Some Remarks on the DNA Study on Austronesian Origins

In a recent DNA study entitled “Polynesian origins: Insights from the Y chromosome” is based on a sample of 551 male individuals from 36 populations living in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia, by Bing Su et al. (2000, PNAS 97.15:8225-8228). Their important findings include: (1) “nearly none of the Taiwanese Y haplotypes were found in Micronesia and Polynesia,” (2) “a Melanesian-specific haplotype was not found among the Polynesians,” and (3) “all of the Polynesian, Micronesian, and Taiwanese haplotypes are present in the extant Southeast Asian populations.” The sample of their Southeast Asia populations includes not only the Austronesian language family (Malay, Batak, Javanese and Central Dusun (in Kota Kinabalu)), but also several other language families or language groups, namely, Kam-Tai (Dong, Zhuang, North Thai and Northeast Thai), Kadai (Li), Tibeto-Burman (Yi), Hmong Mien (Yao), and Austro-Asiatic (Cambodian and Orang Asli).