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Theories of Polynesian origins

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Theories of Polynesian origins

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    1. Theories of Polynesian origins Most orthodox and non-orthodox theories agree: Lapita sites made by ancestors of the people currently occupying Polynesia (and some of Melanesia) Lapita sites made by people speaking Austronesian languages

    2. Theories of Polynesian origins Where the theories disagree: From where did people who made Lapita sites come? If they came from outside of Near Oceania, how much did they share technologies and genes with existing populations?

    4. Orthodox Theories of Polynesian Origins Lapita sites are so different from earlier sites, they must have been created by people who migrated in from elsewhere These new people had relatively little interaction with people already there

    5. Orthodox Theories of Polynesian Origins two main varieties: Fast (or Express) Train—Out of Taiwan (Bellwood, Blust, Diamond) 2. Slow Boat—Out of Island SE Asia (Oppenheimer, Spriggs?, Kirch?)

    6. 1. Fast Train

    7. 2. Slow Boat

    8. languages, genes, artifacts AN only language spoken in remote Oceania If Lapita people spoke NAN, why didn’t it survive? AN in Near Oceania mostly along coasts Mirrors location of Lapita sites AN words for pig, dog, chicken, boat parts, some plants borrowed by NAN languages Mirrors items found for 1st time in Lapita sites

    9. languages, genes, artifacts Polynesian DNA is more closely related to Asian DNA than Melanesian DNA Some mtDNA markers (e.g. 9 base-pair deletion) found in 90% of Polynesians have Asian origins But… Y-chromosomes? Malaria markers? Can geneticists differentiate 3200 BP from later events?

    10. languages, genes, artifacts Pots, dogs, chickens, pigs have origins in mainland Asia Chronology of spread of these items mirrors phylogenentic reconstructions of AN proto-languages Ultimate source of these items (i.e. Asia) coincides with sources of main genetic markers in Polynesian populations

    11. Things to watch for: Names for cultural groupings that are not cultural (“Austronesian people”, “Lapita people”) Improper use of other problematic labels, esp. “Melanesian” Claims about chronology from disciplines that have no way to measure time Theories from one discipline used as truths in another Assumptions about relationships between observed phenomena and past processes

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