104-651: Melanesians are the predominant and indigenous inhabitants of Melanesia , in an area stretching from New Guinea to the Fiji Islands . Most speak one of the many languages of the Austronesian language family (especially ones in the Oceanic branch) or one of the many unrelated families of Papuan languages . There are several creoles of the region, such as Tok Pisin , Hiri Motu , Solomon Islands Pijin , Bislama , and Papuan Malay . The origin of Melanesians
208-688: A Marae ) in Sydney . This was seen as disrespectful to Aboriginal Australian landowners, as the Māori are not indigenous to Australia. [REDACTED] Africa [REDACTED] Eurasia [REDACTED] North America [REDACTED] Oceania [REDACTED] South America Denisova hominin The Denisovans or Denisova hominins ( / d ə ˈ n iː s ə v ə / də- NEE -sə-və ) are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human that ranged across Asia during
312-467: A bilingual island, where both Spanish and their native language is spoken. Despite this, the inhabitants still view themselves as Polynesians, and by extension Indigenous Oceanians, not South Americans. Linguistics in Oceania (1971) and Island Realm: A Pacific Panorama (1974) both have broad definitions of Oceania, and define eastern Pacific settlers and post-colonial Easter Islanders as making up
416-551: A juvenile female finger bone excavated from the Siberian Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains in 2008. Nuclear DNA indicates close affinities with Neanderthals . The cave was also periodically inhabited by Neanderthals, but it is unclear whether Neanderthals and Denisovans ever cohabited in the cave. Additional specimens from Denisova Cave were subsequently identified, as was a single specimen from
520-510: A marble ring, an ivory ring, an ivory pendant, a red deer tooth pendant, an elk tooth pendant, a chloritolite bracelet, and a bone needle. However, Denisovans are only confirmed to have inhabited the cave until 55 ka; the dating of Upper Paleolithic artefacts overlaps with modern human migration into Siberia (though there are no occurrences in the Altai region); and the DNA of the only specimen in
624-538: A relict H. erectus or H. erectus -like population about 53,000 years ago. Alternatively, divergent mtDNA could have also resulted from the persistence of an ancient mtDNA lineage which only went extinct in modern humans and Neanderthals through genetic drift . Modern humans contributed mtDNA to the Neanderthal lineage, but not to the Denisovan mitochondrial genomes yet sequenced. The mtDNA sequence from
728-447: A 12 year old modern human child, and the middle finger length agrees with a 17 year old modern human. One of the handprints shows an impression of the forearm, and the individual was wiggling their thumb through the mud. Analyses of the modern human genomes indicate past interbreeding with at least two groups of archaic humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans, and that such interbreeding events occurred on multiple occasions. Comparisons of
832-482: A Denisovan father and a Neanderthal mother. Additionally, 4% of the Denisovan genome comes from an unknown archaic human species, which diverged from modern humans over one million years ago. Denisovans may represent a new species of Homo or an archaic subspecies of Homo sapiens (modern humans), but there are too few fossils to erect a proper taxon . Proactively proposed species names for Denisovans are H. denisova or H. altaiensis . Chinese researchers suggest
936-518: A Denisovan population far west of the Altai Mountains. Genetic data suggests Neanderthals were frequently making long crossings between Europe and the Altai Mountains especially towards the date of their extinction. Using exponential distribution analysis on haplotype lengths, Jacobs calculated introgression into modern humans occurred about 29,900 years ago with the Denisovan population ancestral to New Guineans; and 45,700 years ago with
1040-539: A Spanish-speaking segment of Oceania. The Bonin Islands , located about 1,000 to 2,000 kilometers from Tokyo , are commonly thought to have been uninhabited during pre-Columbian times, even though there may have possibly been a Micronesian presence on the islands approximately 2,000 years ago. The islands are still sometimes associated with Oceania, despite now having become politically integrated into Japan . Today, they are sparsely inhabited by Japanese citizens, with
1144-427: A fairly warm and moderately humid pine and birch forest to tundra or forest-tundra landscape. Conversely, Baishiya Karst Cave is situated at a high elevation, an area characterized by low temperature, low oxygen, and poor resource availability. Colonization of high-altitude regions, due to such harsh conditions, was previously assumed to have only been accomplished by modern humans. Denisovans seem to have also inhabited
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#17327647747181248-537: A high percentage (roughly 5%) occurring in Melanesians , Aboriginal Australians , and Filipino Negritos . This distribution suggests that there were Denisovan populations across Asia. There is also evidence of interbreeding with the Altai Neanderthal population, with about 17% of the Denisovan genome from Denisova Cave deriving from them. A first-generation hybrid nicknamed " Denny " was discovered with
1352-471: A historical continuity with pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories. With the notable exceptions of Australia , New Zealand , Hawaii , New Caledonia , Guam , and Northern Mariana Islands , indigenous peoples make up the majority of the populations of Oceania . This differs from the term Pacific Islanders , which usually excludes Indigenous Australians , and may be understood to include both indigenous and non-indigenous populations of
