In 1994, Koji Lum collected head hair in Micronesia. He used
the head hair to obtain DNA samples. Lum's purpose was to
compare the genetic relationships
of various Micronesian groups to other Pacific Islanders and Asians
and their languages (Lum & Heathcote, 1998, 1). DNA offers a better
way to study the relationships among Pacific Islanders. Anthropologists
based past studies on linguistics. A study of grammar and word
lists allowed researchers to
established degrees of correlation between various Pacific
Islanders. For
example, the Chamoru language is most closely related to Bareic
in Sulawesi
based on a comparison of standardized word lists (Murdock, 1968,
88). One
linguist found that Chamoru has a high percentage of common vocabulary
with Maanyan of Borneo and West Futuna in Vanuatu (Russell, PC).
Others say
that Chamorro is closer to Ilokano and Tagalog in the Philippines.
They base
their analysis on the grammatical structure (Topping, Ogo, &
Dungca,
1975, 3) and not on common vocabulary (Russell, PC). Topping
argues
that grammatical structure is a better indicator than common vocabulary.
Linguists have formulated theories of Pacific Island colonization
based on
the similarity of languages. P. S. Bellwood, who wrote the
definitive work
on the peopling of the Pacific, relied heavily on this linguistic
evidence.
There is a problem in using language to predict relations among people.
Language is a culturally transmitted and not a biological
trait. Just because
a native of Hong Kong speaks English does not mean that he
or she is
necessarily of British decent. In fact it is more likely that
he or she is Chinese.
On the other hand, DNA is the genetic material that determines biological
inheritance. "Lum examined DNA that is found within mitochondria
(mtDNA),
small cellular bodies that function as the energy factories
and storehouses of our cells. Mitochondria are inherited from the
body of the mother's fertilized egg, and are transmitted maternally to
the next generation" (Lum & Heathcote, 1998, 1). This analysis
ignores inheritance from a father.
Lum wanted to find out if the DNA similarities would agree with the
linguistic similarities. "For instance, would there be close mtDNA
similarity among allthe groups who speak Oceanic Austronesian (OCAN)
languages? In Micronesia, OCAN languages include those spoken
in the Southwest Islands of Palau,
Yap Outer Islands, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Nauru, the Marshalls,
and
Kiribati. As well, all Polynesian languages are classified
as OCAN, as are
many languages spoken within Melanesia. In contrast, people
from Yap
Proper, Palau (other than the Southwest Islands) and the Marianas
speak
languages that are classified as non-Oceanic Austronesian (AN)"
Lum &
Heathcote, 1998, 2). Would Chamorus, Palauans and Yapese
mtDNA be
closer to AN speakers from Southeast Asia or closer to OCAN-sepaking
Micronesians (Lum & Heathcote, 1998, 2)?
Lum analyzed the hair of 455 people. He estimated the genetic
distances
among the various population groups by comparing the mtDNA
sequences
of each group. He compared the mtDNA of people from
Guam, Rota, Saipan,
Palau, the Southwest Islands of Palau, Yap Proper, and Kapingamarangi
with
those from "479 volunteers from other parts of Micronesia,
Polynesia, Melanesia, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, mainland Southeast
Asia, and East
Asia" (Lum & Heathcote, 1998, 2).
There was a general mtDNA agreement with linguistic classifications
among
all the OCAN speakers. But the Western Micronesian
AN speakers' (Yapese
and Palauans) mtDNA is most similar to OCAN-speaking Micronesians.
The Chamorus were very different. These AN speakers clustered "with
a diverse grouping of AN speakers and even with speakers of non-Austronesian
languages" (Lum & Heathcote, 1998, 5)
"The Chamorro sample has closest mtDNA similarity to two aboriginal
Malay
groups from western coastal Thailand (Moken and Urak Lawoi).
These results
are intriguing, as all three groups are non-Oceanic Austronesian
(AN) speakers. Surprisingly, the next closest degree of similarity
to the Marianas sample is with Japan, then aboriginal Australians, then
a sample from Java" (Lum & Heathcote, 1998, 5).
What does all this mean? "First, the generally close agreement
between
mtDNA and linguistic relationships indicates that common
historical
processes were involved in the dispersal of both maternal
lineages of people,
and languages that they speak, throughout the Pacific.
Fourteen of fifteen
Polynesian and Micronesian samples (mostly OCAN-speakers) cluster
together and have relatively close mtDNA ties with samples from
the Philippines, Borneo and South China (Canton)" (Lum & Heathcote,
1998, 5).
This shows that Micronesians and Polynesians have a southeast Asian
homeland. "In contrast, studies based on DNA contributed
by both females
and males to their offspring generally indicate a greater
degree of Melanesian heritage for Polynesians and Micronesians.
The results for Palau and Yap are not so tidy. The "mtDNA and
linguistic relationships do not agree? Lack of such agreement
can mean a number of
things, but mixing of populations - after initial linguistic settlement
- springs
to mind first. Western Micronesia and Melanesia are
regions where a greater amount of such mixing is indicated" (Lum
& Heathcote, 1998, 5-6). This
"suggests that Palau has been 'seeded' by people with ancestral
roots in island Southeast Asia and Melanesia, as well as the more easterly
parts of Micronesia" (Lum & Heathcote, 1998, 6).
Chamoru mtDNA is very distinctive when compared to other Micronesians
and
Polynesians. This suggests that the Marianas have a different
settlement history than the rest of Micronesia. Chamorus have not
mixed much with other Micronesians. This does not mean that
Chamorus are Malays. "What suchclose mtDNA affinity suggests is that
Chamorros and aboriginal Malays hav
common maternal ancestors, 'way back when'. The 'way
back when' time being before the Chamorros were a distinctively crystallized
group, before the
colonization of the Marianas by people whose descendants would only
later develop the way of living that defined them as 'Chamorros'"
(Lum & Heathcote, 1998, 7).
References
Bellwood, P. S. "The Colonization of the Pacific: Some
Current Hypotheses."
In The Colonization of the Pacific: A Genetic Trail.
Edited by Adrian V. S. Hill and Susan W. Serjeantson. Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1989.
Lum, J. Koji and Gary M. Heathcote. "Genetic Relationships of Micronesian
Populations: A Project Update." Anthropology Resource & Research
Center Non-Technical Report Series, no. 1. Mangilao, Guam: University
of Guam, 1998.
Murdock, George P. "Genetic Classification of the Austronesian Languages:
A Key to Oceanic Culture History." In Peoples and Cultures
of the Pacific, ed. Andrew P. Vayda. Garden City New York:
The Natural History Press, 1968.
Olmo, Richard K. Personal Communication, 1998.
Russell, Scott. Personal Communication, 1997.
Topping, Donald, Pedro M. Ogo, and Bernadita C. Dungca. Chamorro-
English Dictionary.
Pacific and Asian Linguistic Institute Language
Texts: Micronesia. Honolulu: University Press
of Hawaii, 1975.