Scientists from Durham University and the University of Oxford, studying DNA and tooth shape in modern and ancient pigs, have revealed that, in direct contradiction to longstanding ideas, ancient human colonists may have originated in Vietnam and travelled between numerous islands before first reaching New Guinea, and later landing on Hawaii and French Polynesia.
This study of mitochondrial DNA in pigs suggests a single lineage for these Pacific Suids shared by the modern Vietnamese boar, modern feral pigs in Sumatra, Java, and New Guinea, as well as ancient pigs on some regional islands and many different Pacific Island modern pigs.
Previously developed models of human migration suggest that Pacific Ilsanders come from Taiwan and/or Island Southeast Asia, and dispersed across the Pacific via the Philippines. TOr, the models of human movement need to be re-evaluated. Or both.
________________________________
sources:
Larson, Greger, et al. 2007. Phylogeny and Ancient DNA of Sus Provides New Insights into Neolithic Expansion in Island Southeast Asia and Oceania. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 12-16 March. www.pnas.org
5 Responses to “Pigs And The Ancestors”
- 1 Pingback on Jul 5th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
- 2 Pingback on Jul 5th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
- 3 Pingback on Jul 18th, 2007 at 4:00 am
This article is a great example of why science is not a religion. Evidence that contradicts established ideas is a good thing that discoverers proudly publish for all to see. Sure, there will be supporters of old ideas and they will argue with the new idea/interpretation. But that’s good too because then the folks with the new ideas/evidence must really do a good job of making their case. Holes will be dug, tests will be made, articles will come out and text books will be changed. You don’t see this happening with dogma.
Obviously Yiela you have not studied dogma or theology much. A quick overview of just Christianity shows a constant flux in beliefs necessitating the new discoverers or “believers” to make their “case” for change. There are always believers of the old ideas and this dialogue between old ideas and new often makes for heated debates. In the end the best argument wins out and theology and dogma is modified. You don’t think that Christianity, or any other religion, just popped out fully baked and that what is existent today is exactly what was believed in the past, do you?
It does not forward any field of study to attempt to denigrate another. Many things in science require faith to believe the theoretical result. It may be faith based in logic and study but hmmm… so also do those who study theology based their beliefs in logic and study.
Science AND religion play important roles in all societies. Let’s not down play one for the other.