1456-639: A large Micronesian population (including Guamese Chamorros ), with many Micronesians having experienced discrimination at the hands of the native Polynesian Hawaiians. Migrants from areas such as the Federated States of Micronesia have also faced discrimination in Guam itself, despite both being ethnoculturally Micronesian. New Zealand has the largest population of Polynesians in the world; it consists not only of their native Māori population, but also of immigrants from other Polynesian islands, including
1560-770: A lesser extent, across Asia. Using coalescent modeling , the Denisova Cave Denisovans split from the second population about 283,000 years ago; and from the third population about 363,000 years ago. This indicates that there was considerable reproductive isolation between Denisovan populations. In a 2024 study, scientist Danat Yermakovich, of the University of Tartu , discovered that people living at different elevations in Papua New Guinea have differences in Denisovan DNA; with people living in
1664-424: A long, broad, and projecting face; large nose; sloping forehead; protruding jaw; elongated and flattened skull; and wide chest and hips. The Denisovan tooth row was longer than that of Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans. Middle-to-Late Pleistocene East Asian archaic human skullcaps typically share features with Neanderthals. The skullcaps from Xuchang feature prominent brow ridges like Neanderthals, though
1768-460: A low-oxygen environment, likely came from Denisovans. Genes related to phospholipid transporters (which are involved in fat metabolism ) and to trace amine-associated receptors (involved in smelling) are more active in people with more Denisovan ancestry. Denisovan genes may have conferred a degree of immunity against the G614 mutation of SARS-CoV-2 . Denisovan introgressions may have influenced
1872-546: A majority Melanesian population, but the proportion has dropped to 43% in the face of modern immigration. 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. The western half of New Guinea is part of Indonesia and is predominantly inhabited by indigenous Papuans , with
1976-464: A million years ago. The only identified Homo species of Late Pleistocene Asia are H. erectus and H. heidelbergensis , though in 2021, specimens allocated to the latter species were reclassified as H. longi and H. daliensis . Before splitting from Neanderthals, their ancestors ("Neandersovans") migrating into Europe apparently interbred with an unidentified "superarchaic" human species who were already present there; these superarchaics were
2080-490: A mutation rate of 1 × 10 or 0.5 × 10 per base pair (bp) per year, the Neanderthal/Denisovan split occurred around either 236–190,000 or 473–381,000 years ago respectively. Using 1.1 × 10 per generation with a new generation every 29 years, the time is 744,000 years ago. Using 5 × 10 nucleotide site per year, it is 616,000 years ago. Using the latter dates, the split had likely already occurred by
2184-468: A population more closely related to Vindija Neanderthals. Denisova 25, dated to 200ka, is estimated to have inherited 5% of his genome from a previously unknown population of Neanderthals, and came from a different population of Denisovans than the younger samples. About 4% of the Denisovan genome derives from an unidentified archaic hominin, perhaps the source of the anomalous ancient mtDNA, indicating this species diverged from Neanderthals and humans over
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#17327647747182288-441: A population of Indigenous Americans or Indigenous Oceanians, which helped them form their own unique ecosystems. Author Don Macnaughtan wrote in 2014, "The last places to be reached were in the southwest Pacific, and in the far eastern Pacific. Settlers reached all the way to Easter Island, 2,300 miles from the coast of South America, by about 700 AD. In the southwest Pacific, voyaging canoes reached New Zealand around 1250 AD, and
2392-730: A proportion having European and European American ancestry. The European proportion are not recent immigrants, but rather descendants of early settlers, as the islands were not always within the sphere of Japanese colonial influence. Islanders primarily speak Japanese , and like with those in the eastern Pacific, they could be interpreted as one of the smaller linguistic groups in Oceania. Remoter and more uninhabitable islands adjacent to Micronesia may have had fleeting contact with Indigenous Oceanians, with Howland Island and Wake Island being examples. Norfolk Island (adjacent to Melanesia ) and Pitcairn Islands (adjacent to Polynesia ) were uninhabited when discovered by Europeans, but there
2496-584: A significant minority of settlers from other parts of Indonesia. In Australia , the total population of Torres Strait Islanders , a Melanesian people, as of 30 June 2016, was about 38,700 identifying as being of Torres Strait Islander origin only, and 32,200 of both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander origin (a total of 70,900). Indigenous peoples of Oceania The Indigenous peoples of Oceania are Aboriginal Australians , Papuans , and Austronesians ( Melanesians , Micronesians , and Polynesians ). These indigenous peoples have
2600-425: A total population of just over 5 million. The PNG Constitution and other Acts identify traditional or custom-based practices and land tenure , and explicitly sets out to promote the viability of these traditional societies within the modern state. However, several conflicts and disputes concerning land use and resource rights continue between indigenous groups, the government and corporate entities. Hawaii boasts
