Oceanian Genetics Beginners Guide and FAQ

[BalkanKiwi]

Oceanian Genetics Beginners Guide and FAQ


Hi/Kia ora/Hui/Ia ora na/Talofa/Gude/Nǐ hǎo/Hai/สวัสดี/Chào,

Welcome to the Oceanian section on Anthrogenica! This is a place for those from Southeast Asian and Polynesian countries to discuss anthropology and genetics of our region. If you have no ancestry from this region but have a question, you are still more than welcome to post in this section. More helpful information will be added over time. If you have any idea's for content, feel free to send me a message.

History of Southeast Asian and Polynesian Migration

http://i.imgur.com/eEONqggh.png

Movement out of Southeast Asia, most likely Taiwan, started 5,000 - 6,000 years ago reaching the Melanesian area around 3,300 - 3,500 years ago.

There were two settlement periods:

Ancient voyaging: from 50,000 to 25,000 BC people from Asia sailed simple rafts from island to island, reaching Near Oceania (Australia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands). They traded in stone, hunted animals and gathered seafood and local plants.

Recent voyaging: from 1200 BC seafarers sailed canoes further east, into remote Oceania (Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia). The islands were much further apart and more difficult to find. Migrating voyagers kept in contact with their home islands through trading trips.

Other Austronesian populations, such as Filipinos, Malaysians, Singaporeans and Indonesians all come from the "Out of Taiwan model", and therefore most Polynesian and Southeast Asian countries share a common ancestral population.

The Lapita people

The Lapita were the first people to reach Remote Oceania. Between 1200 and 1000 BC they spread to West Polynesia (including Tonga and Samoa). On single-hulled outrigger canoes they brought pigs, dogs, chickens, yams and bananas; they also invented a new style of pottery, decorated with faces.

Polynesian explorers

About 3,000 years ago Polynesian culture developed in West Polynesia. Skilled navigators in double-hulled canoes gradually discovered remote islands to the east, using their knowledge of the stars and the winds to return home safely. Groups would then set off to start new settlements. Migration through East Polynesia began after 1 AD. By 1000 AD they had reached South America and traded with various populations.

Reaching Hawaii, New Zealand and Easter Island

The migration further east towards the Marquesas Islands and Society Islands occurred over an extended period. After settling here, they would sail north towards Hawaii and southwest towards Aotearoa (New Zealand), and further east towards Rapa Nui (Easter Island) 1,200 years ago. These migrations ended around 800 years ago. This makes New Zealand one of the last countries to be settled by humans.


Common Polynesian Haplogroups

Y-DNA Haplogroups

K-M9
C-M208
C-M216
C-M38
O-M175
O-M122
O-M119
O-M134
O-M95

mtDNA Haplogroups

B4a1a1 [Most identifable Polynesian haplogroup]
B4a1a1a
B4a1a1a1
B4a1a1a3

Frequently Asked Questions

I score less than 1% Oceanian on various calculators, does this mean I have a Southeast Asian/Polynesian ancestor?

It is highly unlikely you had an ancestor from the region. Anything <1% is normally classed as “noise”, which is unexplained variation or randomness which can be caused by the algorithm that is used. This applies to testing companies and is not inclusive of just Oceanian. If you are from Europe and have only European ancestry, it is unlikely for this to be “real ancestry”, due to the distance between the two populations.

I suspect I might have a distant Polynesian ancestor, can I use paper records to prove this?

Unlike Commonwealth countries and the likes of Germany and France, Oceanian cultures used oral records for history rather than using paper. Because of this, it can become difficult to start researching Oceanian genealogy. Fortunately, many Oceanian groups, especially Māori and Hawaiians, have close genetic and cultural ties. If you have a recent Oceanian ancestor and you have had your DNA tested, you will likely have a number of Polynesian DNA matches. If your ancestor was more distant like mine is, you are unlikely to match any Polynesians.

I am Polynesian however score some Native American. What does this mean?

Polynesians from Easter Island and natives of South America met and mingled long before Europeans voyaged the Pacific. One study by Erik Thorsby suggests Native Americans likely arrived on Easter Island shortly after Polynesians. Other scientists’ state Pacific currents and Polynesian mastery of the waves make it more likely that the Polynesians were the voyagers. They may have sailed to South America, swapped goods for sweet potatoes and other items—and returned to their island with South American women. It is possible those Polynesians on Easter Island traveled back west to trade with east Polynesian countries. As you can see there are many possibilities.

