Easter… Thor Heyerdahl was the Norwegian scientist in 1940s who theorized the origin of Polynesians from South America using the Kon tiki raft to prove possible species migration. The timing and nature of the migration of the ancestors of the Polynesian people is debated by two competing theories. Specialized stone adzes were used by prehistoric islanders in Melanesia for a variety of purposes, including cutting down trees for canoe-building, hollowing out built canoes, and even clearing vegetation for agriculture (Clark, 19). "Myth, Experiment, and the Reinvention of Polynesian Voyaging." Polynesian Migration RoutesPolynesian centers. In 1973 several people, all based in Hawaii, founded the Polynesian Voyaging Society in order to evaluate various theories of Polynesian seafaring and settlement. Complicating the argument was the myth of a South American origin, advocated by some 19th-century scholars and popularised in the 20th century by the archaeologist Thor Heyerdahl. Decorated Lapita pottery evolved into Polynesian plainware, and there were other changes in technology and settlement. Emergence of West Polynesian culture 4 Jan. 2011. While the prevalent wind direction in the eastern tropical Pacific is easterly, seasonal and cyclic anomalies based on El Niño periodically enable travel from west to east. Web. Polynesia in Early Historic times. This region includes the existing Sulawesi, Lombok and Timor Islands. American Anthropologist 87.1 (1985): 9-26. Heyerdahl’s theories were based largely on speculation and original thought; however, his daring journey and engaging narrative caught the eye of the public and convinced many intelligent people that South Americans and Polynesians were in fact related. https://libguides.stalbanssc.vic.edu.au/polynesian-expansion, The Polynesian expansion across the Pacific, Polynesian Explorers: Packing a Waka Interactive - Puke Ariki Museum Libraries Tourist Information Taranaki New Zealand. JSTOR. Prior to the existence of scientific evidence such as DNA and geochemical analysis, speculation regarding Pacific Islanders’ origins often suggested origin in the Americas, based on certain cultural and biological similarities between the two regions’ indigenous societies. The author and a small crew, with neither sailing experience nor archaeological training, embarked on a voyage from Peru to Tahiti in 1947 that met with remarkably positive results. The first subjects are from Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, and Micronesia; the second are from Hawaii and Samoa; and the third are from French Polynesia, with one Samoan subject sharing similar DNA (Lum, 576-577). While Weisler’s geochemical analysis is as yet in its early stages, it has already provided evidence for prehistoric inter-island transport and opens up doors to promising future research. The two main theories today are called the Express Train Hypothesis and the Slow Boat Hypothesis. Perspectives: different points of view or theories about the Polynesian expansion across the Pacific Significance: ... • Students investigate various theories of Polynesian migrations, including those of Thor Heyerdahl, relating to ancient crossings of the Pacific Ocean. Polynesian origins are most immediately traced to people who arrived in the Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa region ≈3,000 B.P. However little evidence supports his theory apart from the use of sweet potatoes in both areas. Today, however, strong linguistic, cultural, and archaeological evidence from research in both the physical and social sciences points to colonization originating in Southeast Asia or Indonesia. While motives for prehistoric migration cannot be known, a number of possibilities present themselves for speculation. Lecture. Instead, Heyerdahl proposed that the Polynesians must have left the west coast of South America and sailed westwards into Polynesia. Continental islands lie in the western Pacific, and oceanic islands in the eastern Pacific. The Polynesian language that eventually emerged was a combination of several primitive Aryan tongues. Archaeology suggests that the migration eastward occurred in roughly two waves, the first occurring in the Bismarck Archipelago, Samoa and Tonga from 1600–1200 BC, and the second occurring later and spreading to the outer reaches of the Polynesian Triangle, bordered by Hawaii, Easter Island and New Zealand. 9 Jan. 2011. This causes the prevailing south-easterly trade winds to weaken, while the frequency of westerly winds increases. (9) Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii. During El Niño events, these winds may persist for longer and extend further east (Finney, 402). Kamehameha School Press, 1995. In short, the reasons that Pacific peoples dispersed from west to east may never be known, given the complexity of human decision making; there were probably a host of factors involved, including a limitation of resources but also including various other socio-emotional reasons. The eastern Pacific is virtually empty, and huge areas of ocean had to be crossed to find remaining islands. Excerpts from the … The human settlement of the Pacific in general, and the origin of the Polynesians in particular, have been topics of debate for over two centuries. The DNA of animal bones can be analyzed, and researchers E. Matisoo-Smith and J.H. Oceania includes all the islands in the central and south Pacific Ocean. Pukui. 