Melanesians

Distribution of Melanesians according to Meyers Konversations-Lexikon

Melanesians are the dominant inhabitants of Melanesia. Most speak one of the many Papuan languages, though a few groups such as Moluccans, the Motu and Fijians speak Austronesian languages. Melanesians occupy islands from Eastern Indonesia to as far east as the islands of Vanuatu and Fiji.^[3]

History

Early European explorers noted the physical differences among groups of Pacific Islanders. In 1756 Charles de Brosses theorized that there was an 'old black race' in the Pacific who were conquered or defeated by the peoples of what is now called Polynesia, whom he distinguished as having lighter skin.^{[4]:189–190} By 1825 Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent developed a more elaborate, 15-race model of human diversity.^[5] He described the inhabitants of modern-day Melanesia as Mélaniens, a distinct racial group from the Australian and Neptunian (i.e. Polynesian) races surrounding them.^[4]:178

In 1832 Dumont D'Urville expanded and simplified much of this earlier work. He classified the peoples of Oceania into four racial groups: Malaysians, Polynesians, Micronesians, and Melanesians.^[6]:165 D'Urville's model differed from that of Bory de Saint-Vincent in referring to 'Melanesians' rather than 'Mélaniens.'

Bory de Saint-Vincent had distinguished Mélaniens from the indigenous Australians. Dumont D'Urville combined the two peoples into one group. Based on his research, Jonathan Friedlaender states, "The first settlers of Australia, New Guinea, and the large islands just to the east arrived between 50,000 and 30,000 years ago, when Neanderthals still roamed Europe."^[7] The original inhabitants of the group of islands now named Melanesia were likely the ancestors of the present-day Papuan-speaking people. Migrating from Southeast Asia, they appear to have occupied these islands as far east as the main islands in the Solomon Islands, including Makira and possibly the smaller islands farther to the east.^[8]

Particularly along the north coast of New Guinea and in the islands north and east of New Guinea, the Austronesian people, who had migrated into the area somewhat more than 3,000 years ago,^[7] came into contact with these pre-existing populations of Papuan-speaking peoples. In the late 20th century, some scholars theorized a long period of interaction, which resulted in many complex changes in genetics, languages, and culture among the peoples.^[9] Kayser, et al. proposed that, from this area, a very small group of people (speaking an Austronesian language) departed to the east to become the forebears of the Polynesian people.^[10]

A Fijian mountain warrior, photograph by Francis Herbert Dufty, 1870s.

This Polynesian theory is contradicted by the findings of a genetic study published by Temple University in 2008. The study was based on genome scans and evaluation of more than 800 genetic markers among a wide variety of Pacific peoples. It found that neither Polynesians nor Micronesians have much genetic relation to Melanesians. Both groups are strongly related genetically to East Asians, particularly Taiwanese aborigines.^[7] It appeared that, having developed their sailing outrigger canoes, the ancestors of the Polynesians migrated from East Asia, moved through the Melanesian area quickly on their way, and kept going to eastern areas, where they settled. They left little genetic evidence in Melanesia.^[7]

The study found a high rate of genetic differentiation and diversity among the groups living within the Melanesian islands, with the peoples distinguished by island, language, topography, and geography among the islands. Such diversity developed over their tens of thousands of years of settlement before the Polynesian ancestors ever arrived at the islands. For instance, populations developed differently along the coasts than in more isolated valleys.^[7][11]

Further DNA analysis has taken research into new directions, as more human species have been discovered since the late 20th century. Based on his genetic studies of the Denisova hominin, an ancient human species discovered in 2010, Svante Pääbo claims that ancient human ancestors of the Melanesians interbred in Asia with these humans. He has found that people of New Guinea share 4%–6% of their genome with the Denisovans, indicating this exchange.^[12] The Denisovans are considered cousin to the Neanderthals. Both groups are now understood to have migrated out of Africa, with the Neanderthals going into Europe, and the Denisovans heading east about 400,000 years ago. This is based on genetic evidence from a fossil found in Siberia. The evidence from Melanesia suggests their territory extended into south Asia, where ancestors of the Melanesians developed.^[12]

Melanesians of some islands are one of the few non-European peoples, and the only dark-skinned group of people outside Australia, known to have blond hair. The blonde trait developed via the TYRP1 gene, and is not found in European blonds.^[13]

