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Map of Melanesia, surrounded by a pink line
Map of Melanesia, surrounded by a pink line

Melanesia (from Greek: μέλας black, νῆσος island) is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western side of the West Pacific to the Arafura Sea, north and northeast of Australia. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly A subregion is a conceptual unit which derives from a larger Region or Continent and is usually based on location The Arafura Sea is west of the Pacific Ocean overlying the Continental shelf between Australia and New Guinea. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. 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. Rear Admiral Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville ( May 23, 1790, Condé-sur-Noireau, France &ndash May 8, 1842, Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a Subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over Micronesia, from the Greek mikros (μικρός (meaning small) and nesos (νῆσος (meaning island) is a Subregion

Today, d'Urville's racial classification is regarded to be inaccurate because it ignores the broad cultural, linguistic, and genetic diversity in the area. The term race or racial group usually refers to the concept of categorizing Humans into Populations or groups on the basis of various sets Genetic diversity is a level of Biodiversity that refers to the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species There is no one 'Melanesian culture' or way of life. The peoples in the area named Melanesia are among the most diverse in the world; linguistically, genetically, socially and culturally. The European powers in the 19th and 20th centures were the ones who fostered the illusion of there being one 'Melanesian culture. '

More accurately however, there is a widely used geopolitical conception of the term 'Melanesia'. Geopolitics is the study that analyzes Geography, History and Social science with reference to Spatial politics and patterns at various scales 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. The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG Preferential Trade Agreement is a Trade treaty governing the four Melanesian states of Vanuatu, Papua A Preferential Trade Area is a Trading bloc which gives preferential access to certain products from the participating countries Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu ( French: République de Vanuatu, Bislama: Ripablik blong Vanuatu) is an Island The Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands Papua New Guinea (or ˈpæpjuːə in Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini) officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania Fiji (Matanitu ko Viti फ़िजी officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands (Matanitu Tu-Vaka-i-koya ko Viti फ़िजी द्वीप समूह गणराज्य Melanesia is also current as a geographic term, used as a reference to the area when national, ethnic, and linguistic distinctions are not relevant. Geography (from Greek γεωγραφία - geografia) is the study of the Earth and its lands features inhabitants and phenomena [1]

Contents

People

The original inhabitants of the islands now named Melanesia were likely the ancestors of the present day Papuan-speaking people. These people are thought to have occupied New Guinea tens of millennia ago and reached the islands 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 farther to the east. The island of Makira (formerly San Cristobal) is the largest island of Makira-Ulawa Province in the Solomon Islands. [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 4000 years ago. New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the world's second largest island, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known The Austronesian people or Austronesian-speaking people, are a population group present in Oceania and Southeast Asia who speak or had ancestors who spoke There was probably a long period of interaction that resulted in many complex changes in genetics, languages, and culture. [3] It is likely that from this area a very small group of people (speaking an Austronesian language) departed to the east to become the forebears of the Polynesian people. Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a Subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over [4] This finding is, however, contradicted by a study published by Temple University finding that Polynesians and Micronesians have little genetic relation to Melanesians; instead they found significant diversity of between groups living within the Melanesian islands. Temple University is a state-related public research University in Philadelphia. [1] Genome scan shows Polynesians have little genetic relationship to Melanesians. Friedlaender, Jonathan; Friedlaender JS, Friedlaender FR, Reed FA, Kidd KK, Kidd JR, et al. (2008-01-18). "The Genetic Structure of Pacific Islanders". Public Library of Science PLoS Genet (4(1): e19 doi:10. 1371/journal. pgen. 0040019). Philadelphia, PA 19122: Temple University. Temple University is a state-related public research University in Philadelphia.  

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 who 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. The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and part of Papua New Guinea. Fiji (Matanitu ko Viti फ़िजी officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands (Matanitu Tu-Vaka-i-koya ko Viti फ़िजी द्वीप समूह गणराज्य The Maluku Islands (also known as the Moluccas, Moluccan Islands, the Spice Islands or simply Maluku) are an Archipelago For the former North American fur-trading district see New Caledonia (Canada, and for the Scottish colony in Panama see Darien scheme. New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the world's second largest island, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known Papua is the largest province of Indonesia, comprising a majority part of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands (see also West Papua ( Papua Barat; formerly West Irian Jaya or Irian Jaya Barat) with population around 800000 is the least populous province of Papua New Guinea (or ˈpæpjuːə in Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini) officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania Norfolk Island ( Norfuk: Norfuk Ailen) is a small inhabited island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand The Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small Islands which lie in Torres Strait, the waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu ( French: République de Vanuatu, Bislama: Ripablik blong Vanuatu) is an Island Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an Island arc with an estimated area of 14300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, is an Island nation in the Micronesian South Pacific. Sumba is an island in Indonesia, and is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Timor is an Island at the south end of the Malay Archipelago, north of the Timor Sea. West Timor is the Indonesian portion of the island of Timor and forms part of the province of Nusa Tenggara Timur, (NTT or East Nusa Tenggara East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste (officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste) is a country in Southeast Asia. Halmahera (also Jilolo or Gilolo is the largest Island in the Maluku Islands. Alor may refer to Alor Archipelago, Indonesia Alor Island, Indonesia Alor Strait, Indonesia Pantar ( Indonesian: Pulau Pantar) is the second largest island in the Indonesian Alor Archipelago, after Alor.

References

  1. ^ Diamond, Jared and Ernst Mayr (2001). The Birds of Northern Melanesia: Speciation, Ecology, and Biogeography. N. Y. : Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-514170-9.  
  2. ^ Dunn, Michael, Angela Terrill, Ger Reesink, Robert A. Foley, Stephen C. Levinson (2005). "Structural Phylogenetics and the Reconstruction of Ancient Language History". Science 309: 2072-2075. doi:10.1126/science.1114615. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.  
  3. ^ Spriggs, Matthew (1997). The Island Melanesians. Blackwell. ISBN 0631167277.  
  4. ^ Kayser, Manfred, Silke Brauer, Gunter Weiss, Peter A. Underhill, Lutz Rower, Wulf Schiefenhövel and Mark Stoneking (2000). "The Melanesian Origin of Polynesian Y chromosomes". Current Biology 10: 1237-1246. doi:10.1016/S0960-9822(01)00029-X. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.  

See also

External links

The term Negrito refers to several ethnic groups in isolated parts of Southeast Asia. The Bishop of Melanesia was the head of the Diocese of Melanesia from 1961 until the inauguration of Church of the Province of Melanesia in 1975 The Melanesian Brotherhood is an Anglican religious community of men in simple vows based primarily in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Papua New Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a Subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over Micronesia, from the Greek mikros (μικρός (meaning small) and nesos (νῆσος (meaning island) is a Subregion

Dictionary

Melanesia

-proper noun

  1. Part of Oceania, made up of New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji.
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