Re: Archaeology unearths gout in early Pacific people

On Nov 27, 1:40 am, Jack Linthicum <jacklinthi...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
On Nov 26, 12:26 pm, "Douglas Clark"

- Show quoted text -

Traces of Archaic Mitochondrial Lineages Persist in Austronesian-
Speaking Formosan Populations
Trejaut Jean A ; Kivisild Toomas ; Loo Jun Hun ; Lee Chien Liang ; He
Chun Lin ; Hsu Chia Jung ; Li Zheng Yuan ; Lin Marie
http://tinyurl.com/yobjw2

It's worth reading the full paper to see what they actually did say,
rather than reading the reports on it, which, to a T, all suggest they
have somehow 'proved' mitochondrial DNA, B4a1a in particular, that
Polynesians originated from Taiwan. In their paper, they are far more
circumspect, paying little but lip service to the paradigm promoted
strongly by Blust and Diamond, on linguistic grounds, and by Bellwood,
on tenuous archaeological grounds.

This is what they actually say about B4a1a, (the 'key gene'):

"Phylogenetic analysis of complete mtDNA sequences (Figure 4) in this
study reveals the presence of a motif of three coding region mutations
(nps 6719, 12239, and 15746) that define haplogroup B4a1a and are
shared among aboriginal Taiwanese, Melanesians, and Polynesians. No
mainland East Asian population has yet been found to carry lineages
derived from these three positions. This suggests that the motif may
have evolved in populations living in or near Taiwan at the end of the
Late Pleistocene period. Considering the differences between the Late
Pleistocene and present-day shorelines of Southeast Asia, the B4a1
lineages may also have evolved in regions now submerged under the sea.
As long as mtDNA lineages of the Philippines and Indonesia, in
particular, have not been analyzed in similar detail, the question
about the precise origin of B4a1a has to be left open."

Which does not rule out the very different possibility that both the
Taiwanese aboriginals and the Polynesians are descended from a common
source, which may or may not be at all near, or in Taiwan.

mtDNA Suggests Polynesian Origins in Eastern Indonesia
MARTIN RICHARDS, STEPHEN OPPENHEIMER, AND BRYAN SYKES
Way down the page of Letters at: http://tinyurl.com/3dutj7

and: Melanesian and Asian Origins of Polynesians: mtDNA and Y
Chromosome Gradients Across the Pacific
Kayser et al (2006)
http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/23/11/2234

In which they conclude:
"Our study provides evidence for a dual genetic origin
of Pacific Islanders in Asia and Melanesia. This is in agreement
with the Slow Boat hypothesis of Polynesian origins
(Kayser, Brauer et al. 2000) according to which Polynesian
ancestors originated in Asia, moved eastward, and mixed
extensively with local Melanesians before colonizing the
Pacific Islands."

Nothing about Taiwan in that. The theory is dying a slow death, but it
is certainly dying.
.

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