Does the Punin-2 reconstruction settle claims of non-Native (Oceanic or archaic) ancestry for the Punin skulls?

Lens adapted to this topic: What the reconstruction cannot establish

A cautious dissent does not need to revive the old Oceanic or archaic hypotheses as established facts. It emphasizes that facial approximation and cranial morphology are indirect, can be interpreted differently, and cannot alone determine population history. The older claims remain historically important, but the supplied evidence does not substantiate them over the later reassessment.

• The original Oceanic interpretation arose from perceived archaic features, including a prominent brow, and proposed links with Australia or Pacific populations.
• Some early interpretations went further, wondering whether the skull represented an extinct human relative such as Homo erectus or Neanderthals.
• The Punin-2 project itself states that the skull’s ancestry has been interpreted, misinterpreted, and reinterpreted repeatedly.
• A facial reconstruction based only on skull shape cannot by itself distinguish all possible ancestry histories or replace direct dating and genetic evidence.

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