Rethinking Polynesians origins: A West‐Polynesia Triple‐I Model

Abstract

the last twenty years has seen an apparent consensus that the immediate origins of Polynesian language, culture and biology lie solely with the lapita peoples and cultures that settled Samoa and tonga by 2700 years ago. We suggest that there is increasing evidence that does not sit well with this generally accepted view of Polynesian origins and thus we put forward an alternative model for consideration. Building on Green's suggestion of over 20 years ago, we propose that some of the ideas in his triple-I model (Green 1991a) might also be usefully applied to conceptualizing the processes involved in Polynesian origins. Specifically, we suggest that in addition to lapita origins, there were significant later elements introduced to Polynesia that were fundamental to the development of Polynesian culture and biology prior to the settlement of East Polynesia. Current data suggest that some of these elements are shared with Micronesia and may be ultimately derived from post-lapita population movements, perhaps from Island Southeast Asia through the low islands of the Carolines, Kiribati and tuvalu to West Polynesia.

Early Lapita skeletons from Vanuatu show Polynesian craniofacial shape: Implications for Remote Oceanic settlement and Lapita origins

“…This alternative prospect, considering a modification/alteration of the initial morphology of the population associated with the Lapita culture as occurring during the Lapita period rather than immediately afterward, reconciles the contradictory archaeological and bioarchaeological views on the origins of Polynesians better than other explanations such as selection, adaptation, secular change, bottleneck, and founder effect (60,61), or the addition of a significant later Asiatic migration via Micronesia (16,62). The late Lapita individuals that have been the subject of study before the discovery of the Teouma site are simply not representative of the biology of the initial Lapita dispersal through Remote Oceania into Polynesia.…”

A holistic picture of Austronesian migrations revealed by phylogeography of Pacific paper mulberry

“…Broussonetia papyrifera | commensal approach | DNA of herbarium specimens | out of Taiwan hypothesis | Voyaging Corridor Triple I T he peopling of Remote Oceania by Austronesian speakers (hereafter Austronesians) concludes the last stage of Neolithic human expansion (1)(2)(3). Understanding from where, when, and how ancestral Austronesians bridged the unprecedentedly broad water gaps of the Pacific is a fascinating and yet contentious subject in anthropology (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8).…”

“…Understanding from where, when, and how ancestral Austronesians bridged the unprecedentedly broad water gaps of the Pacific is a fascinating and yet contentious subject in anthropology (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8). Linguistic, archaeological, and genetic studies have demonstrated the complex nature of the process, where different components that helped to shape Lapita culture in Near Oceania each have their own unique history (1)(2)(3).…”

“…Understanding from where, when, and how ancestral Austronesians bridged the unprecedentedly broad water gaps of the Pacific is a fascinating and yet contentious subject in anthropology (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8). Linguistic, archaeological, and genetic studies have demonstrated the complex nature of the process, where different components that helped to shape Lapita culture in Near Oceania each have their own unique history (1)(2)(3). Important evidence points to Taiwan as an Austronesian ancestral homeland with a more distant origin in South China (S China) (3,4,(9)(10)(11)(12), whereas alternative models suggest S China to North Vietnam (N Vietnam) (7) or a Southeast Asian (SE Asian) origin based mainly on human genetic data (5).…”

Recalibrating Polynesian prehistory

“…Such, however, is not the case. Based on available radiocarbon dates and associated archaeological finds, as Wilmshurst et al remark, the Tongan and Samoan archipelagoes in West Polynesia were discovered and at least partially colonized around 2,700-2,900 y ago (7). The neighboring 325+ islands of the Fijian archipelago immediately to the west of these two island chains, which are located more than 7,000 km off the China coast, were similarly first settled by people around 2,950-3,050 y ago (8).…”