicts technological complexity in Oceania.

Much human adaptation depends on the gradual accumulation of culturally transmitted knowledge and technology. Recent models of this process predict that large, well-connected populations will have more diverse and complex tool kits than small, isolated populations. While several examples of the loss of technology in small populations are consistent with this prediction, it found no support in t...

Progressive Constrictive Pericarditis Shortly after Purulent Pericarditis