Everything about Melanesian totally explained
Melanesia (from
Greek: μέλας
black, νῆσος
island) is a
subregion of
Oceania extending from the western side of the
West Pacific to the
Arafura Sea, north and northeast of
Australia. The term was first used by
Jules Dumont d'Urville in 1832 to denote an ethnic and geographical grouping of islands distinct from
Polynesia and
Micronesia.
Today, d'Urville's
racial classification is known to be inaccurate because it obscures the very great cultural, linguistic, and
genetic diversity in the area. There is no one 'Melanesian culture' or way of life. The peoples in the area named Melanesia are among the most diverse in the world; linguistically, genetically, socially and culturally. The European powers in the 19th and 20th centures were the ones who fostered the illusion of there being one 'Melanesian culture.'
More accurately however, there's a widely used
geopolitical conception of the term 'Melanesia'. For example, the
Melanesian Spearhead Group Preferential Trade Agreement is a regional trade treaty governing the states of
Vanuatu,
Solomon Islands,
Papua New Guinea, and
Fiji. Melanesia is also current as a
geographic term, used as a reference to the area when national, ethnic, and linguistic distinctions are not relevant.
People
The original inhabitants of the islands now named Melanesia were likely the ancestors of the present day Papuan-speaking people. These people are thought to have occupied New Guinea tens of millennia ago and reached the islands 35,000 years ago (according to radiocarbon dating). They appear to have occupied these islands as far east as the main islands in the Solomon Islands (for example, including
San Cristobal) and perhaps even to the smaller islands farther to the east.
It was particularly along the north coast of
New Guinea and in the islands north and east of New Guinea that the
Austronesian people came into contact with these pre-existing populations of Papuan-speaking peoples, probably around 4000 years ago. There was probably a long period of interaction that resulted in many complex changes in genetics, languages, and culture. It is likely that from this area a very small group of people (speaking an Austronesian language) departed to the east to become the forebears of the
Polynesian people. This finding is, however, contradicted by a study published by
Temple University finding that Polynesians and Micronesians have little genetic relation to Melanesians; instead they found significant diversity of between groups living within the Melanesian islands.
(External Link
) Genome scan shows Polynesians have little genetic relationship to Melanesians.
Location
The following islands and groups of islands since the 19th century have been considered part of Melanesia:
Islands whose long-established inhabitants are of mixed ancestry who don't necessarily self-identify as Melanesian:
Flores
Sumba
Timor (West Timor in, Indonesia and the nation of Timor-Leste)
Some of the islands to the west of New Guinea such as Halmahera, Alor, and Pantar can also be considered to be part of Melanesia, although people in this area don't make use of the term.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Melanesian'.
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