著者

片山 一道

出版者

Tokyo Geographical Society

雑誌

地学雑誌 (ISSN:0022135X)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.105, no.3, pp.384-397, 1996-06-25 (Released:2009-11-12)

参考文献数

29

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The present paper describes the physical characteristics of Ocean Mongoloid peoples who are indigenous in the Oceania proper, analyses variation patterns among them, and reconstructs the processes that they colonised and settled the oceanic world, following a brief introduction to the human population history in Oceania. Based on the analysis, their remote origins are discussed. The best example of Ocean Mongoloids is the Polynesian population. Polynesians are very homogenous in physique, language and culture. Linguistic and archaeological evidences so far gathered suggest they differentiated into island groups in the past 3, 000 years from a Lapita-associated ancestoral population. Anthropological data show their uniqueness for the large, muscular and robust body form as well as a hyperostotic growth pattern from Homo sapiens standards, and their Asiatic nature in many genetic characters. Accordingly they should be considered “the unique Asian in South Pacific”, and their origins should be sought in Asia. It is highly probable that the Polynesian phenotype was developed during their dispersals into Oceania as the result of adaptation to the specific oceanic habitats humans ever encountered. The speculation here suggests that the remote origins of Ocean Mongoloids were somewhere in circum-China Sea areas, and that some group associated with Jomon people in Japan should be a candidate for their ancestors.