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Melanesia (from Greek language: μέλας black, νῆσος island) is a subregion 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 CE to denote an ethnic and geographical grouping of islands distinct from Polynesia and Micronesia.

Today d'Urville's race 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 peoples (who have a much wider distribution than just Melanesia) and the Papuan languages (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 geopolitics conception of Melanesia is widely used. For example, the Melanesian Spearhead Group Preferential Trade Arrangement is a regional trade treaty governing the states of Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Fiji. 'Melanesia' is also current as a geography term, to refer to the area when national, ethnic and linguistic distinctions are not relevant.

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 Cristóbal) and perhaps even to the smaller islands further to the east.

It was particularly along the north coast of New Guinea and in the islands north and east of New Guinea that the Austronesian people 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. 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.

Location The following islands and groups of islands since the 19th century have been considered part of Melanesia:

Bismarck Archipelago
Fiji
New Caledonia
New Guinea (Papua New Guinea mainland and the Indonesian province of Papua (Indonesian province))
Maluku Islands
Solomon Islands
Torres Strait Islands
Vanuatu
Palau

Islands whose long-established inhabitants are of mixed ancestry which do not necessarily self-identify as Melanesian:

Flores
Nauru
Sumba
Timor

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

Map South Pacific
South Pacific Organizer
Polynesian origins: Insights from the Y chromosome
Independent Histories of Human Y Chromosomes from Melanesia and Australia
A site about West Melanesia
Bird checklists for Melanesian islands
New Guinea: Crossing Boundaries and History - a general history of New Guinea
Anglican historical texts related to Melanesia

Melanesia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 ...

British Museum - Melanesia
An introduction to Melanesia and how it is represented in the British Museum collection ... Melanesia. To the north and east of Australia lie the islands known as Melanesia.

Melanesia - Hutchinson encyclopedia article about Melanesia
Islands in the southwestern Pacific between Micronesia to the north and Polynesia to the east, embracing all the islands from the New Britain archipelago to the Fiji Islands.

Definition: melanesia from Online Medical Dictionary
The Online Medical Dictionary is a searchable dictionary of definitions from medicine, science and technology.

The Anglican Communion Official Website: - The Church of the Province ...
History. After 118 years of missionary association with the Church of the Province of New Zealand, the Church of the Province of Melanesia was formed in 1975.

Church Of Melanesia
melanesia, melanesian mission, mission

Melanesia definition of Melanesia in the Free Online Encyclopedia.
Melanesia (mĕlənē`zhə, –shə), one of the three main divisions of Oceania Oceania (ōshēăn`ēə, –ā`nēə) or Oceanica..... Click the link for more information., in the ...

Melanesia travel guide - Wikitravel
Open source travel guide to Melanesia, featuring up-to-date information on attractions, hotels, restaurants, nightlife, travel tips and more. Free and reliable advice written by ...

Category:Melanesia - Wikimedia Commons
Media in category "Melanesia" This category contains only the following file.

Conservation International Melanesia
Melanesian branch of Conservation International, supports conservation efforts in Papua New Guinea, Papua Province (Indonesia), Solomon Islands and Samoa.