via Pacific Daily News, 02 March 2021: Understanding how the CHamoru people moved to the Marianas from DNA evidence.
Two researchers shared how ancient DNA collected from CHamoru burial sites provides more detail of how the ancient people migrated to the Marianas.
Rosalind Hunter-Anderson and Joanne Eakin shared their ongoing research on the origins of the people of the Marianas Saturday at the 5th Marianas History Conference, hosted by the University of Guam.
Eakin said a team of archaeologists and geneticists is collaborating on three studies about Mariana Islands population origins, movements and past social and biological relationships with other groups across the western Pacific and Southeast Asia.
The primary objective for sampling human remains is to add accurate characterization of the prehistoric record of the people who began the journey into the remote Pacific 3,500 years ago, she said.
Preliminary results from samples collected from Naton Beach on Guam challenge CHamoru population origins in the Philippines 3,500 years ago, she said. Hunter-Anderson explained the Naton DNA study has been conducted within an interpretive framework.
Source: Ancient DNA provides more detail of CHamoru migration to Marianas
