30 Indonesian Women (Accidentally) Founded Madagascar Jennifer Welsh, LiveScience Staff Writer | March 20, 2012 The land of freaky animals and amazing biodiversity, Madagascar was also one of the last places to be settled by humans. And new research suggests that didnt happen until about 1,200 years ago. The colonization might even have been an accident, the researchers say. A small group of Indonesian women settled the island in one fell swoop, possibly making their way there after their trading vessel capsized. The unusual thing about this island is Madagascar is a long way away from Indonesia. … It was also settled very recently; by this time, most of the world had already been settled, study researcher Murray Cox, of Massey University in New Zealand, told LiveScience. We are talking about an entire culture being trans-located across the Indian Ocean. [The Worlds Biggest Oceans and Seas] Mad about Madagascar Previous genetic research showed that, surprisingly, instead of coming from Africa, the people living on the island off the east coast of Africa seem to have come from Indonesia, another island nation a quarter of the world, or some 3,500 miles (about 5,600 kilometers), away. What we havent known is exactly how that happened. When did those people arrive and how did they arrive? Cox said. To find out, Cox and his colleagues analyzed genes from the mitochondria of 300 native Madagascans and 3,000 Indonesians. Mitochondria are the cells energy factories, but they are special because their genes are inherited only from our mothers. These genes showed a clear similarity between the Indonesian and Madagascar genomes. You see there are Indonesian Y chromosomes in the population, Cox said. We know that both Madagascan men and women come from Indonesia, we just dont know exactly how many men. Our evidence suggests its also a small number. Archaeological evidence suggests that these few settlers quickly set down roots: You have this rise and spread very rapidly to take over the island, Cox said, perhaps in the matter of a few generations. [Gallery: Images of Uncontacted Tribes] Surprise shipwreck So, how did they get there? The researchers arent sure. The fact that there were only 30 women, and likely no more than that of men, means it probably wasnt intentional, Cox said. He suggests that a shipping vessel, which can hold up to 500 people, could have capsized, and its travellers could have ended up on the shores of the African island. The study will be published tomorrow (March 21) in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. You can follow LiveScience staff writer Jennifer Welsh on Twitter @microbelover. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook. livescience/19188-indonesian-women-founded-madagascar.html
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 19:11:25 +0000
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