2704-815: A variant region around the EPAS1 gene that in Tibetans assists with adaptation to low oxygen levels at high elevation, and in a region containing the WARS2 and TBX15 loci which affect body-fat distribution in the Inuit . In Papuans, introgressed Neanderthal alleles are highest in frequency in genes expressed in the brain, whereas Denisovan alleles have highest frequency in genes expressed in bones and other tissue. Early Middle Paleolithic stone tools from Denisova Cave included cores , scrapers , denticulate tools , and notched tools, deposited about 287±41 thousand years ago in
2808-531: A very modest degree with the indigenous populations there". Nevertheless, the study still found a small Austronesian genetic signature (below 20%) in less than half of the Melanesian groups who speak Austronesian languages , and which was entirely absent in the Papuan -speaking groups. The study found a high rate of genetic differentiation and diversity among the groups living within the Melanesian islands, with
2912-596: 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 . 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, "and only intermixed to
3016-958: Is generally associated with the first settlement of Australasia by a lineage dubbed 'Australasians' or 'Australo-Papuans' during the Initial Upper Paleolithic , which is "ascribed to a population movement with uniform genetic features and material culture" ( Ancient East Eurasians ), and sharing deep ancestry with modern East Asian peoples and other Asia-Pacific groups. It is estimated that people reached Sahul (the geological continent consisting of Australia and New Guinea) between 50,000 and 37,000 years ago. Rising sea levels separated New Guinea from Australia about 10,000 years ago. However, Aboriginal Australians and Papuans had diverged genetically much earlier, around 40,000 years BP. Melanesians are more closely related to Papuans than to Aboriginal Australians. The eastern part of Melanesia that includes Vanuatu , New Caledonia , and Fiji ,
3120-986: Is generally considered the least decolonized region in the world. In his 1993 book France and the South Pacific since 1940 , Robert Aldrich commented: With the ending of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands , the Northern Mariana Islands became a 'commonwealth' of the United States , and the new republics of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia signed compacts of free association with Washington . Britain 's high commissioner in New Zealand continues to administer Pitcairn, and
3224-431: Is in contrast to the large, robust molars which are more similar to those of Middle to Late Pleistocene archaic humans. The third molar is outside the range of any Homo species except H. habilis and H. rudolfensis , and is more like those of australopithecines . The second molar is larger than those of modern humans and Neanderthals, and is more similar to those of H. erectus and H. habilis . Like Neanderthals,
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3328-462: Is mostly European Australian , some are also Euronesians; these individuals are descended from Pitcairn Islanders that were relocated to Norfolk in 1852 because of overpopulation. The Micronesia adjacent islands became unincorporated territories of the United States, and they all have no permanent residents. The United States government restrict access to outsiders on some islands. Oceania
3432-665: Is not the same gene that causes blond hair in the Northern European region. As with blond hair that arose in Northern Europe, incidence of blondness is more common in children than in adults, with hair tending to darken as the individual matures. The predominantly Melanesian areas of Oceania include New Guinea and surrounding islands, the Solomon Islands , Vanuatu and Fiji . New Caledonia and nearby Loyalty Islands for most of their history have had
3536-443: Is substantial evidence of prehistoric Indigenous Oceanian settlement. Pitcairn currently have a population of around 50, who are entirely mixed-race Anglo Euronesians . They are descended from an initial group of Anglo and Polynesian settlers in the 18th century. Pitcairn was later annexed by Britain , while Norfolk Island became an external territory of Australia, who are over 1,500 kilometers removed. Norfolk's present population
3640-582: Is the earliest recorded human presence on the Tibetan Plateau. Though their remains have been identified in only these three locations, traces of Denisovan DNA in modern humans suggest they ranged across East Asia , and potentially western Eurasia. In 2019, geneticist Guy Jacobs and colleagues identified three distinct populations of Denisovans responsible for the introgression into modern populations now native to, respectively: Siberia and East Asia; New Guinea and nearby islands; and Oceania and, to
3744-478: Is the oldest, followed by Denisova 8, while Denisova 3 and Denisova 4 were roughly contemporaneous. In 2024, scientists announced the sequence of Denisova 25, which was in a layer dated to 200ka. During DNA sequencing, a low proportion of the Denisova 2, Denisova 4 and Denisova 8 genomes were found to have survived, but a high proportion of the Denisova 3 and Denisova 25 genomes were intact. The Denisova 3 sample
3848-497: The Aboriginal peoples of mainland Australia and Torres Strait Islander peoples . Of the total 'Indigenous Australian' population, 90% identified as Aboriginal only, 6% identified as Torres Strait Islander and the remaining 4% identified as being of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin. Papua New Guinea (PNG) has a majority population of indigenous societies, with some 700+ different tribal groups recognised out of
3952-483: The Annamite Mountains since 2008, was directed by local children to the site Tam Ngu Hao 2 ("Cobra Cave") where they recovered a human tooth. The tooth (catalogue number TNH2-1) developmentally matches a 3.5 to 8.5 year old, and a lack of amelogenin (a protein on the Y chromosome ) suggests it belonged to a girl barring extreme degradation of the protein over a long period of time. Dental proteome analysis