You may have had a Native American ancestor, but unless you score a good chunk of it on an autosomal test, it will be hard to confirm. The study by Thorsby stated that in the 27 living Easter Islanders who were tested, there was around 8% Native American in their genomes.

References and other useful links

Epic pre-Columbian voyage suggested by genes (http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/10/epic-pre-columbian-voyage-suggested-genes)
Hawaiian DNA Blog (https://hawaiiandna.wordpress.com/)
Notes on the Discovery and Settlement of Polynesia (http://pvs.kcc.hawaii.edu/ike/moolelo/discovery_and_settlement.html)
Polynesian FTDNA Project (https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/hawaiianancestry/about/background)
Polynesian DNA Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/605508099482290/)
Polynesian migration mystery solved (http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2014/10/polynesian-migration-mystery-solved)
Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand - Story: Pacific migrations (http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/pacific-migrations/page-1)

[DMXX]

Great summary, Balkan.

What do we know about Polynesian Y-DNA K-M9? Have there been any detailed studies on it (be it STR's, downstream SNP's)?

[BalkanKiwi]

Great summary, Balkan.

What do we know about Polynesian Y-DNA K-M9? Have there been any detailed studies on it (be it STR's, downstream SNP's)?

It's one of the less common Polynesian Y-haplogroups (only two people in the FTDNA Polynesian Project are K-M9). One of the articles in The Vault looked at this group stated:


Additionally, analyses of the mean number of pairwise differences between Y-STR haplotypes associated with Polynesian K-M9 and Melanesian K-M9, as well as between Polynesian K-M9 and all Asian haplogroups on the background of M9 (O-M175, O-M122, O-M119, O-M134, O-M95, K-M214), support a closer relationship of Polynesian K-M9 with Melanesian K-M9 haplotypes than of Polynesian K-M9 haplotypes with any Asian M9 subgroups (analyses not shown). Thus, Polynesian K-M9 chromosomes are likely to be of Melanesian origin.

They also state K-M9 accounts for 17.9% of Polynesian Y chromosomes that can be traced back to Melanesia.

[Tjada]

Maybe this can be helpul;

10172


Melanesian Y-Chromosome Lineages

On the basis of haplogroup frequency distributions, haplogroup-associated Y STR diversity, and resulting coalescent time estimates, we suggest that at least four Y-chromosomal lineages—namely, haplogroups M-M4, K-M230, C-M38, and C-M208—most likely arose in Melanesia, prior to the Austronesian expansion. Our data for eastern Indonesia provides further evidence for this, with a higher frequency of the M-M4 and K-M230 haplogroups in the Papuan-speaking groups from the Moluccas than in the Austronesian-speaking groups from the Nusa Tenggaras islands. Evidence for a Melanesian, rather than an eastern Indonesian, origin of three of these haplogroups (C-M208 was not found in eastern Indonesia) comes from haplogroup-associated Y STR haplotype diversity data. For haplogroups M-M4 and C-M38, haplotype diversity and MPD are always larger in Melanesia compared with eastern Indonesia (M-M4: haplotype diversity 0.96 vs. 0.94 and MPD 4.4 vs. 3.6; C-M38: diversity 0.96 vs. 0.87 and MPD 5.3 vs. 4.0), and both groups show significant differentiation on the basis of RST (P<.001). For haplogroup K-M230, the MPD in Melanesia is higher than in eastern Indonesia (4.1 vs. 3.0), although haplotype diversity is not (0.96 vs. 0.98), and both groups are not statistically different from each other on the basis of RST (P=.77). A Melanesian origin for these haplogroups is also supported by linguistic evidence for a mainland New Guinea origin of the Papuan languages found in eastern Indonesia.



Haplogroup K-M9

Haplogroup K-M9 most likely represents the common ancestor of the majority of non-African Y chromosomes, and many Y-SNP markers are known on the M9G background (Underhill et al. 1997, 2000, 2001b). Haplogroups carrying the M9G mutation (and additional markers that define sublineages of M9G) are widespread in Asia and account for 78.4% of all Y chromosomes in this study. For WNG, the proportion of Y chromosomes carrying only M9G and no derived markers (haplogroup K-M9) is small (∼6% of the entire sample), and usually they were found in only single individuals from some populations. An exception is the Korowai/Kombai population, in which haplogroup K-M9 occurs in ∼54% of the samples.



