Polynesian DNA mysteriously shows up in a Brazilian tribe

The Polynesians' epic voyages of exploration and colonization across the Pacific are one of humanity's most impressive accomplishments (even if the local bird life wasn't likely to have enjoyed it). Having most probably started in Taiwan, the explorers reached and settled on islands across most of the Pacific, as far north as Hawaii and as far south as New Zealand. And recent evidence shows that they also stopped in South America, where they stayed long enough to pick up food crops that eventually wound up distributed across the Pacific as well.

By the time they reached South America, however, several large and sophisticated civilizations had already developed along the west coast of that continent. This is in sharp contrast to the uninhabited islands that the Polynesians were used to colonizing, which raises questions about whether any of the voyagers were likely to have stayed in the newly discovered land. Genetic surveys of native populations in Peru and elsewhere have indicated that, if any did stick around, they didn't make a significant contribution to the local gene pool.

But now, some researchers have found some Polynesian DNA in the remains of some Native Americans. Oddly, however, the remains are on the exact opposite side of the continent from where the Polynesians are likely to have landed. Even the researchers themselves are at a bit of a loss to explain it; after considering several possible causes, even the one they find most likely gets labelled as "fanciful."

Although the interpretation is bewildering, the data is pretty clear-cut. The authors focused on a tribe that originally lived in the south-east of Brazil called the Botocudo. This group was violent and independent, and didn't come under the control of the Portuguese colonial power. In 1808, the authorities essentially declared war against any group that fit this description. By the end of that century, the Botocudo had essentially ceased to exist as a distinctive ethnic group.

The remains of several Botocudo individuals, however, were preserved in museums, and the authors obtained DNA from over a dozen of them. That DNA was used to study parts of the mitochondrial genome, which is inherited exclusively through female lineages. Because it's relatively easy to obtain and sequence, mitochondrial DNA has been used for a variety of studies of human evolution, and there's a wealth of data available on the variations associated with different populations.

A dozen of these samples produced the sorts of sequences you'd typically see in Native American populations. But two others have a set of distinctive changes that, to date, have only been found in populations associated with Polynesian cultures.


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Nothing mysterious about this.
People migrated.
I don't care what any scientists have to say.

We've traveled, either on purpose or by error or by situation, to other places in the past we weren't supposed to.

I agree with grey. There's nothing particularly puzzling about this. There was all kinds of contact across the oceans, most of which we will never document. It's kind of interesting that DNA has become the way in which some of this can be tracked after the fact. None of us are further related than 50th cousin. All of us not native of Africa have Neanderthal and Denisovan genes as well. We're quite a mixture and the more we learn the more complex it gets.

Thee are some factual mistakes in the original article, one is that polynesians never settlled Madagascar, that was austronesians, and the polynesians and austronesians have been genetically separated for more than 8000 years.
It's still an interesting study,
And here is the link to the abstract for the paper cited.
m.pnas.org...

It is also possible that the Polynesian people were on the SA continent before the Amerindians. The same can be said about some Japanese living on the west coast of NA. It is possible that they arrived here before the Amerindians due to having Japanese DNA in their blood.

But as far as we know now the Amerindians were here before both stated groups of peoples.

Originally posted by kimish
It is also possible that the Polynesian people were on the SA continent before the Amerindians. The same can be said about some Japanese living on the west coast of NA. It is possible that they arrived here before the Amerindians due to having Japanese DNA in their blood.

But as far as we know now the Amerindians were here before both stated groups of peoples.

edit on 11-4-2013 by kimish because: (no reason given)

Actually there is good evidence that, polynesians or more correctly the Hawiians, have their intermediate roots in north America.
The proto polynesians left tiawaan 8000 years ago and some ended up on the west coast of canada and inter married into the hiada gawaii and tinglit tribes. Them about 2000 years ago a small group journeyed to and settled Hawaii. About 400 years later the Hawiians journeyed to Easter island where they intermarried with the local population from SA. It was these people who went on to become the polynesians.
A small group also made it it the coast of California and had a small influence on the coastal peoles of California, the chumash.
The theory is confirmed by the presence of north American HLA genes in the polynesian gene pool,
as well as the presence of the 9BP deletion which is found in north American Indians and polynesians.
That's the simplest way of telling it,
In regards to the Japanese on the west coast of NA storm drifted Japanese and Chinese sailors have been washing up here since tey've been sailing. Among certain coastal northern California tribes there are tales of the " crafty foriegners " that lived in the woods making pottery and metal items.

My family and I lived in New Zealand for 4 yrs (work related) and the Maori story is fascinating. The Polynesian diaspora covered literally the entire North and South Pacific.

The Maori's were expert sailors in their Waka's, meaning virtually everything was within their reach.

reply to post by deadbang

There was a thread on here some time ago about the Maori people. In the thread it had said that the Maori had stories of a "white people" that lived on the Islands before them.
ETA: I think the thread was about NZ withholding artifacts from its museums or the museums wouldn't display the artifacts.

The rest of your article clears up the mystery -- no ancient contact, but rather a modern one:

So, what's left? The best of a bad bunch of explanations. Towards the end of the African slave trade, Britain's ban on slavery led it to interdict vessels along the west coast of Africa. That shifted some of the trade to elsewhere, including Madagascar. That island was also settled by Polynesians, and about 20 percent of its population appears to carry DNA variants consistent with the Brazilian find. Once brought to Brazil, there were a few decades in which these individuals could have been kidnapped by and assimilated into the Botocudo (possibly producing offspring) before the tribe was exterminated. The authors helpfully note that a kidnapping of this sort was the subject of an 1870 opera by a Brazilian composer.

Slave trade brought a lot of genetic mixing around the world.

I am not so sure it's mysterious, in New Zealand there are several cultivars of potato that predate European occupation, indeed the kumara was (still is) a staple of the Maori diet. So one has to assume at some point they went and got some. Or at least traded with those who had. In the direction of Brazil, only the Polynesians are there, so yeah it makes sense.

reply to post by kimish


Genetic mapping shows this is very unlikely, they came from the west, and settled the pacific, New Zealand was the last major settlement. Its much MUCH more likely that this is from a ship wreck or a similar. If they were there before the Native americans, there would be a higher prevalence of Polynesian markers than there is.

Originally posted by kimish
reply to post by deadbang

 

There was a thread on here some time ago about the Maori people. In the thread it had said that the Maori had stories of a "white people" that lived on the Islands before them.
ETA: I think the thread was about NZ withholding artifacts from its museums or the museums wouldn't display the artifacts.

edit on 11-4-2013 by kimish because: (no reason given)

Gods, this was probably the dire #e that Martin Doutré publishes (Ancient Celtic New Zealand being his biggest work). I own (It is in storage in the USA at the moment) his book on so called "Ancient Celtic New Zealand" and it has virtually nothing logical in it. By this I mean, he takes measurements (for example) of rocks on a hill, and tries to compare them to Stone Henge, and the Great Pyramid. Here is the thing, The Celts had NOTHING to do with Stonehenge and its construction, and there is no evidence they used it (and there should be some given the length of time the Celts were there, there is minimal evidence the Anglo-Saxons did, and they were there a much shorter time). Lets not even get into Pyramids and Celts ....

There are some sites that the Department of Conservation does not idiots digging up, they are very important geologically and ethnically (to the Maori). Do the Maori protect their heritage, damn right they do. But they are pretty good at lending things out too.