Kusunda: an Indo-Pacific language in Nepal.
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.
Whitehouse
Paul
P
Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.
Usher
Timothy
T
Ruhlen
Merritt
M
Wang
William S-Y
WS
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