4056-541: The Baishiya Karst Cave on the Tibetan Plateau , and Cobra Cave in the Annamite Mountains of Laos. DNA evidence suggests they had dark skin, eyes, and hair, and had a Neanderthal-like build and facial features. However, they had larger molars which are reminiscent of Middle to Late Pleistocene archaic humans and australopithecines . Denisovans apparently interbred with modern humans, with
4160-885: The Chamorros of Guam and the Northern Marianas , and the Marshallese of the Marshall Islands , and the Native Hawaiians of Hawaii . In the pre-Columbian era , humans never reached the handful of oceanic eastern Pacific islands beyond Easter Island , which itself was settled by the Polynesian Rapa Nui people . Eastern Pacific islands such as the Galápagos and Juan Fernández Islands , while inhabitable, did not have
4264-485: The Cook Islands , Samoa and Tonga . Australia has the third largest Polynesian population, in addition to having the largest Fijian population outside of Fiji . Australia's Polynesian population consists of Māoris, as well as immigrants who originate from the same countries as the ones who migrated to New Zealand. In 2022, there was controversy over proposals to build a traditional Māori meeting house (known as
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4368-625: The Cook Islands , through a compact of free association. Chile rules Easter Island (Rapa Nui) and Ecuador rules the Galápagos Islands. The Aboriginals of Australia , the Māori of New Zealand and the native Polynesians of Hawaii, despite movements demanding more cultural recognition, greater economic and political considerations or even outright sovereignty, have remained minorities in countries where massive waves of migration have completely changed society. In short, Oceania has remained one of
4472-490: The Lower and Middle Paleolithic , and lived, based on current evidence, from 285 to 25 thousand years ago. Denisovans are known from few physical remains; consequently, most of what is known about them comes from DNA evidence. No formal species name has been established pending more complete fossil material. The first identification of a Denisovan individual occurred in 2010, based on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) extracted from
4576-792: The Pacific Islands alike. Australia and most of the islands of the Pacific Ocean were colonized in waves of migrations from Southeast Asia spanning many centuries. American , European and Japanese colonial expansion brought most of the region under foreign administration, in some cases as settler colonies that displaced or marginalized the original populations. During the 20th century several of these former colonies gained independence and nation-states were formed under local control. However, various peoples have put forward claims for indigenous recognition where their islands are still under external administration; examples include
4680-566: The Tibetan Plateau in China. Known as the Xiahe mandible , the fossil became part of the collection of Lanzhou University , where it remained unstudied until 2010. It was determined by ancient protein analysis to contain collagen that by sequence was found to have close affiliation to that of the Denisovans from Denisova Cave, while uranium decay dating of the carbonate crust enshrouding
4784-859: The 1970s by Soviet paleontologist Nikolai Ovodov, who was looking for remains of canids . In 2008, Michael Shunkov from the Russian Academy of Sciences and other Russian archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk Akademgorodok investigated the cave and found the finger bone of a juvenile female hominin originally dated to 50–30,000 years ago. The estimate has changed to 76,200–51,600 years ago. The specimen
4888-444: The 40,000-year-old Chinese modern human Tianyuan Man lacking Denisovan DNA significantly different from the levels in modern-day East Asians discounts the hypothesis that immigrating modern humans simply diluted Denisovan ancestry whereas Melanesians lived in reproductive isolation. A 2018 study of Han Chinese, Japanese , and Dai genomes showed that modern East Asians have DNA from two different Denisovan populations: one similar to
4992-600: The Altai Neanderthal genome from Siberia than with the Vindija Cave Neanderthal genome from Croatia or the Mezmaiskaya cave Neanderthal genome from the Caucasus, suggesting that the gene flow came from a population that was more closely related to the local Altai Neanderthals. However, Denny's Denisovan father had the typical Altai Neanderthal introgression , while her Neanderthal mother represented
5096-597: The Denisovan DNA found in Papuan genomes, and a second that is closer to the Denisovan genome from Denisova Cave. This could indicate two separate introgression events involving two different Denisovan populations. In South Asian genomes, DNA only came from the same single Denisovan introgression seen in Papuans. A 2019 study found a third wave of Denisovans which introgressed into East Asians. Introgression, also, may not have immediately occurred when modern humans immigrated into
5200-475: The Denisovan, Neanderthal, and modern human genomes have revealed evidence of a complex web of interbreeding among these lineages. As much as 17% of the Denisovan genome from Denisova Cave represents DNA from the local Neanderthal population. Denisova 11 was an F1 (first generation) Denisovan/Neanderthal hybrid; the fact that such an individual was found may indicate interbreeding was a common occurrence here. The Denisovan genome shares more derived alleles with
