Afarensis: What Can Pigs Tell Us About the Peopling of the Pacific

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Afarensis is a 3.5-2.8 million year old hominin from the Kada Hadar member of the Hadar formation in the Middle Awash, Ethiopia. He is approximately 41 inches tall, weighs approximately 60 pounds and has a cranial capacity of a whopping 410 cc (approximately). Afarensis is currently considered to be transitional between apes and humans and displays some traits of both. Since he spends a lot of time on the couch watching monster movies, some observers question whether he is an obligate biped (although no one has observed him climbing a tree). He also has a blog called Transitions:The Evolution of Life His previous blog can be found here.
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What Can Pigs Tell Us About the Peopling of the Pacific

Category: Anthropology • Genetics
Posted on: March 16, 2007 12:20 PM, by afarensis, FCD

The BBC has an interesting article concerning the peopling of the Pacific Islands. Specifically, the article deals with Sumatra, Java, and New Guinea. Recent research on the question analyzed the mtDNA from pigs across Asia and the Pacific. According to the BBC:

Studies of the samples revealed a single genetic heritage shared by modern Vietnamese wild boar and modern feral pigs on the islands of Sumatra, Java, and New Guinea.
The same link was also found between Ancient Lapita pigs in Near Oceania, and modern and ancient domestic pigs on several Pacific Islands.

The findings contradict established theories that colonists originated in Taiwan or Island Southeast Asia, and travelled along routes that pass through the Philippines as they dispersed into the remote Pacific.

According to the Press Release:

Using mitochondrial DNA obtained from modern and ancient pigs across East Asia and the Pacific, the researchers demonstrated that a single genetic heritage is shared by modern Vietnamese wild boar, modern feral pigs on the islands of Sumatra, Java, and New Guinea, ancient Lapita pigs in Near Oceania, and modern and ancient domestic pigs on several Pacific Islands.

I will have more to say about this as soon as I track down the article (which is being published in PNAS).