A 2011 survey found that 92.1% of Melanesian are Christians.^[14]

Austronesian languages and cultural traits

Austronesian languages and cultural traits were introduced along the north and south-east coasts of New Guinea and in some of the islands north and east of New Guinea by migrating Austronesians, probably starting over 9,000 years ago. This was followed by long periods of interaction that resulted in many complex changes in genetics, languages, and culture.^[15]

It was once postulated that from this area a very small group of people (speaking an Austronesian language) departed to the east and became the forebears of the Polynesian people.^[16] This theory was, however, contradicted by a study published by Temple University finding that Polynesians and Micronesians have little genetic relation to Melanesians; instead, they found significant distinctions between groups living within the Melanesian islands.^[17] Genome scans show Polynesians have little genetic relationship to Melanesians.^[11]

A genetic link has been identified as Polynesians are dominated by a type of macro-haplogroup C y-DNA, which is a minority lineage in Melanesia and have a very low frequency of the dominant Melanesian y-DNA which is K2b1, which complicates matters.^[18]

Some recent studies suggest that all humans outside of Africa have inherited some genes from Neanderthals, and that Melanesians are the only known modern humans whose prehistoric ancestors interbred with the Denisova hominin, sharing 4%–6% of their genome with this ancient cousin of the Neanderthal.^[12]

Theories of Polynesian migration through Melanesia

Lamaholot people from Flores island, Indonesia. Many of the present Southern Mongoloid populations of Indonesia and Malaysia (including Singapore) also have a high degree of Australoid-Melanesian genetic heritage.^[19]

The most widely accepted theory is that modern Austronesians originated from migrations out of Taiwan between 3000 and 1000 BC.

Soares et al. (2008) have argued for an older pre-Holocene Sundaland origin in Island Southeast Asia (ISEA) based on mitochondrial DNA.^[20] The "out of Taiwan model" was challenged by a study from Leeds University and published in Molecular Biology and Evolution. Examination of mitochondrial DNA lineages shows that they have been evolving in ISEA for longer than previously believed. Ancestors of the Polynesians arrived in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea at least 6,000 to 8,000 years ago.^[21]

Paternal Y chromosome analysis by Kayser et al. (2000) also showed that Polynesians have significant Melanesian genetic admixture.^[18] A follow-up study by Kayser et al. (2008) discovered that only 21% of the Polynesian autosomal gene pool is of Melanesian origin, with the rest (79%) being of East Asian origin.^[22] A study by Friedlaender et al. (2008) confirmed that Polynesians are closer genetically to Micronesians, Taiwanese Aborigines, and East Asians, than to Melanesians. The study concluded that Polynesians moved through Melanesia fairly rapidly, allowing only limited admixture between Austronesians and Melanesians.^[23] Thus, the high frequencies of B4a1a1 are the result of drift and represent the descendants of a very few successful East Asian females.^[24]

Incidence of blond hair in Melanesia

Blond hair is rare in native populations outside of Europe. It evolved independently in Melanesia,^[25] where Melanesians of some islands (along with some Australian aborigines) are one of a few groups of non-Caucasian people who have blonde hair. This has been traced to an allele of TYRP1 unique to these people, and is not the same gene that causes blond hair in Caucasians. As with blonde hair that arose in Europe, incidence of blondness is more common in children than in adults, with hair tending to darken as the individual matures.

• 
  A Melanesian child from Vanuatu.
• 
  School children from the Solomon Islands.
• 
  Blond girl from Vanuatu.

Melanesian areas of Oceania

The predominantly Melanesian areas of Oceania include parts of the Maluku Islands (Moluccas) of Eastern Indonesia, New Guinea and surrounding islands, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji. New Caledonia and nearby Loyalty Islands for most of their history have had a majority Melanesian population, but the proportion has dropped to 43% in the face of modern immigration.^[26] The largest and most populous Melanesian country is Papua New Guinea. The largest city in Melanesia is Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea with about 318,000 people, mostly of Melanesian ancestry.^[27] In Australia the total population of Torres Strait Islanders, a Melanesian people, was estimated at 30 June 2011 to be 63,700.^[28]

See also

• Aeta
• Micronesians
• Negritos
• Ni-Vanuatu
• Oceania
• Papuan people
• Polynesians
• Sundaland

References