5304-727: The Denisovans based on the similarity between the type specimen's molar and that of the Xiahe mandible. KU131206 Sequenced mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), preserved by the cool climate of the cave (average temperature is at freezing point), was extracted from Denisova 3 by a team of scientists led by Johannes Krause and Svante Pääbo from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig , Germany. Denisova 3's mtDNA differs from that of modern humans by 385 bases ( nucleotides ) out of approximately 16,500, whereas
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#17327647747185408-458: The Denisovans were members of Homo longi , and the idea has been supported by the palaeontologist Chris Stringer . Denisova Cave is located in Altai Krai , Russia, in south-central Siberia , on the western edges of the Altai Mountains . It is named after Denis (Dyonisiy), a Russian Old Believer hermit who lived there in the 18th century. The cave was first inspected for fossils in
5512-545: The Denisovans, indicating this exchange. 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 southeast Asia, where ancestors of
5616-580: The East Chamber dates to 217,000 years ago. Based on artifacts also discovered in the cave, hominin occupation (most likely by Denisovans) began 287±41 or 203±14 ka . Neanderthals were also present 193±12 ka and 97±11 ka, possibly concurrently with Denisovans. The fossils of multiple distinct Denisovan individuals from Denisova Cave have been identified through their ancient DNA (aDNA): Denisova 2, 3, 4, 8, 11 , and 25. An mtDNA-based phylogenetic analysis of these individuals suggested that Denisova 2
5720-656: The Main Chamber of the cave; and about 269±97 thousand years ago in the South Chamber; up to 170±19 thousand and 187±14 thousand years ago in the Main and East Chambers, respectively. Middle Paleolithic assemblages were dominated by flat, discoidal, and Levallois cores, and there were some isolated sub-prismatic cores. There were predominantly side scrapers (a scraper with only the sides used to scrape), but also notched-denticulate tools, end-scrapers (a scraper with only
5824-562: The Melanesian islands. Genetic links have been identified between the Oceanic peoples. 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 K2b1. A significant minority of them also belongs to the typical East Asian male Haplogroup O-M175 . Some recent studies suggest that all humans outside of Sub-Saharan Africa have inherited some genes from Neanderthals, and that Melanesians are
5928-611: The Melanesians developed. 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 blond trait developed via the TYRP1 gene, which is not the same gene that causes blondness in European blonds. Early European explorers noted the physical differences among groups of Pacific Islanders. In 1756 Charles de Brosses theorized that there
6032-741: The Pacific region rather than on the Asian mainland, and that ancestors of the latter groups were not present in Southeast Asia at the time. In the Melanesian genome, about 4–6% or 1.9–3.4% derives from Denisovan introgression. Prior to 2021, New Guineans and Australian Aborigines were reported to have the most introgressed DNA, but Australians have less than New Guineans. A 2021 study discovered 30 to 40% more Denisovan ancestry in Aeta people in
6136-1030: The Philippines than in Papuans , estimated as about 5% of the genome. The Aeta Magbukon in Luzon have the highest known proportion of Denisovan ancestry of any population in the world. In Papuans, less Denisovan ancestry is seen in the X chromosome than autosomes , and some autosomes (such as chromosome 11 ) also have less Denisovan ancestry, which could indicate hybrid incompatibility . The former observation could also be explained by less female Denisovan introgression into modern humans, or more female modern human immigrants who diluted Denisovan X chromosome ancestry. In contrast, 0.2% derives from Denisovan ancestry in mainland Asians and Native Americans . South Asians were found to have levels of Denisovan admixture similar to that seen in East Asians. The discovery of
6240-473: The Philippines, living alongside H. luzonensis which, if this is the case, may represent the same or a closely related species. These Denisovans may have needed to cross large bodies of water. Alternately, high Denisovan DNA admixture in modern Papuan populations may simply represent higher mixing among the original ancestors of Papuans prior to crossing the Wallace line. Icelanders also have an anomalously high Denisovan heritage, which could have stemmed from
6344-748: The Polynesians arrived in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea at least 6,000 to 8,000 years ago. Paternal Y chromosome analysis by Kayser et al. (2000) also showed that Polynesians have significant Melanesian genetic admixture. 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. 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. Thus,
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#17327647747186448-435: The South Chamber, though some layers of the East Chamber seem to have been disturbed. There was blade production and Levallois production, but scrapers were again predominant. A well-developed, Upper Paleolithic stone bladelet technology distinct from the previous scrapers began accumulating in the Main Chamber around 36±4 thousand years ago. In the Upper Paleolithic layers, there were also several bone tools and ornaments:
6552-401: The Tibetan Plateau, and since the Xiahe mandible is the oldest human fossil from the region (though younger than the Quesang impressions), these may have been made by Denisovan children. The impressions were printed onto a small panel of space, and there is little overlap between all the prints, so they seem to have been taking care to make new imprints in unused space. If considered art, they are
