How the story of moana and maui holds up against cultural truths a smithsonian scholar and student of pacific island sea voyaging both loves and hates the new disney film. The leading theory is that polynesian ancestors started in southeast asia, and over the course of thousands of years, constructed vessels and used currents to populate offshore islands. Migration theories the polynesian expansion across the. Fraser was positive that in certain isolated areas, pure racial stocks could be recognized which would substantiate his theory of mass migration. What are polynesian migrations chegg tutors online. The second theory is small boats from eastern asia. The pacific coast migration model is a theory concerning the original colonization of the americas that proposes that people entering the continents followed the pacific coastline, huntergathererfishers traveling in boats or along the shoreline and subsisting primarily on marine resources. Polynesian migrations hawaii history polynesian migrations. In the late 1800s and early 1900s various theories had maori originating in south america, north america, india, greece, egypt and israel, among other places.
Create a timeline of the various waves of migration across the pacific from ad 7000s. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Polynesian origins, origin, migrations, migration, polynesians. The two main theories today are called the express train hypothesis and the slow boat hypothesis. Many theories of migration had their roots in the euroamerican setting. The polynesian migration through the south pacific is not so much a legacy of heroic adventure and superb naviga. As our knowledge of polynesia increased, it became ever more difficult to justify a theory of homogeneous physical type for the polynesian people. Polynesia is characterized by a small amount of land spread over a very large portion of the mid and southern pacific ocean. Two teams of researchers describe new developments in understanding early polynesian migration. New zealand, and the samoan quota was established in 1970, permitting 1100.
Polynesian navigators settled in islands in a sort of triangle with sides of 4,000 miles. They speak the polynesian languages, a branch of the. The influence of traditionalism and migration theory declined in new zealand archaeology as scholars showed that the popular sagas of maori history. Mass migration and the polynesian settlement of new zealand richard walter1 hallie buckley2 chris jacomb1 elizabeth matisoosmith2 published online. Upward revisions of new zealands chronology show that the appearance of humans on the landscape occurred extremely rapidly, and that within decades settlements had been established across the full range of climatic zones. Rethinking polynesian migration and development in the pacific article pdf available in asia pacific viewpoint 503. Population movements in the pacific islands are quite different from patterns found in. Stay connected to your students with prezi video, now in microsoft teams. Skilled navigators in doublehulled canoes gradually discovered remote islands to the east, using their knowledge of the stars and the winds to return home safely.
What is the main reason for the polynesian migration theory. Pdf mass migration and the polynesian settlement of new zealand. The polynesian samoan hawaiian medical terms in polynesian interconnections are dedicated to the late paramount alii leiataua le sa peter ah ching of upolu, manono, samoa, hawaii nei and pago pago, american samoa who was hospitalized at straub medical clinic hospital in honolulu, hawaii 2003. This article is an open access publication abstract this paper reintroduces the concept of mass migration into debates. With so few clues to work fromnot a single example of an early polynesian voyaging canoe survives todayarchaeologists have been forced to tease out the story of this great migration from the. It was a theory proposed by peter bellwood a professor of archeology. About 3,000 years ago polynesian culture developed in west polynesia. This paper reintroduces the concept of mass migration into debates concerning the timing and nature of new zealands settlement by polynesians. Most polynesian islands and archipelagos, including the hawaiian islands and samoa, are composed of volcanic islands built by hotspots volcanoes. Emergence of west polynesian culture some 3,000 years ago around bc the distinctive polynesian culture and language began to emerge in west polynesia. While europeans were sailing close to the coastlines of continents before developing navigational. Groups would then set off to start new settlements. Accommodates up to five guests plus one child under age 3 in a crib.
