[An-lang] Re: Genetic evidence for Madagascar migration

[Waruno Mahdi]

> Matthew E. Hurles, Bryan C. Sykes, Mark A. Jobling, and Peter Forster.
> The Dual Origin of the Malagasy in Island Southeast Asia and East Africa:
> Evidence from Maternal and Paternal Lineages.
> Am. J. Hum. Genet. 76:894-901, 2005.

thanks for the very helpful reference. I've downloaded it, and
already from a swift browse it is clear that it has important
implications, making the announced follow-up work all the more
exciting.

There is perhaps one point though, which may bring some difficulties.
That is the relatively popular picture of Madagascar as an "isolated"
outpost or exclave of Austronesians. That may be so in a linguistic
sense, there being no other AN languages that side of the Indian
Ocean. But I seriously doubt that it is also true from a biological
point of view. I think there was (perhaps even quite intensive)
interaction between seafarers from Indonesia/Malaysia and the length
of the East African coast.

Historiographic records relate of raids on the coast of the Zanj,
and transport of iron ore from Sofala. More recent records concern
the distribution of double-outriger boats, and occuli fore as well
as aft, on the east coast between Somalia and Zimbabwe. It seems
likely that the contacts may have occasioned some, perhaps even
quite significant, contribution to the local genpool, that would
then bias comparisons between mainland East coast and Madagascar.

Aloha,
Waruno


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