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Demography and social structure of Polynesian outliers: genomic investigations of over 100 individuals buried in Namu, Taumako island

Description du projet

Un examen plus approfondi des interactions entre les Océaniens

Descendants de deux vagues migratoires principales, en provenance d’Afrique il y a plus de 50 000 ans et de Taïwan il y a environ 5 000 ans, les Océaniens ont une histoire démographique complexe et représentent un paysage génétique complexe. Les interactions entre les Océaniens restent cependant mal connues. Le projet NAMU, financé par l’UE, étudiera les données génétiques de 114 individus anciens provenant du site polynésien ancien de Namu, un cimetière situé sur l’île de Taumako, dans les îles Salomon. Dans le but principal de comprendre la structure des sociétés océaniennes et sa relation avec leur histoire migratoire, NAMU utilisera des méthodes paléogénomiques pour étudier les processus de peuplement et l’histoire démographique de Taumako ainsi que l’organisation sociale et la stratification socio-économique de Namu.

Objectif

Oceanians are descendants of two main migration waves: the early migration of modern humans out-of-Africa more than 50,000 years ago (ya), which ended in the Solomon Islands (Near Oceania); and the Austronesian expansion, that started around 5,000 ya in Taiwan and peopled the remaining unexplored territories of Oceania (Remote Oceania) up to Polynesia from 3,000 ya. Subsequent migrations within the region created a complex genetic landscape. Near Oceanian populations moved into Remote Oceania at least 2,500 ya. Afterwards, Polynesian-speaking groups expanded westward, outside the Polynesian triangle, to other Oceanian islands, giving rise to the so-called Polynesian Outlier communities. This complex population history created a highly differentiated sociocultural background among Oceanians, whose interactions remain poorly understood. We will leverage genetic data for 114 ancient individuals from the ancient Polynesian Outlier site of Namu, a burial in the Taumako island, occupied from the 13th to the 18th centuries AD, which represents, to our knowledge, the largest ancient DNA dataset ever studied from a single site. We will use cutting-edge paleogenomic methods to study: the settlement processes and the demographic history of Taumako, and the social organization and socioeconomic stratification of the Namu site, according to genetic ancestry, sex, kin relations and age. The ultimate objective is to understand the structure of Oceanian societies and its relation with their migratory history. To achieve the project’s goals, I will integrate in the Archaeo- and Palaeogenetics group at the University of Tübingen, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Cosimo Posth, who is a worldwide known expert in paleogenomics. This innovative and multidisciplinary project is a unique opportunity for me to learn the full range of paleogenomic techniques from a leading group in the field and to establish myself as an interdisciplinary leader in this expanding research area.

Coordinateur

EBERHARD KARLS UNIVERSITAET TUEBINGEN
Contribution nette de l'UE
€ 189 687,36
Adresse
GESCHWISTER-SCHOLL-PLATZ
72074 Tuebingen
Allemagne

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Région
Baden-Württemberg Tübingen Tübingen, Landkreis
Type d’activité
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Liens
Coût total
Aucune donnée