Minding the Gaps : 15 more years of rethinking Polynesian origins

Lisa Matisoo-Smith; Brooke Whitelaw; Catherine Collins; Anna Gosling

doi:10.70460/jpa.v16i2.396

Authors

Lisa Matisoo-Smith University of Otago https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3500-8307
Brooke Whitelaw University of Otago https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5555-4612
Catherine Collins University of Otago https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2811-1496
Anna Gosling University of Otago https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3151-3346

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70460/jpa.v16i2.396

Keywords:

Lapita, Triple-I model, mitogenome, ancestry, genetic variation

Abstract

Addison and Matisoo-Smith (2010) challenged the widely accepted model regarding the settlement history of Polynesia, specifically the Lapita only origin of East Polynesia, and identified possible drivers for the resumption of the eastward expansion of Pacific peoples around 1500 BP. In the last 15 years, there have been some significant advances in our understanding of the events that have led to the biological, cultural and linguistic variation we currently see in the Pacific. Here we will review the evidence, particularly the genetic and genomic evidence, related to Pacific settlement history that has accumulated since the publication of Addison and Matisoo-Smith. We then fully investigate these genomic data to see if we are any closer to understanding and reconstructing Pacific settlement history, and to identify any gaps that still exist.

Author Biographies

Lisa Matisoo-Smith, University of Otago

Distinguished Professor of Biological Anthropology, Dept of Anatomy, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences

Brooke Whitelaw, University of Otago

Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Dept of Anatomy, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences

Catherine Collins, University of Otago

Senior Lecturer, Dept of Anatomy, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences

Anna Gosling, University of Otago

Research Fellow, Dept of Anatomy, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences

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