title: Kusunda: an Indo-Pacific language in Nepal.
abstract: The Kusunda people of central Nepal have long been regarded as a relic tribe of South Asia. They are, or were until recently, seminomadic hunter-gatherers, living in jungles and forests, with a language that shows no similarities to surrounding languages. They are often described as shorter and darker than neighboring tribes. Our research indicates that the Kusunda language is a member of the Indo-Pacific family. This is a surprising finding inasmuch as the Indo-Pacific family is located on New Guinea and surrounding islands. The possibility that Kusunda is a remnant of the migration that led to the initial peopling of New Guinea and Australia warrants additional investigation from both a linguistic and genetic perspective.
authors.affiliation: Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Whitehouse
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Usher
authors.forename: Merritt
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ruhlen
authors.forename: William S-Y
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006801:Humans; D019156:Indian Ocean; D007802:Language; D009390:Nepal; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D044382:Population Groups / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics