Table of Contents
- 1 How were stars used to navigate around the Pacific?
- 2 What stars did the Polynesians use?
- 3 How did Polynesians get to Polynesia?
- 4 How did Kupe navigate his way to NZ?
- 5 How does a star compass work?
- 6 How did ancient Polynesian navigators navigate?
- 7 How did Polynesians navigate the ocean without instruments?
Navigation by the Stars The navigator would take stellar measurements of elevation, often using just their fingers, to determine their latitude. The latitudes of specific islands were memorized, employing the technique of “sailing down the latitude” to return to found islands or home.
How did Polynesian wayfinders navigate?
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.
What stars did the Polynesians use?
Most of Polynesia’s major islands lie between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Hawaiians called the zenith stars for these islands Na Hoku Pa`a o ka `Aina, the unmoving stars of the land. Navigators used zenith stars to estimate latitude on long north-south voyages.
Why was the knowledge of the stars so important to Polynesians?
“So Polynesian navigators memorized the position of the stars.” Knowledge of star positions also helped the navigators stay on course during daylight hours when stars are not visible in the sky. If he got a few stars, he could check both the star and wave motion to reach his destination.”
How did Polynesians get to Polynesia?
The researchers compared DNA samples from more than 4,700 people in Southeast Asia and Polynesia. Based on this, they determined that Polynesians arrived in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea at least 6,000 to 8,000 years ago, via Indonesia, and presumably left the mainland about 10,000 years ago.
How did the Polynesians migrate?
Despite predominant easterly winds in the subtropical Pacific, Polynesian navigational skills and the aid of cyclic or seasonal changes in the winds and currents enabled dispersal from the western Pacific to islands as distant as Easter Island and Hawaii. …
According to Māori, the first explorer to reach New Zealand was Kupe. Using the stars and ocean currents as his navigational guides, he ventured across the Pacific on his waka hourua (voyaging canoe) from his ancestral Polynesian homeland of Hawaiki.
What did Polynesians invent?
Polynesians May Have Invented Binary Math.
How does a star compass work?
Like the Sun, stars rise in the eastern horizon and set in the western horizon. Navigators who know the direction and position in which the stars rise and set can use the horizon as a compass. This star compass shows some of the stars as they align with their houses. …
How did the stars help the Polynesian voyages?
The positions of the stars helped guide Polynesian voyages. Stars, as opposed to planets, hold fixed celestial positions year-round, changing only their rising time with the seasons. Each star has a specific declination, and can give a bearing for navigation as it rises or sets.
More about winds, currents and latitudes here: http://www.exploratorium.edu/neverlost/#/navigation/basics/plan/winds Traditional Polynesian navigators position themselves mainly by the stars, using what’s called a star compass. The ability to read the night sky is a great skill.
How did the Polynesians find their way around the world?
Polynesian voyagers would set a heading by a star near the horizon, switching to a new one once the first rose too high. A specific sequence of stars would be memorized for each route. The Polynesians also took measurements of stellar elevation to determine their latitude.
Before the invention of the compass, sextant and clocks, or more recently, the Global Positioning System (GPS), Polynesians navigated their ocean voyages without instruments.