The Maori have a legend � that they
came to New Zealand aboard seven ocean going canoes, called Waka. It was
the last great human migration � the final leg in an epic journey that
started 6000 years ago. But where did the journey begin? That�s one of
anthropologies big unsolved mysteries.
So there are many theories about where the maori and the Polynesians
people came from. One suggests Taiwan. A second, Islands south east Asia
and yet a third, Melanasia. Altogether a very difficult and confusing
picture. But now, a team of DNA detectives think they�ve finally cracked
it. Their astonishing discovery � is that the men and the women came from
different places.
Adele Whyte: You hear the book men are from Mars and women are
from Venus, it kind of made me think of that straight away.
Narration: Today, Adele Whyte, will receive her masters degree
from Victoria University, Wellington. She�s attending a special Maori
graduation ceremony because Adele is part Maori. She believes she can
trace her family back to the original seven boats told of in Maori
legend.
Adele Whyte: The story that I heard was that there were seven Waka
and they sort of came in a great fleet. And for me my ancestors were in a
Waka called Takitimu, and that was one of the Waka�s that first came to
New Zealand.
Narration: Intrigued by this tale, Adele, a molecular biologist,
wondered what science could tell her about her origins. What�s already
well known is that Maori are part of the Polynesian people. They�re an
island culture that in the last few thousand years spread from Hawaii to
Fiji to New Zealand. But what no one�s been able to agree on is where the
Polynesians came from before that. So Adele decided for her Masters she�d
tackle the problem.
Narration: Her tool was mitochondrial DNA - which is passed only
through the female line. The plan was to trace her people�s history via
their great great great grandmothers.
So you were hoping the mitochondrial DNA would tell you where the Maori
came from.
Yes, I was hoping.
And did it?
It did, in some form, yes.
Narration: What she found suggested an ancestry back in Asia. But
where in Asia? The mitochondrial DNA couldn�t say. That answer would come
from a surprising quarter - by looking at an unrelated set of genes known
to vary in different races. They�re the genes for alcohol.
Professor Geoff Chambers is Adele�s supervisor. A molecular biologist
too, he�s in charge of the Polynesian origins project. He specialises in
alcohol genes.
Jonica: What are the genes that break down the alcohol we�ve just
drunk?
Professor Geoff Chambers: So as people of European origin, we�ve
got two genes, one which breaks the alcohol down into a poison, and the
second one which quickly removes the poison and detoxifies it. Many Asian
people, however, have very different forms of these two gene systems. It
means they�re quite intolerant of alcohol.
Narration: So on a hunch, Geoff wondered whether Polynesians had
the same alcohol gene as anyone in Asia. If so, he might be able to
pinpoint their origin. further.
Professor Geoff Chambers: Well, what we found is Asian people have
two systems. But Maori and Polynesian people only inherited one of these.
So then the question is how can you get half the genes and not the other
half. And the answer to that we found in Taiwan. These are the indigenous
people of Taiwan, and it turned out they had exactly the same alcohol
gene profile as the Maori. It looked like the Polynesian homeland was,
after all, Taiwan. This was the clincher.
Narration: Or was it? There was one more big surprise to come.
They were about to test the men. The technology to look at female
ancestry via the mitochondrial DNA has been around for years. But we�ve
only just worked out how to use the Y chromosome to look at male
ancestry. So last year, Geoff�s team went looking for the first time for
the Polynesian�s great great grand fathers. To their shock, the male line
showed a completely different origin to the women.
Adele Whyte: I thought it was � at first I couldn�t believe it, I
thought it was a bit nuts. I thought well, why would that be, why would
one group come from here when they all started in the same place.
Narration: They checked and rechecked, but eventually could come
to only one conclusion. While the female ancestors were from Taiwan, the
males came from somewhere no one even suspected. The Maori�s great
grandfathers were from around Papua New Guinea.
Professor Geoff Chambers: To us, finally we had an account that
just made better sense. So, after two years of probing the DNA, we now
have a whole new understanding of one of humanity�s grandest journeys.
Around 6,000 years ago, it appears a great seafaring culture set sail
from Taiwan with a lot of women on board. As they travelled further into
uncharted waters, they must have needed guides. Male guides.
Adele Whyte: And so it appears that in this region around here,
around Melanesia, that�s where they actually took on board quite a few
males, and it shows in the genetics.
Narration: And the rest, as they say, is history. But what about
the original Maori legend of the seven boats? Was there any truth to
that? Adele went back to the mitocondrial DNA to find out how many Maori
families actually colonised New Zealand.
Adele Whyte: Okay, basically we found that there would have had to
have been at least 56 women on the original Waka that came to New
Zealand.
Jonica Newby: So maybe around 56 women gave birth to all the people, all
the Maori in New Zealand.
Adele Whyte: It looks that way.
Narration: That number matched perfectly the number of women you�d
expect to arrive on seven canoes. While it wasn�t proof, to Adeles
delight it fitted the legend.
Adele Whyte: I guess for me it�s kind of� it�s a great feeling to
be able to back up oral history with, science. So science is kind of
confirming what we already knew as Maori. So yes, it�s kind of cool.
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s805448.htm#transcript
