Evolutionary history of modern Samoans

Abstract

There are multiple archaeological debates regarding early Samoan population history. Here, we add genetic data to this discussion, which supports an initial small population size at the founding of the Samoan islands. We also indicate a major demographic change approximately 1,000 y ago that mirrors the archaeological record. In addition, we demonstrate the utility of rare genetic variants in identifying sparse population structure. These genetic results help establish a detailed demographic model for the Samoan population, which will aid in future studies of Oceanic populations for both history and disease.