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Tribe challenges American origins (South Pacific Rim peoples were 1st Americans)
BBC On-Line ^ | Tuesday, 7 September, 2004 | Paul Rincon

Posted on 09/08/2004 2:43:26 PM PDT by yankeedame

Last Updated: Tuesday, 7 September, 2004, 14:26 GMT 15:26 UK

Tribe challenges American origins

By Paul Rincon
BBC News Online science staff, at the BA festival


The skulls (r) are long and narrow,
not in keeping with Native Indians' broader, rounder features.

Some of the earliest settlers of America may have come from Australia, southern Asia, and the Pacific, new research suggests. Traditional theories have held that the first Americans originated from northern Asia.

Dr Silvia Gonzalez conducted a study of ancient bones found in Mexico and found that they have very different characteristics to Native Americans.

The results are being presented at the BA Festival of Science this week.

Some of the ancient skulls she has looked at are more than 12,000 years old.

These skulls have long and narrow heads that are very different from the short, broad skulls of today's Native Americans.

'Controversial bomb'

One particularly well-preserved skull of a long-headed female, who has been dubbed Penon Woman, has been carbon dated to 12,700 years ago.

"They appear more similar to southern Asians, Australians and populations of the South Pacific Rim than they do to northern Asians," Dr Gonzalez, of Liverpool John Moores University, told the British Association's annual meeting in Exeter.

[Native Americans] cannot claim to have been the first people there

Dr Silvia Gonzalez "We think there were several migration waves into the Americas at different times by different human groups."

She said there was very strong evidence that the first migration came from Australia via Japan and Polynesia and down the Pacific coast of America.

Dr Gonzalez said the research would be controversial. "[Native Americans] cannot claim to have been the first people there," Dr Gonzalez said.

She also hinted that DNA recovered from Penon Woman would corroborate measurements of the skulls. "We have extracted her DNA. It is going to be a bomb," Dr Gonzalez commented.

If proved correct, the findings might have implications for US legislation that covers the return of Native American remains and artefacts to present-day tribes.

Recently, a coalition of native tribes lost their claim to the remains of Kennewick Man, a 9,000-year-old skeleton found in Washington State.

The case was won by a group of scientists who wanted access to the remains for study.

Died out

A population of the long-headed individuals being studied by Dr Gonzalez had survived into historic times, she claimed.

This tribe, which lived on the Baja California peninsula, were called the Pericues. But they appear to have died out in the 18th Century because of disease.

Spanish missionaries reported that they were of a different racial type and had different customs to other Native Americans.

The results concur with a study of the Pericues carried out by Spanish researchers in 2003.

This also used measurements of the skulls to show that this population was only distantly related to contemporary Amerindian groups.

However, some scientists think that the older group of Americans may simply have evolved the features typical of present-day natives of the continent.

One study has shown marked differences in the skull shape of prehistoric and present-day Inuit populations.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Mexico; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: americas; archaeology; australia; bering; clovis; dna; ggg; godsgravesglyphs; history; mtdna; multiregionalism; origins; paleontology; preclovis; precolumbian; primates; replacement
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1 posted on 09/08/2004 2:43:27 PM PDT by yankeedame
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To: yankeedame

I don't know if we claim to have been "the first people here" so much as we claim to be "the people who were here before all the other people that are here now, and we are still here unlike those long-headed losers on the Baja Peninsula who died out because of disease".

Big difference.


2 posted on 09/08/2004 2:47:06 PM PDT by Chad Fairbanks (McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.)
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To: yankeedame
"A population of the long-headed individuals being studied by Dr Gonzalez had survived into historic times, she claimed"

"John Kerry is the perfect example of this particular species."

3 posted on 09/08/2004 2:47:43 PM PDT by No Blue States
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To: yankeedame

Not familiar with this but anything that undermines NAGPRA is fine with me.


4 posted on 09/08/2004 2:50:50 PM PDT by rastus macgill
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To: rastus macgill

what's NAGPRA?


5 posted on 09/08/2004 3:07:00 PM PDT by van_erwin
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To: yankeedame
"Some of the earliest settlers of America may have come from Australia..."

So... we're descended from English prisoners?

6 posted on 09/08/2004 3:08:18 PM PDT by fat city (Julius Rosenberg's soviet code name was "Liberal")
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To: yankeedame

ping


7 posted on 09/08/2004 3:10:08 PM PDT by Docbarleypop (Navy Doc)
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To: van_erwin

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act


8 posted on 09/08/2004 3:31:19 PM PDT by rastus macgill
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To: yankeedame
One look at Kennewick Man and I can tell he is of Irish origin. Probably had a bit too much of Irish whisky while out fishing and ended up in Washington.

As a direct descendant I demand a casino and tax-free tobacco. Oh, I forgot, I want some of those really good fireworks to.

9 posted on 09/08/2004 4:09:59 PM PDT by usurper
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To: No Blue States
John Kerry is the perfect example of this particular species.

Know by it's latin name of presidentious demcandidus flipfloperous.


10 posted on 09/08/2004 4:37:36 PM PDT by Flashman_at_the_charge (A proud member of the self-preservation society)
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To: blam

Ping for your list


11 posted on 09/08/2004 4:40:47 PM PDT by Right Wing Professor (www.swiftvets.com: where the truth lives on, after 35 years of Kerry lies.)
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To: Flashman_at_the_charge

LOL!!!


12 posted on 09/08/2004 4:40:56 PM PDT by No Blue States
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To: Right Wing Professor; yankeedame; SunkenCiv
GGG Ping

First Americans Were Australian

This is Luzia, she died 10,500 years ago at the age of 24 in Brazil. This is the second oldest human skeleton ever found in the Americas. The oldest skeleton is Arlington Springs Woman, found on an island off the coast of California, she is 13,000 year old.

13 posted on 09/08/2004 5:01:13 PM PDT by blam
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To: yankeedame
Arlington Springs Woman
14 posted on 09/08/2004 5:03:43 PM PDT by blam
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To: yankeedame
"We have extracted her DNA. It is going to be a bomb," Dr Gonzalez commented.

I'm gonna guess that these people are/were related to the Japanese Ainu just like Kennewick Man.

15 posted on 09/08/2004 5:21:26 PM PDT by blam
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To: rastus macgill
Not familiar with this but anything that undermines NAGPRA is fine with me.
The only use NAGPRA has been is in the suffocation death ("it was already dead when I got here, honest") of the Clovis-First-and-Only model, which grew out of 19th century US isolationism.
George W. Bush will be reelected by a margin of at least ten per cent

16 posted on 09/08/2004 10:22:15 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Unlike some people, I have a profile. Okay, maybe it's a little large...)
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To: blam; FairOpinion; Ernest_at_the_Beach; SunkenCiv; 24Karet; 2Jedismom; 4ConservativeJustices; ...
Thanks yankeedame for the post, and thanks blam for the ping.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest
-- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

17 posted on 09/08/2004 10:23:18 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Unlike some people, I have a profile. Okay, maybe it's a little large...)
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To: SunkenCiv

Does this mean that the Pericues were pre-Clovis?


18 posted on 09/08/2004 10:28:53 PM PDT by rdl6989 (Kerry voted for the war before he voted against it?)
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To: No Blue States

good one! lol


19 posted on 09/08/2004 11:13:33 PM PDT by Chani
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To: rdl6989
Looks that way.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest
-- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

20 posted on 09/09/2004 9:21:05 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Unlike some people, I have a profile. Okay, maybe it's a little large...)
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