Nägele, Kathrin, Kinaston, Rebecca, Gaffney, Dylan, Walworth, Mary, Rohrlach, Adam B., Carlhoff, Selina, Huang, Yilei, Ringbauer, Harald, Bertolini, Emilie, Tromp, Monica, Radzeviciute, Rita, Petchey, Fiona, Anson, Dimitri, Petchey, Peter, Stirling, Claudine, Reid, Malcolm, Barr, David, Shaw, Ben, Summerhayes, Glenn, Buckley, Hallie, Posth, Cosimo, Powell, Adam, and Krause, Johannes (2025) The impact of human dispersals and local interactions on the genetic diversity of coastal Papua New Guinea over the past 2,500 years. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 9 (June 2025). pp. 908-923.

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Abstract

The inhabitants of New Guinea and its outlying islands have played an important role in the human history of the Pacific region. Nevertheless, the genetic diversity, particularly of pre-colonial communities, is still understudied. Here we present the ancient genomes of 42 individuals from Papua New Guinea (PNG). The ancient genomic results of individuals from Watom Island (Bismarck Archipelago) and the south and northeastern coasts of PNG are contextualized with new (bio-) archaeological data. The individuals’ accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates span 2,500 years of human habitation, and our results demonstrate the influences of different dispersal events on the genetic make-up of ancient PNG communities. The oldest individuals show an unadmixed Papuan-related genetic signature, whereas individuals dating from 2,100 years before present carry varying degrees of an East-Asian-related contribution. These results and the inferred admixture dates suggest a centuries-long delay in genetic mixture with local communities after the arrival of populations with Asian ancestry. Two geographically close communities on the South Coast, AMS dated to within the past 540 years, diverge in their genetic profiles, suggesting differences in their interaction spheres involving groups with distinct ancestries. The inferred split time of these communities around 650 years before present coincides with intensified settlement activity and the emergence of regional trade networks.

Item ID:	85748
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2397-334X
Copyright Information:	© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Funders:	Max Planck Society
Date Deposited:	09 Jun 2025 22:20
FoR Codes:	45 INDIGENOUS STUDIES > 4513 Pacific Peoples culture, language and history > 451301 Archaeology of New Guinea and Pacific Islands (excl. New Zealand) @ 50% 43 HISTORY, HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGY > 4301 Archaeology > 430101 Archaeological science @ 50%
SEO Codes:	21 INDIGENOUS > 2112 Pacific Peoples heritage and culture > 211201 Conserving Pacific Peoples heritage and culture @ 70% 13 CULTURE AND SOCIETY > 1307 Understanding past societies > 130703 Understanding Australia’s past @ 30%
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