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Melanesia
*** Shopping-Tip: Melanesia
'''Melanesia''' (from
Greek language Greek: μέλας ''black'', νῆσος ''island'') is a region extending from the western side of
East Pacific to the
Arafura Sea, north and north-east 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
race racial classification is known to be inaccurate because it obscures Melanesia's cultural, linguistic, and genetic diversity. Most importantly, this term combines two quite distinct groups, the
Austronesians and the
Papuans (who themselves can be considered as comprising a number of distinct groups).
The People of Melanesia
The original inhabitants of Melanesia are likely to have been the ancestors of the present-day Papuan language speaking people. These people are thought to have occupied New Guinea tens of millennia ago, and reached island Melanesia at least 35,000 years ago (according to radiocarbon dating). They appear to have occupied Melanesia as far east as the main islands in the Solomon Islands (i.e. including San Cristobal) and perhaps even to the smaller islands further to the east.
It is in Melanesia (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 four thousand years ago. It seems there was a long period of interaction which resulted in many complex changes in genetics, languages and culture. It is likely that it is from this area that a very small group of people departed to the east to become the founders of the Polynesian people.
The nations of
Fiji,
Papua New Guinea,
Solomon Islands,
Vanuatu, and
New Caledonia (under
France French sovereignty) use this term to describe themselves because it reflects their shared colonial history and common regional situation. These areas form the core of the modern Melanesian
subregion region. However, adjacent islands in other countries are often seen as peripherally Melanesian (see below).
Location
Image:Melanesia.png right|frame|Map showing Melanesia. The traditional, core Melanesia is in dark green, and the mixed, greater region is in lighter green with an even lighter shade to make small islands visible.
The following islands and groups of islands are traditionally considered part of Melanesia:
*
Bismarck Archipelago
*
Fiji
*
New Caledonia
*
New Guinea
*
Maluku Islands
*
Solomon Islands
*
Torres Strait Islands
*
Vanuatu
Islands whose long-established inhabitants are of mixed ancestry which do not necessarily self-identify as Melanesian:
*
Flores
*
Nauru
*
Sumba
*
Timor
*
Tonga
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 do not make use of the term.
See also
*
Papuan
*
Negrito
Further reading
-
New Guinea: Crossing Boundaries and History - a general history of New Guinea
*Dunn, Michal, Angela Terrill, Ger Reesink, Robert A. Foley, Stephen C. Levinson. 2005. 'Structural Phylogenetics and the Reconstruction of Ancient Language History'. ''Science'' 309: 2072-2975.
External links
-
Map South Pacific
-
South Pacific Organizer
-
Polynesian origins: Insights from the Y chromosome
-
Independent Histories of Human Y Chromosomes from Melanesia and Australia
-
A site about West-Melanesia
Category:Oceania
Category:Melanesia *
Category:Islands
{{Region}}
zh-min-nan:Melanesia
ca:Melanèsia
da:Melanesien
de:Melanesien
el:Μελανησία
es:Melanesia
eo:Melanezio
fr:Mélanésie
ko:멜�네시아
hr:Melanezija
id:Melanesia
is:MelanesÃa
it:Melanesia
he:×ž×œ× ×–×™×”
lt:Melanezija
nl:Melanesië
ja:メラ�シア
no:Melanesia
nn:Melanesia
pl:Melanezja
pt:Melanésia
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sk:Melanézia
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{{catmore}}
Category:Oceania
bg:КатегориÑ?:МеланезиÑ?
ca:Categoria:Melanèsia
ko:분류:멜�네시아
nl:Categorie:Melanesië
no:Kategori:Melanesia
*** Shopping-Tip: Melanesia
