Untangling Oceanic settlement: the edge of the knowable

Human expansion into the far reaches of the Pacific has occurred within the past 3000-4000 years. This is so recent that it is arguably the best opportunity to test models of the origin and dispersal of human groups and their domesticated plants and animals, cultural and linguistic evolution, human impacts on a pristine environment, and the lower limits for a long-term sustainable population. Multidisciplinary research is essential because these models must account for archaeological, ecological, cultural, historical, social, linguistic and (both mitochondrial and nuclear) genetic data. This synthesis has not yet been achieved for any settlement in the world, but there has been considerable progress recently on integrating these disciplines with respect to the settlement of Polynesia.