Polynesian civilization and the future colonization of space byu. Precolumbian transoceanic contact theories speculate about possible visits to or interactions with the americas, the indigenous peoples of the americas, or both, by people from africa, asia, europe, or oceania at a time prior to christopher columbus first voyage to the caribbean in 1492 i. This article throws light upon the top three theories of migration. Through migration, descendants of this original lapita group spread over. With so few clues to work fromnot a single example of an early polynesian voyaging canoe survives todayarchaeologists have been forced. Mass migration and the polynesian settlement of new zealand. The austronesian migration theory austronesian migration theory propounds on the expansion of a group of people called the austronesians from asia into the pacific by means of taiwan 6,000 years ago. International migration in theory and practice duration. Although this scenario of the immediate origins of the polynesians. Similar types of food found in south america and polynesia c. Researchers find possible explanation of early polynesian. The slow boat model assumes that polynesian culture was influenced by gradual, complex interactions with neighboring islands before reaching polynesia. On the 100th anniversary of thor heyerdahls birth, look back at his historic voyage across the pacific on the primitive raft kontiki. One group suggests early polynesians may have been able.
The three theories of migration occurred around 10,000 years ago. History, phylogeny, and evolution in polynesia escholarship. From hawaii to new zealand, each and every migration was marked by development of different skillsets, different schools of thought, and even differing religious practices. Mass migration and the polynesian settlement of new. Today, however, strong linguistic, cultural, and archaeological evidence from research in both the physical and social sciences points to.
It is theorized that some things like sweet potatoes were taken by. For years, it was generally accepted that polynesians originated in modernday taiwan and began moving south and east about 4,000 years ago. Polynesian migrations over the span of 800 years, polynesians explored 16 million square miles of ocean and settled on every habitable island in the pacific. Polynesian origins and migrations home page of alan howard. Rediscovering polynesian navigation through experimental. Decorated lapita pottery evolved into polynesian plainware, and there were other changes in technology and settlement. In advances in archaeological method and theory, vol. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The polynesian migration to hawaii was part of one of the most remarkable achievements of humanity.
Expert opinion was, however, almost universally against heyerdahls. The express train hypothesis says that polynesians come originally from taiwan by way of the philippines and melanesia. According to this view, polynesians are mainly a part of a migration wave that came out of taiwan. Polynesians form an ethnolinguistic group of closely related people who are native to polynesia islands in the polynesian triangle, an expansive region of oceania in the pacific ocean. Precolumbian transoceanic contact theories wikipedia. Navigation is as much an artand a spiritual practiceas it is a science. Theories of maori origins ideas about maori origins te. History sample unit the polynesian expansion across 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. Nonetheless, the seeds for his theory of polynesian settlement, one that takes into account the nautical abilities of the polynesians, can be found in an earlier journal entry dating back to l769.
The smaller arrows show their migration through melanesia and across the pacific. Of thor heyerdahl and andrew sharps attacks on polynesian settlement orthodoxy, heyerdahls drew the most public attention. The polynesians were able to navigate the pacific ocean and settle on islands throughout the region. The large arrow shows the actual origin of the maori peoples polynesian ancestors around taiwan. Polynesian languages little contact with outside languages, so we expect little blending no writing system before westerners, thus no written documentation of earlier languages. Describe two theories of polynesian migration to hawai i. Recently, genetic techniques involving mitochondrial dna mtdna have been used to compare the genetic profiles of polynesians with people from mainland china, southeast asia, and taiwan. They trace their early prehistoric origins to island southeast asia and form part of the larger austronesian ethnolinguistic group with an urheimat in taiwan. Pdf this paper reintroduces the concept of mass migration into debates.
The distribution of domesticated plants and animals across polynesia at the time of european contact, and archaeological evidence of the early introduction of these, lends credence to the idea. It requires enormous knowledge of the night sky and how it changes both with latitude and throughout the year. Polynesian origins are most immediately traced to people who arrived in the fiji, tonga, and samoa region. This is the most widely accepted theory of migration. As their skills in wayfaring and navigation grew, the polynesians sailed their doublehulled canoes for thousands of miles to the east. Pacific migrations te ara encyclopedia of new zealand. Similar types of skeletons found between polynesians and early peoples of south america b. Waves of migration to the pacific marquesas hawaii pitcairn easter island tahiti cook islands melanesian forebears polynesian forebears 50,000bc 1500bc 300ad 500bc 300ad 5000bc ad samoa fiji tonga new zealand solomons islands vanuatu migration map. Disneys polynesian village resort disneys polynesian village resort typical standard room parking area, garden and monorail view, with one king and one single day bed or two queens and one single day bed, 404 sq. They settled from the hawaiian islands in the north, to easter island in the east and new zealand in the southwest.
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