Minimum founding populations for the first peopling of Sahul

Bradshaw, Corey J. A.; Ulm, Sean; Williams, Alan N.; Bird, Michael I.; Jacobs, Zenobia; Laviano, Fiona; Weyrich, Laura S.; Friedrich, Tobias; Norman, Kasih; Saltré, Frédérik

doi:10.1038/s41559-019-0902-6

Cited by 45 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 94 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…While this paper was in preparation, Bradshaw et al . () reported a similar conclusion to ours. Based on an entirely different modelling procedure, these authors proposed a census founding population of 1300 to 1550 people arriving at a single point in time or within a period of about 700 to 900 years.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A different paradigm for the initial colonisation of Sahul

Allen

O’Connell

2020

Archaeology in Oceania

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The questions of when and how humans reached Sahul, the Pleistocene continent of Australia and New Guinea, has remained a central issue of Australian archaeology since its development as an academic discipline in the mid-twentieth century. Modelling this event has persistently appealed to minimal assumptions -the simplest watercraft, the shortest routes, the smallest viable colonising groups. This paper argues that Australian archaeology can no longer ignore the way our understanding of this initial colonisation is being reshaped by current genomic research. It reviews this evidence and concludes that a colonising wave of hundreds or perhaps low thousands of people was involved. If correct, it suggests that we need to rethink our models, modify or discard the minimalist assumptions that have so far driven them and consider how this different paradigm affects our understanding of early settlement in Sahul. RÉSUMÉ La question de savoir quand et comment les hommes ont atteint Sahul, le continent pléistocène regroupant l'Australie et laNouvelle-Guinée, persiste comme une problématique centrale de l'archéologie australienne depuis son essor en tant que discipline universitaire au milieu du vingtième siècle. La modélisation de cetévénement s'est appuyée de façon récurrente sur des présupposés minimalistes, impliquant les moyens de navigation les plus simples, les routes les plus courtes, les groupes de colonisation viable les plus restreints. Ce papier soutient que l'archéologie australienne ne peut plus ignorer combien notre compréhension de ce peuplement initial se trouve aujourd'hui redéfinie par la recherche génomique en cours. Il passe en revue les données et conclue que plusieurs centaines ou quelques milliers de personnes ont participéà cette vague de peuplement. Si cette hypothèse est correcte, elle implique que nous repensions nos modèles, que nous modifiions ou abandonnions les présupposés minimalistes qui ont jusqu'à présent défini ceux-ci et que nous analysions comment ce nouveau paradigme influence notre compréhension du premier peuplement de Sahul.

show abstract

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

“…A similar conclusion has been recently reached by Bradshaw et al . () based on a different approach to ours. If we are both correct, the demographic scope of this colonisation indicates that the process was more complex than previously allowed and the existing explanatory models are in need of revision.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A different paradigm for the initial colonisation of Sahul

Allen

O’Connell

2020

Archaeology in Oceania

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To reach Sahul, the initial settlers from Sunda had to cross up to 90 km stretches of water between the Wallacean islands using still debated southern and/or northern routes via Timor and/or Sulawesi [7][8][9][10]. Bradshaw et al [11] modeled an initial population size of between 1300 and 1550 individuals for the peopling of Sahul, indicating this was a planned crossing involving substantial numbers of people. The eastern part of New Guinea was reached by 49 kya (Ivane valley [12]), the islands of New Ireland by 45 kya, involving a sea crossing of 50 km (Buang Merabak [13]) and the North Solomons by 33 kya with an open sea crossing of 80-180 km depending on the route taken (Kilu cave on Buka island [14]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Papuan mitochondrial genomes and the settlement of Sahul

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

New Guineans represent one of the oldest locally continuous populations outside Africa, harboring among the greatest linguistic and genetic diversity on the planet. Archeological and genetic evidence suggest that their ancestors reached Sahul (present day New Guinea and Australia) by at least 55,000 years ago (kya). However, little is known about this early settlement phase or subsequent dispersal and population structuring over the subsequent period of time. Here we report 379 complete Papuan mitochondrial genomes from across Papua New Guinea, which allow us to reconstruct the phylogenetic and phylogeographic history of northern Sahul. Our results support the arrival of two groups of settlers in Sahul within the same broad time window (50-65 kya), each carrying a different set of maternal lineages and settling Northern and Southern Sahul separately. Strong geographic structure in northern Sahul remains visible today, indicating limited dispersal over time despite major climatic, cultural, and historical changes. However, following a period of isolation lasting nearly 20 ky after initial settlement, environmental changes postdating the Last Glacial Maximum stimulated diversification of mtDNA lineages and greater interactions within and beyond Northern Sahul, to Southern Sahul, Wallacea and beyond. Later, in the Holocene, populations from New Guinea, in contrast to those of Australia, participated in early interactions with incoming Asian populations from Island Southeast Asia and continuing into Oceania.

show abstract

“…Yellow shading represents putative arrival window (including uncertainties) of humans in Sahul, see Bradshaw et al . 41 for discussion.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

FosSahul 2.0, an updated database for the Late Quaternary fossil records of Sahul

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The 2016 version of the FosSahul database compiled non-human vertebrate megafauna fossil ages from Sahul published up to 2013 in a standardized format. Its purpose was to create a publicly available, centralized, and comprehensive database for palaeoecological investigations of the continent. Such databases require regular updates and improvements to reflect recent scientific findings. Here we present an updated FosSahul (2.0) containing 11,871 dated non-human vertebrate fossil records from the Late Quaternary published up to 2018. Furthermore, we have extended the information captured in the database to include methodological details and have developed an algorithm to automate the quality-rating process. The algorithm makes the quality-rating more transparent and easier to reproduce, facilitating future database extensions and dissemination. FosSahul has already enabled several palaeoecological analyses, and its updated version will continue to provide a centralized organisation of Sahul’s fossil records. As an example of an application of the database, we present the temporal pattern in megafauna genus richness inferred from available data in relation to palaeoclimate indices over the past 180,000 years.

show abstract

Minimum founding populations for the first peopling of Sahul

Cited by 45 publications

References 94 publications

A different paradigm for the initial colonisation of Sahul

A different paradigm for the initial colonisation of Sahul

Papuan mitochondrial genomes and the settlement of Sahul

FosSahul 2.0, an updated database for the Late Quaternary fossil records of Sahul

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About