P.s my Y-dna is C-M38

[BalkanKiwi]

Maybe this can be helpul;

10172


Melanesian Y-Chromosome Lineages

On the basis of haplogroup frequency distributions, haplogroup-associated Y STR diversity, and resulting coalescent time estimates, we suggest that at least four Y-chromosomal lineages—namely, haplogroups M-M4, K-M230, C-M38, and C-M208—most likely arose in Melanesia, prior to the Austronesian expansion. Our data for eastern Indonesia provides further evidence for this, with a higher frequency of the M-M4 and K-M230 haplogroups in the Papuan-speaking groups from the Moluccas than in the Austronesian-speaking groups from the Nusa Tenggaras islands. Evidence for a Melanesian, rather than an eastern Indonesian, origin of three of these haplogroups (C-M208 was not found in eastern Indonesia) comes from haplogroup-associated Y STR haplotype diversity data. For haplogroups M-M4 and C-M38, haplotype diversity and MPD are always larger in Melanesia compared with eastern Indonesia (M-M4: haplotype diversity 0.96 vs. 0.94 and MPD 4.4 vs. 3.6; C-M38: diversity 0.96 vs. 0.87 and MPD 5.3 vs. 4.0), and both groups show significant differentiation on the basis of RST (P<.001). For haplogroup K-M230, the MPD in Melanesia is higher than in eastern Indonesia (4.1 vs. 3.0), although haplotype diversity is not (0.96 vs. 0.98), and both groups are not statistically different from each other on the basis of RST (P=.77). A Melanesian origin for these haplogroups is also supported by linguistic evidence for a mainland New Guinea origin of the Papuan languages found in eastern Indonesia.



Haplogroup K-M9

Haplogroup K-M9 most likely represents the common ancestor of the majority of non-African Y chromosomes, and many Y-SNP markers are known on the M9G background (Underhill et al. 1997, 2000, 2001b). Haplogroups carrying the M9G mutation (and additional markers that define sublineages of M9G) are widespread in Asia and account for 78.4% of all Y chromosomes in this study. For WNG, the proportion of Y chromosomes carrying only M9G and no derived markers (haplogroup K-M9) is small (∼6% of the entire sample), and usually they were found in only single individuals from some populations. An exception is the Korowai/Kombai population, in which haplogroup K-M9 occurs in ∼54% of the samples.



P.s my Y-dna is C-M38

It's interesting that M9 peaks in select Papuan populations in Western New Guinea. It probably explain's why its uncommon in other Austronesian populations.

[Tjada]

K-M9 is defenitely interesting!

I use these maps/charts for the oceanian Y-dna haplogroups and their migration route;


10211


10212

[BalkanKiwi]

It's a shame that map doesn't include eastern Polynesian countries or New Zealand. It probably highlights the difference between paternal and maternal haplogroup migrations.

[Tjada]

Oh yeah, I see. Will search for other maps including eastern Poly and NZ-Maori ;)

[Amerijoe]

Sailors leave ancient 'fingerprints' across Polynesia
July 6, 2016

http://phys.org/news/2016-07-sailors-ancient-fingerprints-polynesia.html

[Gravetto-Danubian]

I think quite a lot of the studies on Polynesians were done over a decade ago now, but still pertinent.

Kayser et al 2000 argued for a dual (Melanesian & southeast Asian0 origins, consistent with the "Slow Boat hypothesis'. (Melanesian and Asian Origins of Polynesians: mtDNA and Y Chromosome Gradients Across the Pacific)

10253

Looking at haplogroup C specifically, Zhong et al found that C2 increases as one moves east from Fiji to island Polynesia (up to 40%)- linking Polynesians with eastern Indonesia, whilst Australian Aborigines are characterized by a wholly different subclade - C4 (up to 60%), not really found elsewhere, suggesting early separation and isolation of this population. For reference, most mainland east and southeast Asians are C3 and there-under. (Global distribution of Y-chromosome haplogroup C reveals the prehistoric migration routes of African exodus and early settlement in East Asia. J. Hum. Genet. 55, 428-435)

[Tsakhur]

Since you said it is Southeast Asian-related genetic stuff, I will post the topic I made even though this has to do with the assumption of hypothetical indirect West Eurasian gene flow into various Southeast Asian groups through interactions with South Asia.

