[Taxacom] Native American genes in central Pacific

[John Grehan]

Systematics-taxonomy in the general sense. Recent article in Nature. I have
no definitive position on the evidence. They argue for 1200 AD origin but I
have not determined if this was inferred from archeology or from the
genetics. I have a copy of the article if anyone is interested.

John Grehan

Loannidas et al 20202 "Native American gene flow into Polynesia predating
Easter Island settlement" Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2487-2

  The possibility of voyaging contact between prehistoric Polynesian and
Native American populations has long intrigued researchers. Proponents have
pointed to the existence of New World crops, such as the sweet potato and
bottle gourd, in the Polynesian archaeological record, but nowhere else
outside the pre-Columbian Americas1–6 , while critics have argued that
these botanical dispersals need not have been human mediated7 . The
Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl controversially suggested that
prehistoric South American populations had an important role in the
settlement of east Polynesia and particularly of Easter Island (Rapa Nui)2
. Several limited molecular genetic studies have reached opposing
conclusions, and the possibility continues to be as hotly contested today
as it was when first suggested8–12. Here we analyse genome-wide variation
in individuals from islands across Polynesia for signs of Native American
admixture, analysing 807 individuals from 17 island populations and 15
Pacifc coast Native American groups. We find conclusive evidence for
prehistoric contact of Polynesian individuals with Native
American individuals (around ad 1200) contemporaneous with the settlement
of remote Oceania13–15. Our analyses suggest strongly that a single contact
event occurred in eastern Polynesia, before the settlement of Rapa Nui,
between Polynesian individuals and a Native American group most closely
related to the indigenous inhabitants of present-day Colombia.