19 March 2007

Research suggests new origins for Polynesian pig

New research from the universities of Auckland, Oxford, Durham and Adelaide suggests the origin of the pigs carried into the Pacific region by Polynesian ancestors can be traced back to ancient pig populations in mainland Southeast Asia, and not back to Taiwan or the Philippines. These findings differ from human genetic and linguistic research which suggests the ancestors of the Polynesian people originated in Taiwan.

Researchers from The University of Auckland’s Department of Anthropology, working with collaborators from around the world, have analysed DNA from ancient pig remains across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The results indicate that a single genetic heritage is shared by all ancient pigs analysed from archaeological sites from across the Pacific, spanning the region from New Guinea to Hawaii. Some historic and modern day pigs from the region also share this lineage, which can be traced back through the Moluccas and the islands of Timor, Flores, Java and Sumatra, ultimately to Vietnam, perhaps the site for initial domestication of pigs in Asia.

The findings shed new light on previously-held assumptions that Pacific colonisers and domestic animals shared the same origins.

“Most research on human colonisation suggests people moved down from Taiwan through the Philippines to Wallacea, the area around modern Sulawesi and the Moluccas, and then along the north coast of New Guinea continuing east, eventually reaching Polynesia,” says Associate Professor Lisa Matisoo-Smith, of the University’s Department of Anthropology.

“Our work suggests the pigs moved through a slightly different route from the people. This could be due to a number of reasons – most likely an alternative group of people may have moved pigs to the area where the two pathways collide. The ancestors of the Polynesians then incorporated those pigs into their cultural and economic base, which they carried with them to the islands they colonised,” says Associate Professor Matisoo-Smith.

The article, “Phylogeny and Ancient DNA of Sus Provides New Insights into Neolithic Expansion in Island Southeast Asia and Oceania” appears in the prestigious international science journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (www.pnas.org).

ENDS

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