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The ancestral relationships of people living in the widely scattered islands of the Pacific Ocean, long a puzzle to anthropologists, may have been solved by a new genetic study, researchers reported Thursday.In an analysis of the DNA of 1,000 individuals from 41 Pacific populations, an international team of scientists found strong evidence showing that Polynesians and Micronesians in the central and eastern islands had almost no genetic relationship to Melanesians, in the western islands like Papua New Guinea and the Bismarck and Solomons archipelagos.The researchers also concluded that the genetic data showed that the Polynesians and Micronesians were most closely...

2007—Year of the Lapita? Volume 61 Number 1, January/February 2008 by Mark Rose Polynesian Breakthroughs A Polynesian chicken (Anita Gould) and a Chilean chicken bone (Courtesy Alice Storey) There was no doubt about including in our 2007 Top Ten the discovery that chicken bones from ancient Polynesian sites in Tonga and Samoa and El Arenal, a Chilean site occupied between A.D. 700 and 1390, had identical DNA. The chicken was domesticated in Southeast Asia, but how it arrived in the New World before Europeans arrived was a mystery. Now it seems that Polynesian seafarers brought them, adding to the evidence...

Archaeology unearths gout in early Pacific peopleThursday November 22, 2007 OTAGO (Pacnews) — High rates of gout among Mâori and Pacific Island men may have a genetic basis going back thousands of years to the time when Polynesia and Melanesia were being colonized from South East Asia. University of Otago Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology biological anthropologist Dr. Hallie Buckley has been working with colleagues from the Australian National University and CNRS in Paris to analyze skeletons from a 3,000-year-old cemetery in Vanuatu. Her paper on possible gouty arthritis amongst the Lapita people — so-called because of their distinctive...

Graves of the Pacific's First Seafarers Revealed Richard Stone INDO-PACIFIC PREHISTORY ASSOCIATION CONGRESS, 20-26 MARCH 2006, MANILA Little is known about the Lapita peoples, the first settlers of the Western Pacific, other than their ubiquitous calling card: red pottery fragments with intricate designs. But in what's being hailed as one of the most dramatic finds in years, researchers at the meeting offered a glimpse of the first-known early Lapita cemetery. "This is the closest we're going to get to the first Polynesians," says archaeologist Matthew Spriggs of Australia National University (ANU) in Canberra, a member of the excavation team. Face...

A Canadian archaeologist has identified a small fishing village in Tonga, established nearly 3,000 years ago, as the birthplace of Polynesia. Matangi Tonga online reports that Professor David Burley drew his conclusion from his final excavation at Nukuleka, east of the capital Nuku'alofa, six months ago when they found pieces of Lapita pottery. "The big pieces of pottery are about 2,900 years old," he said... Professor Burley and his team say they have made their conclusions based on the designs of the pottery and carbon dating of samples... Stuff NZ reports that the discovery is a blow to surrounding Pacific...

What'd I miss? There was supposed to be a 2ft tsunami warning along the Pacific Coast. Should have arrived 7:30 to 8:30 am PDT. Did anyone see it?Tsunami Warning/ Entire US West Coast - YouTube

BREAKING: Tsunami warning issued for American Samoa after Tonga's Hunga volcano erupts

Rat DNA clues to sea migration This carving shows Pacific rats on the face of a Polynesian ancestor Scientists have used DNA from rats to trace migration patterns of the ancestors of today's Polynesians. People are thought to have arrived in Polynesia, comprising the Pacific islands of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, by boat some 3,000 years ago. Rat data suggests the journey was more complex than the popular "Express Train" theory, which proposes a rapid dispersal of people from South Asia. Details appear in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Elizabeth Matisoo-Smith and Judith Robins from the University of...

Researchers say a set of ancient tools found in a box at a Canberra university is the world's oldest known complete tattoo kit, thought to be made from human bones. Key points: •The tools were fashioned out of bones, some of which researchers say were most likely human bones •Researchers say the bones may come from the graves of the tattooist's relatives •Radiocarbon dating proved the kit was about 2,700 years old, dating back to the beginning of Polynesian cultures Four tattooing implements were found along with what was believed to be an ink pot on Tonga's Tongatapu Island in...

Residents of the South Pacific nation of Tonga are experiencing a total Internet shutdown after an underwater cable which connects the island to the rest of the world was severed, possibly by the anchor of a large ship. It doesn't just mean that the isolated country can't access Facebook and YouTube - it's also affected email, airline bookings, university enrollment, money wires and prevented businesses from processing credit and debit cards - throwing the small country into chaos as they face up to weeks of Internet isolation. A ship from nearby Samoa will be sent out to fix the severed...

