Affinities of the Philippine Negritos with Japanese and the Pacific Populations Based on Dental Measurements: The Basic Populations in East Asia, I

Abstract

Late Pleistocene Sundaland is thought to be the geogenetic centedr from which all the Pacific populations have radiated. As early as 30, 000-40, 000 years B. P., the ancestral "Proto-Australoid" of Southeast Asia might have moved into Wallacea as well as Sahulland and evolved under the particular selective forces. In the tropical rain-forest of Sundaland, this "Proto-Australoid" might have evolved into the "Proto-Malay", one of whose descendants might be modern Negritos of the Philippines. On the other hand, a late Pleistocene population occupying the Sundaland was probably the direct ancestor of the Proto-Mongoloid population, which might be the lineage leading to the Neolithic Jomon population and modern Ainu. The final populating of the Pacific was by Polynesians and Micronesians extending from Southeast Asia.The population history described above emphasizes the necessity of broad comparisons and investigations in studies on the origin and affinities of modern Japanese. In this study, the dental measurements of some geographically isolated populations in Japan whose ancestors could be traced back to the Southeast Asian Proto-Mongoloid population were compared with those of the Neolithic Jomon population, Negritos, Australian Aborigines, Polynesians, Micronesians, and Melanesians.The results obtained indicate that there may be a dichotomous relationship between Japanese and the Pacific populations (Micronesians and Polynesians). The dental characteristics of Negritos have something in common with those of the two population groups. The basic population of native Japanese are discussed based on such findings.