🇮🇩 Borneo’s deep foragers

Genetic evidence shows the Punan form a distinct cluster with shared ancestry across subgroups — a biological unity, not just a cultural label.

Their core lineage split before Proto-Austronesians, and the Punan Batu carry no Austronesian gene flow, pointing to ancestry rooted in northeast Borneo for over 7,500 years.

Nearby farming groups (Dusun/Lundayeh) show a sizable Mainland Southeast Asian component, but the Punan lack this signal. A tiny ~0–2% link to the ancient Leang Panninge hunter-gatherer appears in models but remains weak.

Takeaway: Punan ancestry is ancient and locally rooted, predating the Austronesian expansion and staying comparatively insulated from later farmer-related gene flow.

Source: Kusuma et al., 2023. Deep ancestry of Bornean hunter-gatherers supports long-term local ancestry dynamics.