DNA reveals the history of humans on Papua New Guinea over 2500 years

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-06-04 19:00

Australia; New Zealand; Pacific; QLD; SA; ACT

Photo by Asso Myron on Unsplash

The ancient DNA of 42 people from Papua New Guinea (PNG) dating back 2500 years shows the impact groups of people moving through the region had on the genetic make-up of ancient PNG communities. The Australian, NZ and international research found that the DNA from the oldest individuals was more Papuan-related, whereas the DNA from people who lived around 2,100 years ago had elements of East-Asian DNA. The authors say this suggests that there was a centuries-long delay in people in local communities reproducing with those who arrived from East Asia.

Attachments

Note: Not all attachments are visible to the general public. Research URLs will go live after the embargo ends.

Research Springer Nature, Web page Please link to the article in online versions of your report (the URL will go live after the embargo ends).

Journal/
conference: Nature Ecology & Evolution

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Otago, The University of Adelaide, University of Waikato, ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH), James Cook University, The Australian National University, The University of Queensland, BioArch South, NZ, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany

Funder: Open access funding provided by Max Planck Society.

Media Contact/s

Contact details are only visible to registered journalists.