Robert Attenborough

Human biology in Papua New Guinea: the small cosmos.

List of contributors Michael P. Alpers & Robert D. Attenborough: Human Biology in a Small Cosmos Bryant J. Allen: The geography of Papua New Guinea Ian D. Riley & Deborah Lehmann: The demography of Papua New Guinea: migration, fertility, and mortality patterns James W. Wood: Fertility and reproductive biology in Papua New Guinea William A. Foley: Language and identity in Papua New Guinea Ian Lilley: Papua New Guineas human past: the evidence of archaeology Robert L. Kirk: Population origins in Papua New Guinea - a human biological overview Susan W. Serjeantson, Philip G. Board, & Kuldeep K. Bhatia: Population genetics in Papua New Guinea: a perspective on human evolution Peter F. Heywood & Nicholas G. Norgan: Human growth in Papua New Guinea Peter F. Heywood & Carol Jenkins: Nutrition in Papua New Guinea John Lourie, Grahame Budd, & H. Ross Anderson: Physiological adaptability in Papua New Guinea Ian D. Riley, Deborah Lehmann, & Michael P. Alpers: Acute respiratory infections H. Ross Anderson & Ann J. Woolcock: Chronic lung disease and asthma in Papua New Guinea Jacqueline A. Cattani: The epidemiology of malaria in Papua New Guinea Michael P. Alpers: Kuru Gregor Lawrence: Pigbel Guy Barnish: The epidemiology of intestinal parasites in Papua New Guinea Peter F. Heywood: Iodine-deficiency disorders in Papua New Guinea Hilary King: The epidemiology of diabetes mellitus in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific: adverse consequences of natural selection in the face of sociocultural change Peter F. Sinnett, Isi H. Kevau, & Daniel Tyson: Social change and the emergence of degenerative cardiovascular disease in Papua New Guinea Carol Jenkins: Medical anthropology in Papua New Guinea: a challenge Appendix: Institutional addresses Index.

The Peopling of New Guinea: Evidence from Class I Human Leukocyte Antigen

This study utilizes newly developed direct DNA typing methods for human leukocyte antigens (HLA) to provide new information about the peopling of New Guinea. The complete polymorphism of eight Melanesian populations was examined. The groups included were highlanders, northern and southern highlands fringe populations, a Sepik population, northern and southern coastal New Guinea populations, and populations from the Bismarck Archipelago and New Caledonia. The study concluded that, based on HLA and other evidence, Melanesians are likely to have evolved largely from the same ancestral stock as Aboriginal Australians but to have since differentiated. Highlanders are likely to be descendants of earlier migrations who have been isolated for a long period of time. Northern highlands fringe and Sepik populations are likely to share a closer common ancestry but to have differentiated due to long term isolation and the relative proximity to the coast of the Sepik. Southern fringe populations are likely to have a different origin, possibly from the Gulf region, although there may be some admixture with neighboring groups. Coastal populations have a wider range of polymorphisms because of the genetic trail left by later population movement along the coast from Asia that did not reach Australia or remote Oceania. Other polymorphisms found in these populations may have been introduced by the movement of Austronesian-speaking and other more recent groups of people into the Pacific, because they share many polymorphisms with contemporary southeast Asians, Polynesians, and Micronesians that are not found in highlanders or Aboriginal Australians. There is evidence suggestive of later migration to Melanesia from Polynesia and Micronesia.

A Neolithic expansion, but strong genetic structure, in the independent history of New Guinea

The population structure in Papua New Guinea reflects a Neolithic transition with high present-day genetic differentiation. Genetic history of Papua New Guinea peoples Papua New Guinea was likely a stepping stone for human migration from Asia to Australia. Bergström et al. analyzed genome-wide autosomal data from several peoples in Papua New Guinea and determined population structure, divergence, and temporal size changes on the island. A sharp genetic divide is evident between the highlands and lowlands that appears to have occurred 10,000 to 20,000 years ago, concurrent with the spread of crop cultivation and the trans-New Guinea language family. Science, this issue p. 1160 New Guinea shows human occupation since ~50 thousand years ago (ka), independent adoption of plant cultivation ~10 ka, and great cultural and linguistic diversity today. We performed genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism genotyping on 381 individuals from 85 language groups in Papua New Guinea and find a sharp divide originating 10 to 20 ka between lowland and highland groups and a lack of non–New Guinean admixture in the latter. All highlanders share ancestry within the last 10 thousand years, with major population growth in the same period, suggesting population structure was reshaped following the Neolithic lifestyle transition. However, genetic differentiation between groups in Papua New Guinea is much stronger than in comparable regions in Eurasia, demonstrating that such a transition does not necessarily limit the genetic and linguistic diversity of human societies.