6656-430: The ZooMS analysis was there was no evidence of any other human group having occupied the cave. Other bone fragments included a large number of blue sheep , wild yaks , woolly rhino , spotted hyena , marmots , and other small mammals and birds. Examination of the animal bone surfaces indicates the Denisovans removed meat and bone marrow from the bones and also show the humans used them as raw material to make tools. There
6760-404: The archaic DNA in the modern Icelandic genome descends from the Denisovans, and such a high percentage could indicate a western Eurasian population of Denisovans which introgressed into either Vindija-related Neanderthals or immigrating modern humans. Denisovan genes may have helped early modern humans migrating out of Africa to acclimatize . Although not present in the sequenced Denisovan genome,
6864-408: The area more than 3,000 years ago, 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. It was proposed that, from this area, a very small group of people (speaking an Austronesian language ) departed to
6968-420: The cave dating to the time interval (Denisova 14) is too degraded to confirm species identity, so the attribution of these artefacts is unclear. In 1998, five child hand- and footprint impressions were discovered in a travertine unit near the Quesang hot springs in Tibet; in 2021, they were dated to 226 to 169 thousand years ago using uranium decay dating. This is the oldest evidence of human occupation of
7072-474: The coastlines were more intermixed. Further DNA analysis has taken research into new directions, as more Homo erectus races or subspecies 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%–7% of their genome with
7176-448: The descendants of a very early migration out of Africa around 1.9 mya. A 2011 study found that Denisovan DNA is prevalent in Papuans , Aboriginal Australians , Near Oceanians , Polynesians , Fijians , Eastern Indonesians , and Aeta (from the Philippines); but not in East Asians , western Indonesians, Jahai people (from Malaysia), or Onge (from the Andaman Islands ). This may suggest that Denisovan introgression occurred within
7280-567: The descendants of an earlier migration of H. erectus out of Africa, completely distinct from modern humans and Neanderthals. However, according to the nuclear DNA (nDNA) of Denisova 3—which had an unusual degree of DNA preservation with only low-level contamination—Denisovans and Neanderthals were more closely related to each other than they were to modern humans. Using the percent distance from human–chimpanzee last common ancestor , Denisovans/Neanderthals split from modern humans about 804,000 years ago, and from each other 640,000 years ago. Using
7384-448: The difference between modern humans and Neanderthals is around 202 bases. In comparison, the difference between chimpanzees and modern humans is approximately 1,462 mtDNA base pairs. This suggested that Denisovan mtDNA diverged from that of modern humans and Neanderthals about 1,313,500–779,300 years ago; whereas modern human and Neanderthal mtDNA diverged 618,000–321,200 years ago. Krause and colleagues then concluded that Denisovans were
7488-606: The distribution pattern and divergence of HLA-B*73 from other HLA alleles (involved in the immune system 's natural killer cell receptors ) has led to the suggestion that it introgressed from Denisovans into modern humans in West Asia . In a 2011 study, half of the HLA alleles of modern Eurasians were shown to represent archaic HLA haplotypes, and were inferred to be of Denisovan or Neanderthal origin. A haplotype of EPAS1 in modern Tibetans, which allows them to live at high elevations in
7592-468: The east to become the forebears of the Polynesian people . The indigenous Melanesian populations are thus often classified into two main groups based on differences in language, culture or genetic ancestry: the Papuan -speaking and Austronesian -speaking groups. This Polynesian theory was overturned by a 2010 study, which was based on genome scans and evaluation of more than 800 genetic markers among
7696-410: The ends used to scrape), burins , chisel -like tools, and truncated flakes. These dated to 156±15 thousand years ago in the Main Chamber, 58±6 thousand years ago in the East Chamber, and 136±26–47±8 thousand years ago in the South Chamber. Early Upper Paleolithic artefacts date to 44±5 thousand years ago in the Main Chamber, 63±6 thousand years ago in the East Chamber, and 47±8 thousand years ago in
7800-603: The femur of a 400,000-year-old H. heidelbergensis from the Sima de los Huesos Cave in Spain was found to be related to those of Neanderthals and Denisovans, but closer to Denisovans, and the authors posited that this mtDNA represents an archaic sequence which was subsequently lost in Neanderthals due to replacement by a modern-human-related sequence. Denisovans are known to have lived in Siberia, Tibet, and Laos. The Xiahe mandible
7904-495: The high frequencies of B4a1a1 are the result of drift and represent the descendants of a very few successful East Asian females. 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 3,500 years ago. This was followed by long periods of interaction that resulted in many complex changes in genetics, languages, and culture. It
8008-502: The highlands having variants for early brain development and those living in the lowlands having variants for the immune system. Based on the high percentages of Denisovan DNA in modern Papuans and Australians, Denisovans may have crossed the Wallace Line into these regions (with little back-migration west), the second known human species to do so, along with earlier Homo floresiensis . By this logic, they may have also entered
8112-500: The introgression event did not take place in Sundaland, or Denisovan ancestry was diluted with gene flow from the mainland Asian Hòabìnhian culture and subsequent Neolithic cultures. In other regions of the world, archaic introgression into humans stems from a group of Neanderthals related to those which inhabited Vindija Cave , Croatia, as opposed to archaics related to Siberian Neanderthals and Denisovans. However, about 3.3% of
