Craniometric variation in Southeast Asia and neighboring regions : a multivariate analysis of cranial measurements

Stepwise discriminant function analysis and Mahalanobis' generalized distance are applied to 27 landmark measurements recorded in 2,595 male crania representing 56 modem and near modern cranial series from Mainland and Island Southeast Asia, East Asia, Australia, and the Pacific. This analysis examines models (e.g., agricultural colonization and continuity models) based on archaeological, historical linguistic, and biological data that attempt to explain the presence of the modem inhabitants of Southeast Asia and the surrounding regions of East Asia, the Pacific, and Australia beginning approximately 40,000 years ago. The results, including the inspection of jackknifed classification results, canonical plots, and the construction of diagrams of relationship based on Mahalanobis' distances indicate: • The primary division is between Asian and Australian-Melanesian series. • With the exception of the Southern Moluccas series, Southeast Asian cranial series form a separate branch with island and mainland subgroupings. • Cranial series representing East Asia and North Asia occupy a branch well separated from Southeast Asia, an association that argues for long term continuity within these regions rather than intrusion or replacement in Southeast Asia. • Island Southeast Asia is the likely homeland for the ancestors of the Polynesians and other inhabitants of remote Oceania. • Several interesting associations (e.g., New Zealand Maori and Southern Moluccas) between Remote Oceania and Island Southeast Asia are discussed. This study demonstrates that human skeletal and dental remains are an important source of information for evaluating models based on archaeological and historical linguistic data and for evaluating the hotly debated LB1 hominin from Liang Bua Cave on Flores Island, Indonesia.