Population prehistory of east Asia and the Pacific as viewed from craniofacial morphology: the basic populations in east Asia, VII.

Distance analyses were applied to 11 craniofacial measurements recorded in samples from East and Southeast Asia, Australia, Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia for the purpose of assessing the biological affinities and possible origins of these populations. A clear separation between Australomelanesians and other populations from East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific is evident. The craniofacial variations suggest that the generalized Asian populations (Negritos, Dayaks, Lesser Sunda Islands, etc.) represent at least part of the morphological background of not only the majority of present Southeast Asians, but also the Neolithic Jomon people and their lineage in Japan, Polynesians, and western Micronesians. The original craniofacial features of Southeast Asians may have occurred as the result of convergent microevolution due to similar environmental conditions such as tropical rain forest. This supports the local-evolution hypothesis for modern Southeast Asian craniofacial features.