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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.

SUBMITTER: Whitehouse P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC397480 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Kusunda: an Indo-Pacific language in Nepal.

Whitehouse Paul P Usher Timothy T Ruhlen Merritt M Wang William S-Y WS

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20040331 15

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 ...[more]

PMID: 15056764

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