Re:Aboriginal Australian genomes reveal Indian ancestry
by prawn on Wednesday March 01, 2023 @09:08PM
(#34991024)
I think the gap between Asia and PNG (then connected to AU) has got down to 90km. Doable with bamboo rafts? Viewing a mountainous island from an elevated position would give them reason to attempt it. Timor to PNG is suggested as the water crossing needed.
Re:Aboriginal Australian genomes reveal Indian ancestry
by grecy on Wednesday March 01, 2023 @10:14PM
(#34991473)
And enough people made that crossing successfully to create a stable population of 320,000 people [1] without in breeding problems?
[1] https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/profile-o...
Re:Aboriginal Australian genomes reveal Indian ancestry
by rippercushions on Thursday March 02, 2023 @12:24AM
(#34992302)
Aboriginal Australian do, in fact, suffer from a disproportionate number of hereditary diseases:
https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2020/212/5/lessons-learned-ge...
While there is considerable genetic diversity between Aboriginals as a whole, the diversity of individual communities is often quite low, and in response many communities evolved elaborate kinship systems to avoid too much intermarriage.
Isn't the fascinating question "How did they arrive" ?
My understanding is that timeline vastly pre-dates any kind of ship to make that voyage.