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The early Polynesian voyagers were some of the best wayfinders in history (Fig. 8.3). They were able to find their way across vast reaches of the Pacific ocean basin navigating by the sun, stars, and other natural cues.
Did Polynesians use compass?
The Polynesians didn’t have compasses or sextants, so how did they find their way in these uncharted seas? They relied on their surroundings: the wind, stars, waves, birds, dolphins, and other sea life. Ancient Polynesians used all aspects of nature to guide them on their long voyages.
How did Polynesians travel to Hawaii?
The Hawaiian Islands were first settled as early as 400 C.E., when Polynesians from the Marquesas Islands, 2000 miles away, traveled to Hawaii’s Big Island in canoes. Shortly afterward, Western traders and whalers came to the islands, bringing with them diseases that devastated the native Hawaiian population.
What did the Polynesians discover?
The Polynesians were very observant. They noted the directions that waves came from and how they affected or rocked their canoes. They had a keen sense of ocean currents and variations in bird and sea life in different places in the Pacific.
When there were no stars because of a cloudy night or during daylight, a navigator would use the winds and swells as guides. Through constant observation, navigators were able to detect changes in the speed of their canoes, their heading, and the time of day or night.
What tools did Polynesians use?
Emory and Rowena Keaka. The stone adz was the most important tool of the Polynesians. With it they felled trees, shaped their canoes and canoe parts, and hewed timbers and household furnishings, wooden spears, and clubs.
When did Polynesians start migrating?
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.
How was the Polynesians’ understanding of navigation?
Polynesians used natural navigation aids such as the stars, ocean currents, and wind patterns. One traditional device for teaching navigation in the Pacific is a kind of stick chart used onshore in the Marshall Islands to serve as spatial representations of islands and the conditions around them.
The ancient Polynesians navigated hundreds of thousands of miles of the Pacific Ocean using a combination of celestial navigation and piloting . Polynesians were familiar with constellations in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. They relied on oral tradition and the history of their ancestors’ navigation from different islands.
How did the Polynesians get to Hawaii?
The first settlements in Hawaii appeared around 300-600 A.D. The first people to reach Hawaii were Polynesians who came to the island from the Marquesas Islands . These settlers built their homes near the ocean and started farming, providing food for themselves while on the island.
Did the Polynesians discover Hawaii?
The first people to discover and inhabit Hawaii, were the Polynesian Settlers who migrated to Hawaii circa 300 B.C. They came from the Marquesas Islands . Evidence of settlers from different regions migrating and settling in Hawaii has been found, but most often Captain James Cook is credited with the discovery of Hawaii.