10 Jan. 2011. The group found common genetic mutations among about 30-40% of East Asians and nearly all Polynesians and many Hawaiians studied (Lum, 571). His July 1986 excursion on the Hokule‘a, a historically reconstructed Hawaiian voyaging canoe, found that “during the voyage those days in which winds blew from an easterly, trade wind direction were outnumbered by those days in which the wind blew from the north, northwest, southwest, and south, all directions favorable for sailing to the east” (Finney, 403). JSTOR. Additionally, Polynesian society was highly stratified, and territory was divided between ari’i, or noble families. JSTOR. “Colonization of the Pacific Islands.” Paper given at the Society for American Archaeology Meeting, Nashville 1997. The “Express Train” and “Slow Boat” theorie s assert that the migration of the Proto-Polynesian people began around 6,000 years before present (BP) or around 10,000 years BP respectively. Web. Given the Church’s prominent evangelization efforts in Polynesia, as well as its active media presence, its propagations of these beliefs are influential. Ben Finney, both an anthropologist and a founding member of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, found that periodically, Southern Hemisphere trade winds weaken and weaker westerly winds prevail. “Our research shows – and this has always been a conundrum – why there was this burst of activity followed by what seems like a cessation of long-distance voyaging,” says Professor Ian Goodwin. The church teaches that “among Polynesian ancestors were the people of Hagoth, who set sail from Nephite lands in approximately 54 BC“ (1111). and are clearly associated with the Lapita Cultural Complex. Maamaatuaiahutapu, Keitapu. However, while he proved that such a voyage could theoretically occur, he lacked evidence to prove that such a voyage in fact had occurred. Cann said evidence for the Taiwan theory is both genetic … The Pacific was the first ocean to be explored and settled, and its history is one of the voyages. 2.d. According to this view, Polynesians are mainly a part of a migration wave that came out of Taiwan. The first explorers had no maps or navigational instruments, and there has been spirited debate among sailors and scholars as to how they settled the region. According to many tribal narratives, Kupe was the first Pacific explorer to discover the islands of New Zealand. While research is still in progress, preliminary results have traced adzes found on Henderson Island clearly to a source on Pitcairn, and one to the Gambier Islands (Weisler 2, 1884). Theories about Polynesian origins: When European explorers sailed into the Pacific in the eighteenth century , they were stunned to find so many people living on the thousands of islands they encountered. Le premier s'est produit il y a 50 à 70 000 ans, et a amené des Homo sapiens … He argued that it was not possible for the Polynesians to have sailed east from Melanesia into the Polynesian triangle because both the winds and currents constantly would have been against them. Pacific migrations: red arrows show expansion from island southeast Asia, blue arrows show Polynesian expansion, yellow arrows show proposed contact with the Americas. Lawler, Andrew. Although this scenario of the immediate origins of … Put simply, prehistoric human colonization was social as well as biological, active as well as passive” (Terrell, 3). Web. Print. Théories anciennes Théorie de la migration par vagues de Beyer. The Voyage of the Raft "Kon-tiki"; an Adventurous Inquiry into the Origin of the Polynesians. Stone tools are an important element of the “systemic cultural systems,” and similarities across the Pacific can be tracked. Maamaatuaiahutapu, Keitapu. Society for Science and the Public Oct 10, 1987 132.15: 232-33. Some 3,000 years ago (around 1000 BC) the distinctive Polynesian culture and language began to emerge in West Polynesia. In the late 1800s and early 1900s various theories had Māori originating in South America, North America, India, Greece, Egypt and Israel, among other places. Did the people who would become Polynesian occupy the islands and atolls in the region in carefully planned stages or by a series of happy accidents? Researchers at the museum now believe the “ceramic portraits” could be “ways of expressing religious ideas held by early Pacific Islanders” (Field Museum), which helps explain the significance of the design and supports the hypothesis that Pacific Islanders originated from a single people. , prehistoric human Colonization was social as well as biological, active as well the actual origin of object. Westerlies, El Nino, and the Public Oct 10, 1987 132.15: 232-33 ( Finney, 402.... 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