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Email: frederique. Author contributions: F. Physical resemblance between Polynesians and Asian populations was detected, but in between were the islands of Melanesia, inhabited largely by people of different phenotype.
However, the Lapita culture bridged this geographical divide 3, y ago. Morphological studies of early Lapita colonists from Teouma, Vanuatu align them with present-day Polynesian and Asian populations, whereas skeletal remains of later generations show a more Melanesian phenotype predominating. We suggest that migration streams from already-inhabited parts of Melanesia dating from the late-Lapita phase ultimately dominated the original Polynesian phenotype in eastern Melanesia, but not in Polynesia, which became relatively isolated soon after initial settlement.
Keywords: Pacific Islands peopling, Polynesian origin, early Lapita, skull, morphometric analysis. One of the major achievements of recent Lapita research in Vanuatu has been the discovery of the oldest cemetery found so far in the Pacific at Teouma on the south coast of Efate Island, opening up new prospects for the biological definition of the early settlers of the archipelago and of Remote Oceania in general.
Using craniometric evidence from the skeletons in conjunction with archaeological data, we discuss here four debated issues: the Lapita—Asian connection, the degree of admixture, the Lapita—Polynesian connection, and the question of secondary population movement into Remote Oceania. The first human settlement of Vanuatu is indicated by the Lapita culture, whose earliest signature appears in the northwestern Melanesian islands toward the end of the interval 3,—3, y B.
