Dissertation Improvement: The Biological Evidence from the San Pau Chu Site and its Implication for Austronesian Migrations

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Modern Pacific region populations are diverse culturally, linguistically, and biologically. Many attribute this to more than one migration occurring during the colonization of Oceania. According to archaeological research and linguistic reconstructions, the colonization of Oceania began at about 3500 years ago. This wave of movements is associated with Lapita Cultural Archaeological Complex (distinct decorated ceramic assemblages, lithic, shell, and bone implements with a horticultural-fishing economy in an island environment), and the people are thought to have spoken languages of the Austronesian language group. Evidence also has been used to suggest that Austronesian peoples originated from Taiwan/Island Southeast Asia (e.g., the Express Train to Polynesian, Triple-I, Slow Boat, and Eden in the East models) or further east in the Bismarck Archipelagos of Melanesia (i.e. the Indigenous Melanesian Origins model). Comparisons of skeletal morphology and genetic research offer insights into population relationships and movements; however, the ancestral homeland of Austronesian-speaking populations is still unknown. To address existing alternative models with respect to the Austronesian expansion and to test the agreement between different lines of evidence, this project will examine molecular data (ancient DNA) and dental morphology of human skeletons from the prehistoric archaeological site (2500-3000 before present), San-Pao-Chu (SPC), in Southwest Taiwan. To determine the biological relationships between this population sample and modern populations, molecular research will include segments of maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA. These results will then be compared with morphological data drawn from metric (i.e. tooth crown width) and nonmetric (e.g., tooth root numbers) dental traits.This is the first study to look at mtDNA of ancient Taiwanese and one of the few studies using ancient DNA to study Austronesian migrations. The results of this research can also offer evidence of biological relationships for the indigenous Taiwanese, specifically the Ping-Pu tribe, to ethnic groups in mainland Asia and populations of Island Southeast Asia, and will provide a body of knowledge to evaluate the existing models concerning the Austronesian ancestral homeland. Biological and spatial analyses of the SPC human skeletal remains can also offer information to evaluate prehistoric societies, especially Taiwanese Austronesian speakers. This project also provides training for a graduate student and fosters collaboration between American and Taiwanese scientists.