ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the origins and population history of Polynesians. The voyagers took plants and animals with them as part of deliberate migrations. Other Pacific Islands are geographically closer to the Asian mainland and include the islands making up Melanesia and Micronesia. Parts of the Pacific have long been settled by anatomically modern humans. Linguistics and archaeology can both provide some clues about the ancestry and history of Polynesian populations. There is considerable linguistic diversity among the Native peoples of Australia and the Pacific Islands. Polynesians are more similar genetically to Asian populations and other Pacific Islanders. Since 2008 a number of studies have examined hundreds or thousands of autosomal DNA markers in populations from across the Pacific in order to gain a more comprehensive picture of the genetic history of this region. Polynesians are more similar genetically to Asian populations and other Pacific Islanders.
