Acknowledge genetic diversity

Letters

Papua New Guinea people’s genetic diversity must be acknowledged by every educated Papua New Guinean today.
The authors of a journal article published in last September’s edition of the scientific journal Science are greatly acknowledged for their contribution to science.
Their findings put to rest previous assumptions regarding the originality of our Melanesian ancestors.
One being of our being “remnants of a defeated old black race” with assertions that we had “arrived from Africa”.
Another being that we were leftovers of a race defeated by Australians and Neptunians (Polynesians) around us. The third version being that we tucked our tails between our hind legs and scrambled for cover downhill from the Malay mountains.
The article by Bergstrom, Oppenheimar, Tyler-Smith and others published in the journal Science puts to rest previous publications and assumptions, and reminds us all of the delicate issue of scientific portrayal of the Melanesian people in the Asian, African or European context. I for one do not believe we migrated out of Africa, because if we did, our ancestors, being hunters and agriculturists would not have bypassed the land of ‘Sahul’, today’s Australia, which had large animals and vast agricultural land to sustain large populations.
I do not think we migrated to Siberia and were chased out from Malaya.
The distance involved would set the dates for creation back three fold, unless we were on the same tectonic plate with Africa that may have fractured the first time, with our ancestors clinging onto one section that became the Middle East.
If so, this tectonic plate would have to fracture a second time, with our ancestor ‘being the lucky guy’ clinging onto a section that became India.
It had to repeat itself again for our ancestor to cling on to ‘the lucky section that became China’.
Malaya – Sumatra- New Guinea or North America – South America, Pacific – New Guinea?
One thing is for real: My Melanesian ancestor had always stood his ground, been a fighter to the death, allowing my island to be inherited by future Melanesian generations resulting in today’s PNG.
I think explorers, early anthropologists and missionaries had fallen short of revealing our actual existence.
I also believe that while the scientific explanation of the Ice Age being responsible for human migration around the world exists, this would be logical in other regions but not for the Pacific islanders. My assumption is based on the similarities in languages spoken across the Pacific, with surprising similarities in numerical pronunciations between
the figures one to 20, and of common birds, trees and animals between PNG, the Micronesian Islands, Vanuatu, the Solomon, Fiji, Tonga, Niue and as far as Raratonga.
So who is this crap in De Manses, De Saavedra and De Terez to suggest that my ancestors were remnants of a defeated black tribe?
Common languages have survive many thousands of years among populations living in isolation to each other. My assumption would rest on natural disasters like volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and earth quakes, which would normally displace large family groups to migrate in quick succession to safer locations, away from danger and harm. These would normally require large seagoing vessels, dugout canoes with sails and navigational know-how on long voyages guided by stars, tides and wind directions.
It is my belief our past lies on the sea bed between the island of New Guinea and mainland South America, rather than the glaciers of the Himalayas and the vast ocean between the Sahul land and Africa.Let universities and governments sponsor Papua New Guineans to become archeologists, geologists, anthropologists and historians to reveal our real identities as far back as God’s creation.
Let all scientists return to the drawing board. As a PNG Melanesian, I am proud to be a direct descendent of ‘the most-isolated and independent genetic identity’ not related to anywhere else on earth.

Gerard Saleu
Mangi Pohowa