Page 35 - French Polynesia
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he path of the Lapita is marked by pot- along on voyages as a food source. the Pacific, suggests common ancestry of
research subjects despite their East-West
T tery with distinct geometric designs T he Polynesian peoples themselves Pacific divide. For example, the presence of
provide clues to their prehistoric similar genetic mutations in Hawaiians and
found in more than 200 South Pacific loca- origins via DNA testing. A study identi- Samoans suggests common family lineages
tions, from Papua New Guinea to Samoa. fied three distinct gene clusters shared by in two geographically distant places. Poly-
The similarity in iconography is unlikely to most Polynesians. The researchers used nesians are descended from Melanesians
be coincidental, especially if it had religious blood samples of subjects from a variety and more distantly from Southeast Asians.
significance, because this suggests a coher- of ethnicities, including Hawaiian, Samoan,
ent belief system that may have spread as Tongan, Micronesian, Indonesian, Ma- A plethora of evidence, ranging from
a whole. Cultural similarities, such as the lay, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Cambodian, geologic sourcing to archaeological
presence of outriggers on canoes from New Burmese, Hmong, Aborigine and Papua records, from DNA sequencing to cultural
Zealand to Melanesia to the Society Ar- New Guinea. The group found common and linguistic similarities, supports the
chipelago, also point to a shared ancestry. genetic mutations among about 30-40% of theory of west-to-east migration across the
People across the Pacific also speak similar East Asians and nearly all Polynesians and Pacific. This was believed to occur over cen-
Austronesian languages. The similarities many Hawaiians studied. The researchers turies, among a seafaring people known for
observed in Polynesian peoples across grouped subjects’ DNA into three major their exploration and skilled knowledge of
the Pacific, including building styles and lineage clusters. The first subjects are from their oceanic environment. The similarities
language, suggest common ancestry. Bio- Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, and Micronesia; the among Melanesians, Asians and Polynesians
logical researchers have been able to link second are from Hawaii and Samoa; and in their culture and shared archaeological
settlements through the remains of animals the third are from French Polynesia, with record are quite conclusive.
introduced by voyagers, particularly the one Samoan subject sharing similar DNA.
Polynesian rat. The rat, which cannot swim The common DNA, which is spread across
and cannot disperse to islands without the
help of humans, was believed to be brought
