Genomic evidence supports the “long chronology” for the peopling of Sahul
The timing of the settlement of Sahul-the Pleistocene landmass formed by present-day New Guinea, Australia, and Tasmania that existed until ~9000 years ago (~9 ka)-remains highly contentious. The so-called "long chronology" posits the first main arrivals at ~60 to 65 ka, whereas a "short chronology" proposes 47 to 51 ka. Here, we exhaustively analyze an unprecedentedly large mitogenome dataset (<i>n</i> = 2456) encompassing the full range of diversity from the indigenous populations of Australia, New Guinea, and Oceania, including a lineage related to those of New Guinea in an archaeological sample from Wallacea. We assess these lineages in the context of variation from Southeast Asia and a reevaluation of the mitogenome mutation rate, alongside genome-wide and Y-chromosome variation, and archaeological and climatological evidence. In contrast to recent recombinational dating approaches, we find support for the long chronology, suggesting settlement by ~60 ka via at least two distinct routes into Sahul.
Authors
- David Bulbeck
- Helen Farr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7922-9179)
- Simão Rodrigues (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2323-2069)
- Mafalda Almeida (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5923-6251)
- Zafarina Zainuddin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3672-5196)
- Alessandro Fichera (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4205-4413)
- Francesca Gandini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8930-8295)
- Alessandro Achilli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6871-3451)
- Antonio Torroni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4163-4478)
- Ceiridwen J. Edwards (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9126-1377)
- Anna Olivieri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3941-8098)
- Sue O’Connor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9381-078X)
- Nano Nagle
- Anders Bergström (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4096-9268)
- Martin Richards (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3118-0967)
- Teresa Rito (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8374-6347)
- William S. Pomat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2640-9640)
- Jarosław Bryk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2791-9709)
- Gonzalo Oteo‐García (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0957-4014)
- Tarek Shoeib (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4744-6994)
- M. George B. Foody (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5482-7332)
- Ken Eng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7115-1418)
- Maria Pala (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9202-8331)
- Michael Grant (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4766-6913)
- Stephen Oppenheimer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4838-7553)
- Robert J. Mitchell
- Pedro Soares (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2807-690X)
Institutions
- University of East Anglia (GB)
- Australian National University (AU)
- University of Huddersfield (GB)
- Universiti Sains Malaysia (MY)
- La Trobe University (AU)
- National Oceanography Centre (GB)
- University of Pavia (IT)
- BPP University (GB)
- University of Benghazi (LY)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele (IT)
- Department of Archaeology (LK)
- Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research (PG)
- Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
- University of Minho (PT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Advances
- Published
- 2025-11-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ady9493
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Forensic and Genetic Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 9.09
Funders
- University of Oxford