Early Polynesians Sailed Thousands Of Miles For Trade

National Geographic ^ | 9-27-2007 | Dave Hansford

[Tennessee Nana]

about 1,000 years ago, some Polynesians sailed 7 out-rigger canoes from Tahiti to a group of islands in the South pacific they called, Aotearoa..”Land of the long White Cloud..actually a long mountain range appeared as clouds from out at sea...

The islands were later discovered by a Dutchman, Able Tasman, and called...New Zealand..

[VOA]

making a trip over a couple of thousand miles of open ocean in a canoe
(of any sort) and then RETURNING, and doing it again with women is
just to much for me to believe.

The presence of the females probably is why the trip actually did happen.

The men had to get the navigation right, otherwise they'd have gone
crazy hearing "But you never stop for directions!" for the
one-thousandth time.

(Yes, I am being facetious!)

[blam]

"about 1,000 years ago, some Polynesians sailed 7 out-rigger canoes from Tahiti to a group of islands in the South pacific they called, Aotearoa.”

Tell them to bring their own women next time.

Maori Men And Women From Different Homelands

[blam]

My New Zealand neighbor says that the Maori are very violent.

Violence Is Blamed On 'Warrior Gene' In The Maoris

[blam]

Melanesian and Asian Origins of Polynesians: mtDNA and Y Chromosome Gradients Across the Pacific

The human settlement of the Pacific Islands represents one of the most recent major migration events of mankind.

Polynesians originated in Asia according to linguistic evidence or in Melanesia according to archaeological evidence.
To shed light on the genetic origins of Polynesians, we investigated over 400 Polynesians from 8 island groups, in comparison with over 900 individuals from potential parental populations of Melanesia, Southeast and East Asia, and Australia, by means of Y chromosome (NRY) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers. Overall, we classified 94.1% of Polynesian Y chromosomes and 99.8% of Polynesian mtDNAs as of either Melanesian (NRY-DNA: 65.8%, mtDNA: 6%) or Asian (NRY-DNA: 28.3%, mtDNA: 93.8%) origin, suggesting a dual genetic origin of Polynesians in agreement with the "Slow Boat" hypothesis.

Our data suggest a pronounced admixture bias in Polynesians toward more Melanesian men than women, perhaps as a result of matrilocal residence in the ancestral Polynesian society. Although dating methods are consistent with somewhat similar entries of NRY/mtDNA haplogroups into Polynesia, haplotype sharing suggests an earlier appearance of Melanesian haplogroups than those from Asia.
Surprisingly, we identified gradients in the frequency distribution of some NRY/mtDNA haplogroups across Polynesia and a gradual west-to-east decrease of overall NRY/mtDNA diversity, not only providing evidence for a west-to-east direction of Polynesian settlements but also suggesting that Pacific voyaging was regular rather than haphazard.

We also demonstrate that Fiji played a pivotal role in the history of Polynesia: humans probably first migrated to Fiji, and subsequent settlement of Polynesia probably came from Fiji.

[blam]

New Lapita Find Re-dates Known Fiji Settlers (Jomon/Ainu)

[ml/nj]

You can point to all the supposed scholarly articles you want. I still have trouble believing that people who apparently could leave no written record, could navagate thousands of miles over open oceans to places they didn't know existed. What sort of provisions to you lay in for such a trip?

ML/NJ

[ml/nj]

You can point to all the supposed scholarly articles you want. I still have trouble believing that people who apparently could leave no written record, could navagate thousands of miles over open oceans to places they didn't know existed. What sort of provisions to you lay in for such a trip?

ML/NJ

[Tennessee Nana]

I used to have NZ neighbors...

No complaints about the NZ who just happen to have Maori blood...

[Tennessee Nana]

What an ijit that woman is...

Every schoolkid in NZ knows that the Tahitians, the Hawaiians and the Maoris are all cousins...

The Hawaiians and the Maoris all come from Tahiti...

No Masters for you...

[Tennessee Nana]

The stars have been around forever..almost..

They used the stars to guide them just as later, Captain Cook and others used the stars...the Southern Cross... to guide them...

Ask the Vikings how they found the coast of America and other parts about the same time as the Polynesians made their journeys across the Pacific Ocean...

Read James A Michener’s account of the Hawaiians trip from Tahiti..and subsequent trips for women etc in his book, South Pacific..

[ml/nj]

The stars work only if you already know what's out there. The Vikings, if they did make to North America, apparently only made it to Newfoundland. The trip to/from Newfoundland can be made never being more than a few hundred miles from land, which means that birds and clouds and maybe other stuff could be useful as a guide. And North America is a target that's hard to miss. The same is true for Europe on a return journey. None of this is true for Pacific Ocean exploration.

ML/NJ

[SunkenCiv]

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[SunkenCiv]

Ben Finney, a professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Hawaii

I've hated that guy ever since he tried to destroy the Enterprise and send Cap't Kirk to prison.

[BigIsleGal]

Thanks, blam. So, it looks like chickens went from Southeast Asia to South America and sweet potatoes from South America to Polynesia.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bird Flu?

[jdub]

What sort of provisions to you lay in for such a trip?

fish hooks.

[ml/nj]

Do you think they might need water? Do they just eat the fish raw? I don't know. I'm asking.

ML/NJ

[jdub]

Another thing I have read that they used is reading the ocean waves. When waves strike an island, they can be deflected or reflected. So when you have a steady wind, and a small swell running counter to the main swell, it will indicate the presence of land.

[jdub]

i would think raw is fine, though it would be a shame to have to do without the wasabi and pickled ginger. Water can be stored in hollow reeds, and the moisture in the fish will help as well. Plus, it rains a lot in the tropics. Read Kon-Tiki and you will understand just how possible such voyages are.

I can't remember the title, but there is a great book of survival at sea by a guy whose sailboat sank in the eastern Atlantic during a race to the Caribbean, and survived 76 days in a lifeboat with only a few items, including a makeshift water purifier that he got some water from. A lot of what he got was from the fish though, particularly the eyes.

Anything floating or slow moving draws small fish seeking to hide, which eventually draws Dorado and other gamefish (and sharks). Also if you hang a light at night squid and flying fish will jump into the boat. Food isnt a problem, water is the most important thing to bring and you can fit enough to survive for a few weeks pretty easily.

[DieHard the Hunter]

> The analysis confirms traditional tales of vast ocean voyages and hints that a trading network existed between Hawaii and Tahiti as early as a thousand years ago.

I found the similarities between Hawaiian and Rarotongan and Maori to be so similar it is remarkable. At some base level they are able to communicate, which suggests that there would have been some level of regular dialog between them over the vast expanses of blue Pacific Ocean that separate their island groups.