Page 231 - THE MELANESIA DIASPORA FILE CETAK ISI 10022017

3. The first Australians. The findings of two ancient sites—the artifacts of Malakunanja
(North Australia) and the fossils from Mungo Lake (South Australia) indicated
that modern human beings had followed the coastal route along southern part
of Asia and reached Australia around 50,000 years ago. Their descendants, the
Australian Aborigines, have genetically been isolated in this continent up to now.
Their genetic makeup is different from all the Australians who migrated in modern
times from Europe.
4. Early Europeans. The paleonthropologists have long predicted that the European
settlement followed the route from north Africa. However, genetic data shows that
the DNA of the west Europeans right now are similar to the Indians. Therefore, it
is predicted that there has been migration within the Asia itself in around 40,000-
30,000 years ago.
5. Populating Asia. Around 40,000 years ago, human beings moved to the Central
Asia and arrived in the meadow lands to the north of the Himalayas. At the same
time, they migrated to Southeast Asia and China, then finally reached Japan
and Siberia. Genetic data shows that human beings in northern Asia eventually
migrated to America.
6. Into the New World. When did the first human beings migrate to America is still a
hot debate among the paleoanthropologists. The genetic evidence showed that
the event happened between 20,000-15,000 years ago when the sea level was low
and the land bridge connected Siberia and Alaska.

During the ice age the interior of North America was covered by a deep layer of ice
and snow. So the Mongoloid migrants took a route along the west coast following the
Rocky Mountains all the way to the Andes. These humans had reached the southern tip of
America by 14,800 years ago as evidenced by the fossils and artifacts which were found at
Mount Verde, Chile.
The last vast region in the world which was populated by modern human beings was
the groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean the regions known as Micronesia, Melanesia, and
Polynesia4. Before this region was inhabited, human beings had settled in an area known as
Close Oceania which comprised Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Bismark Islands. The
first human beings reached the islands of Melanesia about 3,000 years ago. Others kept on
sailing till they the farthest islands in the east. Easter Island was first inhabited in around
300 BC. The most southward land, New Zealand, was reached in around 800 BC. Evidence

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