United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Israel was asked by the UN General Assembly on Friday to compensate Lebanon for $856.4 million in oil spill damages it caused during its 2006 war with Hezbollah. The non-binding vote, which passed 170-6, asks Israel to offer "prompt and adequate compensation" to Lebanon and other countries affected by the oil spill's pollution. In a statement, Israel condemned the resolution as biased against the nation, Israeli media reported. The oil spill was caused by Israel's air force when it bombed oil tanks near a coastal Lebanese power plant during the fierce month-long war with...

Archaeologists, using new high-precision techniques, have come to the conclusion that first settlers arrived in Polynesia almost 2,900 years ago.This is a view on an island in Tonga (thekingdomoftonga.com) Polynesia was one of the last places on our planet to be settled by humans. In 2008, Prof David Burley of Simon Fraser University in Canada and his team claimed that Tonga was the first group of islands in the region to be settled by migrants – the Lapita people – some 3,000 years ago, and that Nukuleka, a small village on the coast of the Tonga’s Tongatapu Island, was their...

A shipwreck discovered in Tonga is thought to be a famous pirate vessel that sank in the 19th century with a hold full of treasure. Legend has it that the Port-au-Prince was attacked by warriors near the South Pacific archipelago in 1806 and most of its British crew massacred on the orders of King Finau 'Ulukalala II. The British had captured the ship from the French and made into a privateer - meaning it had permission to attack and plunder boats belonging to rivals Spain and France.

Tonga is considering an offer from China to change a huge loan into a grant. China provided more than $60 million three years ago to help pay for the rebuild of the capital, Nuku’alofa, which was destroyed by riots in 2006. Lawmakers are now trying to trim the budget as Tonga confronts a multi-million dollar deficit while also contemplating how to meet annual repayments of nearly six million dollars from 2013. The deputy prime minister, Samiu Vaipulu, has told parliament China has offered to make the loan a grant. Radio New Zealand’s correspondent in Tonga, Mateni Tapueluelu, said many Tongans...

Magnitude 6.1 Date-Time Saturday, March 12, 2011 at 01:19:07 UTC Saturday, March 12, 2011 at 02:19:07 PM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 16.727°S, 173.174°W Depth 10.9 km (6.8 miles) Region TONGA Distances 106 km (65 miles) SE of Hihifo, Tonga 229 km (142 miles) NNE of Neiafu, Tonga 355 km (220 miles) SSW of APIA, Samoa 2528 km (1570 miles) W of Auckland, New Zealand

The United States has signed a deal with Bhutan giving US citizens in the country immunity from prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the State Department said Tuesday. The deal with Bhutan brings to 34 the number of countries with which the United States has signed so-called "Article 98" agreements exempting US citizens from the court's jurisdiction, said Lynn Cassel, a department spokesman. Bhutan and Bosnia-Herzegovina both agreed to the pacts on May 16 but the deal with Thimphu was not announced until Tuesday. Washington refuses to support the ICC, arguing that it could become a forum for politically...

Air New Zealand has apologised after it was discovered that its previous crew manual featured national profiling of its passengers' attitudes and drinking habits. The 2008 document reportedly claimed that Tongans were "softly spoken, reserved people" but added that they might also "drink the bar dry", the New Zealand Herald reports. Chairman of the Tongan Advisory Council Melino Maka said: "I don't think Tongans are different from any others when there's free access to alcohol, but what I think [is] the airline should concentrate on education rather than trying to take pot shots at people. "The remarks are extremely hurtful,...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – The tsunami that killed more than 200 people in the Samoan islands and Tonga earlier this year towered up to 46 feet (14 meters) high — more then twice as tall as most of the buildings it slammed into, scientists said Friday.

A POWERFUL earthquake has struck off Tonga and the Samoan islands as the Sumatran death toll rises further. The 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck off Tonga and the Samoan islands today, two days after a giant tremor caused a devastating tsunami which killed almost 150. No immediate tsunami alert was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii.

Man escapes charges for barbecuing pet dog By Saeed Ahmed CNN (CNN) -- A man who roasted his pet dog to enjoy as a meal with his family and friends escaped prosecution after authorities in New Zealand determined the animal was killed humanely. "We were in a dilemma at seeing something we were fairly upset about -- but being in a position of being able to do absolutely nothing about it," said Garth Halliday, of the Auckland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, on Monday. The SPCA -- which investigates acts of animal cruelty and presses charges --...