8216-429: The jungles of Southeast Asia. The Tam Ngu Hao 2 site might have been a closed forest environment. Little is known of the precise anatomical features of the Denisovans since the only physical remains discovered so far are a finger bone, four teeth, long bone fragments, a partial jawbone, a parietal bone skull fragment, and a rib bone. The finger bone is within the modern human range of variation for women, which
8320-553: The least completely decolonized regions on the globe. In New Zealand , according to the 2018 census , 16% of the population identified as being of Māori descent. Many of those same people also identified as being descended from other ethnic groups, such as European. The indigenous peoples of Australia are the Indigenous Australians , who account for 2.5% of the total population according to 2011 census figures. The term 'Indigenous Australians' refers to both
8424-458: The mandible had a gap behind the molars, and the front teeth were flattened; but Denisovans lacked a high mandibular body, and the mandibular symphysis at the midline of the jaw was more receding. The parietal is reminiscent of that of H. erectus . A facial reconstruction has been generated by comparing methylation at individual genetic loci associated with facial structure. This analysis suggested that Denisovans, much like Neanderthals, had
8528-434: The mud, or dug their finger into the toe prints. The footprints average 192.3 mm (7.57 in) long, which roughly equates to a 7 or 8 year old child by modern human growth rates. There are two sets of handprints (from a left and right hand), which may have been created by an older child unless one of the former two individuals had long fingers. The handprints average 161.1 mm (6.34 in), which roughly equates with
8632-507: The nuchal and angular tori near the base of the skull are either reduced or absent, and the back of the skull is rounded off like in early modern humans . Xuchang 1 had a large brain volume of approximately 1800 cc, on the high end for Neanderthals and early modern humans, and well beyond the present-day human average. The Denisovan genome from Denisova Cave has variants of genes which, in modern humans, are associated with dark skin, brown hair, and brown eyes. The Denisovan genome also contains
8736-671: The ocean – they rank as amongst the last places on earth discovered by humans. These include the Galápagos Islands, Cocos Island , the Revillagigedos Archipelago , and the Juan Fernández Islands off the coast of South America; Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand; and Midway Island , northwest of Hawaii. They are some of the few places on the planet which have never had an 'indigenous' population." Lord Howe Island
8840-427: The oldest known examples of rock art . Similar hand stencils and impressions do not appear again in the archeological record until roughly 40,000 years ago. The footprints comprise four right impressions and one left superimposed on one of the rights. They were probably left by two individuals. The tracks of the individual who superimposed their left onto their right may have scrunched up their toes and wiggled them in
8944-574: 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. Most people with blond hair are Northern European white European ethno-racial origins. It evolved independently in Melanesia, where Melanesians of some islands (along with some indigenous Australians ) are one of a few non-European ethnic groups who have blond hair. This has been traced to an allele of TYRP1 unique to these people, and
9048-852: The other former British colonies remain members of the Commonwealth of Nations , recognizing the British Queen as their titular head of state and vesting certain residual powers in the British government or the Queen's representative in the islands. Australia did not cede control of the Torres Strait Islands , inhabited by a Melanesian population, or Lord Howe and Norfolk Island, whose residents are of European ancestry. New Zealand retains indirect rule over Niue and Tokelau and has kept close relations with another former possession,
9152-405: The peoples not only distinguished between the islands, but also by the languages, topography, and size of an island. Such diversity developed over the tens of thousands of years since initial settlement, as well as after the more recent arrival of Polynesian ancestors at the islands. Papuan-speaking groups in particular were found to be the most differentiated, while Austronesian-speaking groups along
9256-454: The peoples of Oceania into four racial groups: Malayans, Polynesians, Micronesians, and Melanesians. D'Urville's model differed from that of Bory de Saint-Vincent in referring to 'Melanesians' rather than 'Mélaniens.' He derived the name Melanesia from Greek μέλας , black , and νῆσος , island , to mean "islands of black people". Bory de Saint-Vincent had distinguished Mélaniens from the indigenous Australians . Dumont D'Urville combined
9360-526: The population ancestral to both New Guineans and Oceanians. Such a late date for the New Guinean group could indicate Denisovan survival as late as 14,500 years ago, which would make them the latest surviving archaic human species. A third wave appears to have introgressed into East Asia, but there is not enough DNA evidence to pinpoint a solid timeframe. The mtDNA from Denisova 4 bore a high similarity to that of Denisova 3, indicating that they belonged to
