Statewide County HI Archives News.....DNA Research on Polynesian Orgins and Migrations, in regard to the Hawai'ians July 22, 2008 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/hi/hifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Darlene E. Kelley http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374 August 3, 2008, 7:24 pm Keepers Of The Culture, A Study In Time Of The Hawaiian Islands July 22, 2008 Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Darlene E. Kelley http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374 July 22, 2008. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Historical Collections of Hawai'i Keepers of the Culture A study in time, of the Hawai'ian Islands. DNA Research on Polynesian Orgins and Migrations, in regard to the Hawai'ians by Darlene E. Kelley ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DNA Research -- We carry our histories within us, in our genes and in our DNA. New techneques of DNA analysis are now allowing researchers to learn more about human history, including the migration paths of the ancient Polynesians who sailed their double-hulled voyaging canoes over the largest ocean in the world to become the first Hawai'ians. It has been a question of science exactly how and when Earth's continents and islands were first inhabited by humans. An ancient proverb referring to Hawai'ians " I ula no ka lala i ke kumu " meaning "The branches grow because of the Trunk " Scientists have traditionally relied on fossils and linguistic similaritics to trace back through time to discover the history of ancient humans. This research has been revolutionized by recent studies on strands of hair and human cells containing the DNA that reveals to scientists clues about our distant past. DNA studies are also pinpointing the very earliest of human origins. One recent study of a complete humane genome concluded that humans first migrated out of Africa into Europe and Asia about 52,000 years ago. Genetic analyses have also led to new discoveries in the fields of anthropology, archaeology, and paleontology, supplimenting traditional evidence such as fossils, artifacts, and site excavations. A study led by Dr. Geoffrey Chambers of Victoria University concluded that Polynesian people first migrated from Taiwan and China to the Philippines and Indonesia, then to West Polynesia and East Polynesia, and then to New Zealand. Chambers analyzed DNA data that had originally been collected for a study on genetics and alcoholism. The DNA profiles in Chambers study showed that there is less genetic diversity in Polynesians than other groups. For example, the probability of finding two individuals with the same DNA profiles ia 1 to 112 million for Asians and 1 to 47 million for Caucasions, but 1 in 6.7 million for Polynesians. Researchers theorize that these lower rates of genetic diversity are a result of the fact that the Polynesians, sailing voyaging canoes to inhabit remote Pacific Islands were very isolated from other races. There were more than 20.000 islands throughout the Pacific Ocean, which is 25% larger than all the world's land combined. The Polynesians settled many of these distant and isolated islands. ++++++++++++++++ Mitochondrial DNA Three Main Subgroups of Polynesians. Another recent genetics project was led by University of Hawai'i Scientist Rebecca Cann's study, analyzed mitochondrial DNA, unlike the Victoria University study, which used nuclear DNA. Mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from the Mother. Analyzing hair samples gathered from people all around the Pacific, the research concluded that there were three main subgroups of Polynesians. The study found that 95% of all Hawai'ians are in one of these three main subgroups, along with 90% of Samoans and all the Tongans sampled. Interestingly, this genetic marker that distinguished the Poynesian subgroups are also found in some Native Americans. A second genetically distinct subgroup of Polynesians contains a small minority of Hawai'ian people as well as people from Samoa and the Cook Islands. A third group doesn't seem to show up at all the Hawai'ian Islands, but appears to link Samoans to Indonesians. Cann's research also concluded that it is likely that Polynesians first sailed to South America, rather than the other way around, as many researchers had previously asserted. Cann's genetic study traces Poynesian expansion from the Southeast Asia mainland some time around 6000 years ago. Cann theorizes that there were several waves of migration from Asia and that Micronesia was settled after Polynesia, contrary to what most anthropologists have claimed. +++++++++++++++++ Y Chromosomes Study A research project at the University of Texas Health Science Center studied the Y chonosomes of 551 men from South- east Asia and the Pacific. The Y chromosomes is passed from fathers to sons,and so it is specific to males ( unlike mitrochrondrial DNA in the previous study). This University of Texas research found that aborginal Taiwanese carried distinctly gentic markers than eastern Pacific Microneseans. The Texas study also found that the Micronesians/Polynesians were more closely related to Southeast Asians than Taiwanese. These findings cast doubt on the previous reigning theory that Taiwan was the ancestral origin of the Polynesians. The history of Polynesian migration will become clearer as new genetic techniques are refined. ++++++++++++++ Origins of the First Hawai'ians Before DNA research began yielding new clues to Polynesian origins, in formation about the first Hawai'ian settlers came predominantly from archaeological and linguistic evidence from Hawai'ian archeological sites, links the Hawai'ian Islands to the Marquesas Islands, and archipelago about 2,500 miles ( 4,020 km) southeast of the Hawai'ian Islands. Fish hooks found in both places are remarkably simular, including the particular notching of the shank of the hook. Research has also shown that the language of the ancient Hawai'ian's is more closely linked to the Marquesan language than any other Polynesian language or dialect. The same DNA techniques that genetic anthropologists are using to discover ancient family linages of Hawai'ians are being used to study the spread of diseases among endangered Hawai'ian bird species. Another application of DNA studies helps scientists with the captive breeding of endangered Hawai'ian birds, including the native honeycreeper. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/hi/statewide/newspapers/dnaresea24nnw.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/hifiles/ File size: 6.8 Kb