Ancient Voyaging and Polynesian Origins

[Centurion]

Ancient Voyaging and Polynesian Origins // The American Journal of Human Genetics, 03 February 2011
doi:10.1016/j.ajhg.2011.01.009

Soares et al.

The “Polynesian motif” defines a lineage of human mtDNA that is restricted to Austronesian-speaking populations and is almost fixed in Polynesians. It is widely thought to support a rapid dispersal of maternal lineages from Taiwan ?4000 years ago (4 ka), but the chronological resolution of existing control-region data is poor, and an East Indonesian origin has also been proposed. By analyzing 157 complete mtDNA genomes, we show that the motif itself most likely originated >6 ka in the vicinity of the Bismarck Archipelago, and its immediate ancestor is >8 ka old and virtually restricted to Near Oceania. This indicates that Polynesian maternal lineages from Island Southeast Asia gained a foothold in Near Oceania much earlier than dispersal from either Taiwan or Indonesia 3–4 ka would predict. However, we find evidence in minor lineages for more recent two-way maternal gene flow between Island Southeast Asia and Near Oceania, likely reflecting movements along a “voyaging corridor” between them, as previously proposed on archaeological grounds. Small-scale mid-Holocene movements from Island Southeast Asia likely transmitted Austronesian languages to the long-established Southeast Asian colonies in the Bismarcks carrying the Polynesian motif, perhaps also providing the impetus for the expansion into Polynesia.

http://www.cell.com/AJHG/abstract/S0002-9297(11)00010-3
http://www.cell.com/AJHG/supplemental/S0002-9297(11)00010-3

[I2a1a]

The ‘‘Polynesian motif’’ defines a lineage of human mtDNA that is restricted to Austronesian-speaking populations and is almost fixed in
Polynesians. It is widely thought to support a rapid dispersal of maternal lineages from Taiwan ~4000 years ago (4 ka), but the chronological
resolution of existing control-region data is poor, and an East Indonesian origin has also been proposed. By analyzing 157
complete mtDNA genomes, we show that the motif itself most likely originated >6 ka in the vicinity of the Bismarck Archipelago,
and its immediate ancestor is >8 ka old and virtually restricted to Near Oceania. This indicates that Polynesian maternal lineages
from Island Southeast Asia gained a foothold in Near Oceania much earlier than dispersal from either Taiwan or Indonesia 3–4 ka would
predict. However, we find evidence in minor lineages for more recent two-way maternal gene flow between Island Southeast Asia and
Near Oceania, likely reflecting movements along a ‘‘voyaging corridor’’ between them, as previously proposed on archaeological
grounds. Small-scale mid-Holocene movements from Island Southeast Asia likely transmitted Austronesian languages to the longestablished
Southeast Asian colonies in the Bismarcks carrying the Polynesian motif, perhaps also providing the impetus for the expansion
into Polynesia