Polynesian Culture Art and spirituality are woven into the fabric of Polynesian cultures. Would you like to learn more about our video resources? Join the Discussion Cancel Reply. Get the best blog articles in our monthly newsletter. Subscribe to our newsletter. Thank you for subscribing. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. The Polynesian expansion across the Pacific: Home.
Polynesia - Introduction Polynesia is part of what is more broadly classified as Oceania. Location and natural features There are many different natural environments in Polynesia - from tiny islands with tropical climates to the heavily forested South Island of New Zealand with its snow-capped peaks.
Lapita Pottery The term Lapita refers to an ancient Pacific culture that archaeologists believe to be the common ancestor of the contemporary cultures of Polynesia, Micronesia, and some areas of Melanesia. The Navigators. Polynesian Discovery part 1. Polynesian Expansion Between c. Tonga is settled. Deforestation starts. Fighting starts. The last moai is erected. A new religion begins, called the Birdman cult.
The Polynesian Expansion Across the Pacific - c. Migration History. Subjects: History , Humanities. Tags: exploration , history , polynesia. First travellers begin to move from Asia through the islands, moving east towards what becomes the Polynesian Triangle. Rapa Nui's environment suffers from overuse.
Geochemists have been able to place basaltic artifacts in both time and place, further clarifying the accepted narrative of migration from west to east. A second Weisler study used ratios of lead isotopes to further analyze the geochemistry, a method that may result in more accurate placement of artifacts in place and time. Because this method takes both chemical ratios in the mantle and the age of the rock into account, it is able to narrow possible obsidian sources further than the previous method Weisler 2, 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, Similarly, biological researchers have been able to link settlements through the remains of animals introduced by voyagers, particularly the Polynesian rat R.
The rat, which cannot swim and cannot disperse to islands without the help of humans, was believed to be brought along on voyages as a food source Robins, 1. The DNA of animal bones can be analyzed, and researchers E.
Matisoo-Smith and J. Robins were able to separate remains into three major haplogroups that are divided into distinct geographic locations Robins, 2. The Polynesian peoples themselves provide clues to their prehistoric origins via DNA testing. A study conducted by J. Koji Lum et al.
Subjects with the three clusters live in geographic clusters as well. The common DNA, which is spread across the Pacific, suggests common ancestry of research subjects despite their East-West Pacific divide. For example, the presence of similar genetic mutations in Hawaiians and Samoans suggests common family lineages in two geographically distant places.
The combination of these two studies strongly implies that Polynesians are descended from Melanesians and more distantly from Southeast Asians, but are genetically distinct from indigenous South Americans in locations such as Peru and Colombia. Because migration from South America to the Polynesian Islands would be easily facilitated by prevalent easterlies in the tropical Pacific, several prominent scholars made claims that islanders were descended from ancient Peruvians or other Amerindian peoples.
The author and a small crew, with neither sailing experience nor archaeological training, embarked on a voyage from Peru to Tahiti in that met with remarkably positive results. The men were able to fish for food and obtain rainwater from storms; the decidedly unseaworthy balsa wood held together quite well; and the predominant easterlies blew the voyagers quite directly to Polynesia.
However, while he proved that such a voyage could theoretically occur, he lacked evidence to prove that such a voyage in fact had occurred. The Mormon Church has also spread the idea of east-west migration. While west-to-east migration is nearly universally accepted in the academic world, there is some interesting evidence suggesting prehistoric contact, if not migration, between Pacific Islanders and Amerindians in modern-day Peru.
The presence of sweet potatoes in Polynesia, for example, which are native to South America, suggests that the two civilizations must have had some interaction.
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