Re: Polynesian canoes (Re: Rat genes solve mystery of great Pacific odyssey

From: benlizross (benlizro_at_ihug.co.nz)
Date: 07/24/04 

Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 13:01:44 +1200

Duncan Craig wrote:
>
> pashby@blueyonder.co.ruk (Peter Ashby) wrote in message news:<1ghdcy9.1jtz2n4nwq9zyN%pashby@blueyonder.co.ruk>...
> > G Horvat <g-horvat@shaw.ca> wrote:
> >
> > > >There is, however, to my mind, one possibility.
> > > >That either Lapita, Melanesian or Polynesian in their exploration and
> > > >settlement of the Pacific Ocean landed at places on the American
> > > >mainland and their genes were added to the local populations.
> > >
> > > The earliest reported ancient New World haplogroup B sequence dates to
> > > 8,000 BP (Hourglass man, Colorado) and, therefore, predates
> > > Polynesians.
> >
> > And any known deep ocean technology. So how many other ways are there to
> > get from Asia to America as well as Asia to SE Asia without being too
> > silly?
> >
> > I agree that it makes sense for geneticists to steer clear of the whole
> > 'Polynesian' or 'Caucasian' looking skull thing, that does not mean it
> > is sensible to work as though there is no other evidence of prehistoric
> > population movements. If you find a haplotype in Tierra del Fuego and
> > Tasmania do you immediately tell archaelogists that they must have
> > missed a major ancient deep ocean capability or do you try and track the
> > haplotype up the Americas and down through SE Asia to Australia?
> >
> > Peter
>
> I Don't think one can dismiss an ancient deep ocean capability. There
> was an extensive coastal network that exhibited some deep sea
> capability.
> See Title: TAIWAN, COASTAL SOUTH CHINA AND NORTHERN VIET NAM AND
> THE NUSANTAO MARITIME TRADING NETWORK
> Author(s): Wilhelm G. Solheim II
> Source: Journal of East Asian Archaeology Volume: 2 Number: 1
> Page: 273 -- 284
> and:
>
> Title: Maritime Adaptations in Prehistoric Southeast Chine:
> Implications for the Problem of Austronesian Expansion
> Author(s): Tsang Cheng-Hwa
> Source: Journal of East Asian Archaeology Volume: 3 Number: 1
> Page: 15 -- 46
>
> I also recall an article about the New Hebrides obsidian trade that
> was much older than the 7000-8000 BP discussed above.
>
> Duncan Craig

There was nobody in the New Hebrides (aka Vanuatu) at 7000-8000 BP.
You may be thinking of New Britain.
One item that has been discussed here is the appearance of obsidian from
Manus at a site in Borneo, the date IIRC somewhere around 6000 BP.
But none of this (including the alleged Nusantao network) requires more
than coasting or hops of up to 200 km from island to island.

Ross Clark

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