Hoabinhians

Abstract

Hoabinhian culture expanded within mainland Southeast Asia (SEA) during the Late Pleistocene and early Holocene. Exploring evidence for biological relationships between early indigenous Hoabinhian peoples and contemporary SEA populations is vital for an understanding of the first settlers of this region. This analysis uses craniometric data recorded for several sets of very well preserved remains from Hoabinhian sites as well as a large sample of Neolithic and post- Neolithic crania. It is clear that events occurring during the Neolithic were pivotal in terms of the micro- evolutionary history of this region. We demonstrate a close affinity between pre- Neolithic Hoabinhian and Australo– Melanesian samples, which is consistent with these populations having descended from the first anatomically modern human colonizers of SEA and the Australian subcontinent (the first layer). We also demonstrate a significant morphological discontinuity between local Hoabinhian and subsequent (modern) SEA populations, which is consistent with the hypothesis that modern SEA populations are essentially a product of large- scale agriculturally and demographically driven demic diffusion into the region (second layer), having originated in Northeast Asia (NEA), with some admixture with local Hoabinhian populations during the Neolithic. The Hoabinhian is crucial to understanding the peopling of SEA, particularly in the context of the “Two Layer” hypothesis describing the population history of SEA.