Mid-Holocene hunter-gatherers 'Gaomiao' in Hunan, China: The first of the Two-layer Model in the population history of East/Southeast Asia
Date
2017
Authors
Matsumura, H
Hung, Hsiao-chun
Nguyen, Lan Cuong
Zhao, Yafeng
Gang, He
Zhang, Chi
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ANU Press
Abstract
Gaomiao, the eponymous archaeological site of the Gaomiao Culture (ca. 7500–5500 BP) has produced evidence of a unique hunter-gatherer society in Hunan Province, China, that produced fine decorated pottery. The human remains unearthed from this site provided an excellent opportunity to assess phenotypic and biological relationships between the Gaomiao and prehistoric and modern human populations that have inhabited East/Southeast Asia over the past ca. 10,000 years through cranial morphometrics. The assessment of morphometric affinity presented here addresses the peopling of East Asia, particularly in the context of the ‘two-layer’ hypothesis describing the population history
of this region. The results suggest that the Gaomiao skeletons inherited genetic signatures from early
colonising populations of Late Pleistocene southern Eurasian origin to a certain extent, and might share a common ancestry with present-day Australian Aboriginal and Melanesian people.
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Source
Type
Book chapter
Book Title
New Perspectives in Southeast Asian and Pacific Prehistory
Entity type
Access Statement
Open Access via publisher website
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DOI
10.22459/TA45.03.2017.04