Genetic Variation in Melanesia

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This research project will fill an important gap in the description of human genetic variation - a comprehensive analysis of genetic materials from Island Melanesia, focusing on mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome loci. As Sykes re- cently suggested, Island Melanesia is the key to understanding early population migrations in the Pacific region. It is well known for its linguistic and genetic diversity, but newer techniques have not been applied to genetic analyses on samples from this region in any significant way. The pattern of variation revealed by this study in mtDNA and Y chromosome DNA will be used to estimate the timing and nature of the initial and subsequent peoplings of Island Melane- sia, and Melanesia's relation to the surrounding Polynesian, Southeast Asian, and Australian poulations. The analyses will be performed on a total of 800 unrelated individuals from a chain of islands stretching from the coast of New Guinea out into the Pacific, including: New Britain, New Ireland, and Bougainville. There are also ramifications from this study for estimation of the time of first appearance of modern humans.