East Asia

About: East Asia is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 17591 publications have been published within this topic receiving 274073 citations. The topic is also known as: Eastern Asia.

Dental perspectives on the population history of Southeast Asia

Abstract: This article uses metric and nonmetric dental data to test the "two-layer" or immigration hypothesis whereby Southeast Asia was initially occupied by an "Australo-Melanesian" population that later underwent substantial genetic admixture with East Asian immigrants associated with the spread of agriculture from the Neolithic period onwards. We examined teeth from 4,002 individuals comprising 42 prehistoric and historic samples from East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, and Melanesia. For the odontometric analysis, dental size proportions were compared using factor analysis and Q-mode correlation coefficients, and overall tooth size was also compared between population samples. Nonmetric population affinities were estimated by Smith's distances, using the frequencies of 16 tooth traits. The results of both the metric and nonmetric analyses demonstrate close affinities between recent Australo-Melanesian samples and samples representing early Southeast Asia, such as the Early to Middle Holocene series from Vietnam, Malaysia, and Flores. In contrast, the dental characteristics of most modern Southeast Asians exhibit a mixture of traits associated with East Asians and Australo-Melanesians, suggesting that these populations were genetically influenced by immigrants from East Asia. East Asian metric and/or nonmetric traits are also found in some prehistoric samples from Southeast Asia such as Ban Kao (Thailand), implying that immigration probably began in the early Neolithic. Much clearer influence of East Asian immigration was found in Early Metal Age Vietnamese and Sulawesi samples. Although the results of this study are consistent with the immigration hypothesis, analysis of additional Neolithic samples is needed to determine the exact timing of population dispersals into Southeast Asia.

The role of the East Asian active margin in widespread extensional and strike-slip deformation in East Asia

Abstract: East Asia is a region of widespread deformation, dominated by normal and strike-slip faults. Deformation has been interpreted to result from extrusion tectonics related to the India–Eurasia collision, which started in the Early Eocene. In East and SE China, however, deformation started earlier than the collision (latest Cretaceous to Palaeocene), suggesting that extrusion tectonics is not the (only) driving mechanism for East Asia deformation. It is suggested that the East Asian active margin has influenced deformation in East Asia significantly. Along the margin, Cenozoic back-arc extension took place behind several adjoining arcs, implying eastward rollback of the subducting slab and collapse of the overriding plate towards the retreating hinge-line. We show that extension took place along a c . 7400 km long stretch of the East Asian margin during most of the Cenozoic. Physical models are presented simulating overriding plate collapse and back-arc extension. The models reproduce important aspects of the strain field in East Asia. For geometrical and rheological conditions scaled to represent East Asia, modelling shows that the active margin can be held responsible for deformation in East Asia as far west as the Baikal rift zone, located c . 3300 km from the margin.

More inclusion than diversion: expansion, differentiation, and market structure in higher education

Abstract: The most important question about the expansion of education is whether it reduces inequality through provision of more opportunities for disadvantaged groups or increases it by disproportionately expanding opportunities for those already privileged. This chapter synthesises the findings of a comparative stratification research project across 15 countries. The countries were drawn mainly from Western Europe (France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Great Britain), Eastern Europe (Russia, Czech Republic), East Asia (Japan, Korea, Taiwan) and also included Israel, the US and Australia. The main objective was to reveal systematic inequalities in access to higher education, defined as tertiary programs of either academic or occupational orientation, across social strata. Country studies applied a common theoretical and methodological framework able to generate findings comparable across countries. This chapter introduces the main findings of each country-specific analysis and concludes with an outline of the rest of the chapters in the book.