9464-685: The region. The timing of introgression into Oceanian populations likely occurred after Eurasians and Oceanians split roughly 58,000 years ago, and before Papuan and Aboriginal Australians split from each other roughly 37,000 years ago. Given the present day distribution of Denisovan DNA, this may have taken place in Wallacea, though the discovery of a 7,200 year old Toalean girl (closely related to Papuans and Aboriginal Australians) from Sulawesi carrying Denisovan DNA makes Sundaland another potential candidate. Other early Sunda hunter gatherers so far sequenced carry very little Denisovan DNA, which either means
9568-482: The remote, cool and windy archipelago of the Chatham Islands around 1500 AD (New Zealand was in fact the last major land mass on the planet settled by humans – Iceland was settled about 800 AD, and Madagascar some hundreds of years earlier.) After New Zealand, the Pacific was full, and long-range voyaging began to decline quite rapidly. A few habitable Pacific islands were never found until Europeans entered
9672-469: The same population. The genetic diversity among the Denisovans from Denisova Cave is on the lower range of what is seen in modern humans, and is comparable to that of Neanderthals. However, it is possible that the inhabitants of Denisova Cave were more or less reproductively isolated from other Denisovans, and that, across their entire range, Denisovan genetic diversity may have been much higher. Denisova Cave, over time of habitation, continually swung from
9776-461: The specimen indicated it was more than 160,000 years old. The identity of this population was later confirmed through study of environmental DNA , which found Denisovan mtDNA in sediment layers ranging in date from 100,000 to 60,000 years before present, and perhaps more recent. In 2018, a team of Laotian, French, and American anthropologists, who had been excavating caves in the Laotian jungle of
9880-490: The time hominins spread out across Europe. H. heidelbergensis is typically considered to have been the direct ancestor of Denisovans and Neanderthals, and sometimes also modern humans. Due to the strong divergence in dental anatomy, they may have split before characteristic Neanderthal dentition evolved about 300,000 years ago. The more divergent Denisovan mtDNA has been interpreted as evidence of admixture between Denisovans and an unknown archaic human population, possibly
9984-631: The two peoples into one group. Soares et al. (2008) have argued for an older pre- Holocene Sundaland origin in Island Southeast Asia (ISEA) based on mitochondrial DNA . 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
10088-800: Was also evidence of stone artefacts in each layer excavated. Some older findings may or may not belong to the Denisovan line, but Asia is not well mapped in regards to human evolution . Such findings include the Dali skull , the Xujiayao hominin, Maba Man , the Jinniushan hominin, and the Narmada Human . The Xiahe mandible shows morphological similarities to some later East Asian fossils such as Penghu 1 , but also to Chinese H. erectus . In 2021, Chinese palaeoanthropologist Qiang Ji suggested his newly erected species, H. longi , may represent
10192-598: 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. By 1825 Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent developed a more elaborate, 15-race model of human diversity. 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. In 1832 Dumont D'Urville expanded and simplified much of this earlier work. He classified
10296-401: Was cut into two, and the initial DNA sequencing of one fragment was later independently confirmed by sequencing the mtDNA from the second. Denisova Cave contained the only known examples of Denisovans until 2019, when a research group led by Fahu Chen , Dongju Zhang , and Jean-Jacques Hublin described a partial mandible discovered in 1980 by a Buddhist monk in the Baishiya Karst Cave on
10400-555: Was first inhabited by Austronesian peoples , who created the Lapita culture, and later followed by Melanesian groups. 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. 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
10504-538: Was inconclusive for this specimen, but the team found it anatomically comparable with the Xiahe mandible, and so tentatively categorized it as a Denisovan, although they could not rule out it being Neanderthal. The tooth probably dates to 164,000 to 131,000 years ago. In 2024 a ZooMS analysis of more than 2,500 bones found in Baishiya Karst Cave revealed a further bone fragment; a rib bone dating from between 48,000 BP and 32,000 BP. The conclusion of
10608-424: 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 . 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
10712-487: Was originally named X-woman because matrilineal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) extracted from the bone demonstrated it to belong to a novel ancient hominin, genetically distinct both from contemporary modern humans and from Neanderthals . In 2019, Greek archaeologist Katerina Douka and colleagues radiocarbon dated specimens from Denisova Cave, and estimated that Denisova 2 (the oldest specimen) lived 195,000–122,700 years ago. Older Denisovan DNA collected from sediments in
10816-821: Was politically integrated into the Australian state of New South Wales , despite being nearly 800 kilometers removed, and Midway is now an unincorporated territory of the United States . All oceanic islands of the eastern Pacific (excluding Clipperton ) were eventually annexed by Central America and South America , after going unclaimed for a few hundred years following their initial discoveries. They are now politically associated with those regions, in addition to sometimes being associated with Oceania. The sparse number of current inhabitants are primarily Spanish -speaking Mestizos . A percentage of Easter Islanders have race-mixed with Mestizo settlers from their current political administrators, Chile , and it has gradually become
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