Information AboutMelanesia |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT MELANESIA | |
| melanesia | |
| oceania | |
| islands of oceaniamelanesia | |
| oceania | |
| islands of oceania | |
| islands of oceania | |
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Melanesia (from of Oceania extending from the western side of the West 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 Racial classification is known to be inaccurate because it obscures the very great cultural, linguistic, and Genetic Diversity in the area and combines two quite distinct groups, the Austronesian s (who have a much wider distribution than just Melanesia) and the Papuans (who themselves comprise a number of separate groups). A further complication is that the term ''Melanesian'' is sometimes used to refer solely to the Austronesian peoples of that region, especially when contrasting them with the Polynesians and Micronesians (both of which groups are also Austronesian). In contrast, the Geopolitical conception of Melanesia is widely used. For example, the Melanesian Spearhead Group Preferential Trade Agreement is a regional trade treaty governing the states of Vanuatu , Solomon Islands , Papua New Guinea and Fiji . 'Melanesia' is also current as a Geographic term, to refer to the area when national, ethnic and linguistic distinctions are not relevant.1 PEOPLE The original inhabitants of the islands now named 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 the islands at least 35,000 years ago (according to radiocarbon dating). They appear to have occupied these islands 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.2 It was 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.3 It is likely that it is from this area that a very small group of people (who spoke an Austronesian language) departed to the east to become the Founders of the Polynesian people.4 LOCATION The following islands and groups of islands since the 19th century have been considered part of Melanesia:
Islands whose long-established inhabitants are of mixed ancestry which do not necessarily self-identify as Melanesian: 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. REFERENCES SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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