[Tomenable]

"Genomic insights into the peopling of the Southwest Pacific", 2016:

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v538/n7626/full/nature19844.html

https://s15.postimg.org/5igo3hoc9/Zasiedlanie_Oceanii_png.png

[witness]

I really do belive Oceanians came from the Wallacea area rather than the Phillipines.Modern Filipinos have little in common with Oceanians unlike Wallaceans.

[BalkanKiwi]

"Genomic insights into the peopling of the Southwest Pacific", 2016:

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v538/n7626/full/nature19844.html

https://s15.postimg.org/5igo3hoc9/Zasiedlanie_Oceanii_png.png

I didn't see this earlier. Great find and a very nice diagram model.

[witness]

This article states that the languages and distinct haplogroups and genetics that Pacific Islanders share with Wallaceans show that it was probably Wallacea that was where the Oceanians were stationed at and probably evolved at for some time BEFORE going to PNG to make the Lapita culture.This is also proven by the fact that Central Malayo Polynesian languages are much like Oceanian languages and form a group,as well as Papuan languages in Wallacea.Meanwhile,the Phillipines language is very different from both Wallacean and Oceanian Austronesian languages.Last but not least,the domesticated pig so common in Oceania was probably a Maluku cultural trait,then I saw Tjada having a Melanesian and Polynesian haplogroups.

[Tjada]

This article states that the languages and distinct haplogroups and genetics that Pacific Islanders share with Wallaceans show that it was probably Wallacea that was where the Oceanians were stationed at and probably evolved at for some time BEFORE going to PNG to make the Lapita culture.This is also proven by the fact that Central Malayo Polynesian languages are much like Oceanian languages and form a group,as well as Papuan languages in Wallacea.Meanwhile,the Phillipines language is very different from both Wallacean and Oceanian Austronesian languages.Last but not least,the domesticated pig so common in Oceania was probably a Maluku cultural trait,then I saw Tjada having a Melanesian and Polynesian haplogroups.

Wallacea, a linguistic area
A link about Wallacea area; for example (West)Timor, Alor, Maluku islands etc:

http://ifl.phil-fak.uni-koeln.de/sit...5.SCHAPPER.pdf

ABSTRACT

Wallacea is home to languages of the Austronesian language family, and to languages from multiple Papuan, or non-Austronesian, language families. It has long been observed that the Austronesian languages of Wallacea display Papuan influences. Some linguists have attempted to define linguistic Wallacea (albeit under other names) in terms of this hybridity. The present article however shows that the zone of Papuan influence on Austronesian languages is much wider than Wallacea, encompassing areas east as well as west of New Guinea. Within this wider zone, called here Linguistic Melanesia, a more restricted Wallacean linguistic area can nevertheless be identified as a subcategory defined by a set of specific features not found elsewhere in Linguistic Melanesia. There is evidence that Linguistic Wallacea is the result of prehistoric interactions between Austronesian migrants and a pre-existing population of seafaring Papuan agriculturalists, who were already well established in Wallacea before the Austronesians arrived.

"The term “Melanesia” has been used variously in different disciplines at different times
(see Lawson 2013). Whilst “Melanesia” traditionally takes in all of New Guinea, there is an
asymmetry in the term’s application to the maritime regions east and west of New Guinea.
The label “Island Melanesia” has conventionally been applied only to the islands to the east of
New Guinea, taking in the islands of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and
New Caledonia, as, for instance, in Spriggs (1997), Moore (2003) and Dunn et al. (2008). On
ethnological, linguistic and genetic grounds, however, Wallacea must also be seen as part of
Melanesia, although that label has not been traditionally applied to it."

[witness]

I can't post links man because I have a very good article or two to share!

[BalkanKiwi]

Came across this map of Polynesian migration. Nothing new however its one of the better ones I've seen.

http://www.nma.gov.au/online_features/cook_forster/background/maps/probable_micronesian,_melanesian_and_polynesian_mi gration_routes

[BalkanKiwi]

Under "References and other useful links", I've gone and added a link to the Polynesian DNA Facebook group. This group also contains links to a one to one comparison spreadsheet for the groups members.