World History
This is a two part essay on human migration in Polynesia. It includes The Settlement of Polynesia, Part 1 and The Settlement of Polynesia, Part 2. It was written by Dennis Kawaharada.
Some of the islands of Oceania were among the last habitable land areas on Earth to acquire a human population. The essay notes the following dates for some migrations:
- Around 1600-1200 B.C., a cultural complex called Lapita spread from New Guinea in Melanesia as far east as Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. Polynesian culture developed at the eastern edge of this region (i.e., in Samoa and Tonga).
- Around 300 B.C. or earlier, seafarers from Samoa and Tonga discovered and settled islands to the east of the Cook Islands, Tahiti-nui, Tuamotus, and Hiva (Marquesas Islands).
- Around 300 A.D. or earlier, voyagers from central or eastern Polynesia, possibly from Hiva, discovered and settled Easter Island.
- Around 400 A.D. or earlier, voyagers from the the Cook Islands, Tahiti-nui, and /or Hiva settled Hawai'i.
- Around 1000 A.D. or earlier, voyagers from the Society and/or the Cook Islands settled Aotearoa (New Zealand).
Frankly, I find it amazing that some of these remote islands were settled at all at the times they were. Travel by canoe over the vast Pacific Ocean was a Herculian sized feat and I have nothing but admiration for the colonists who settled in places like Easter Island, Hawaii, and the Cook Islands.
- What Is Oceania?
Oceania is a term often used to describe a large part of the world in the Pacific. I use Oceania as a label at this blog for some posts. However, I have been reading conflicting definitions of what this word actually means. History of Nations - Oceania...
- History Of Cook Islands
History of Cook Islands. This is a brief history of this Oceania island territory of New Zealand called the Cook Islands. It is probably best known to Americans as the location for the current season of the Survivor television series. The Encyclopædia...
- History Of French Polynesia
History of French Polynesia. This is a short overview to the history of this French possession in the Pacific. This is also where Tahiti is located. From the site: Part of the archipelago was discovered by Pedro Fernandez Quiros in 1607. In 1767 Samuel...
- History Of Samoa
History of Samoa. This is a short overview to the history of the Pacific island nation of Samoa. From the site: Migrants from Southeast Asia arrived in the Samoan islands more than 2,000 years ago and from there settled the rest of Polynesia further to...
- History Of American Samoa
History of American Samoa. This is a small but intersting look at the history of American Samoa. From the site: Migrants from Southeast Asia arrived in the Samoan islands more than 2,000 years ago and from there settled the rest of Polynesia further...
World History
The Settlement of Polynesia
This is a two part essay on human migration in Polynesia. It includes The Settlement of Polynesia, Part 1 and The Settlement of Polynesia, Part 2. It was written by Dennis Kawaharada.
Some of the islands of Oceania were among the last habitable land areas on Earth to acquire a human population. The essay notes the following dates for some migrations:
- Around 1600-1200 B.C., a cultural complex called Lapita spread from New Guinea in Melanesia as far east as Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. Polynesian culture developed at the eastern edge of this region (i.e., in Samoa and Tonga).
- Around 300 B.C. or earlier, seafarers from Samoa and Tonga discovered and settled islands to the east of the Cook Islands, Tahiti-nui, Tuamotus, and Hiva (Marquesas Islands).
- Around 300 A.D. or earlier, voyagers from central or eastern Polynesia, possibly from Hiva, discovered and settled Easter Island.
- Around 400 A.D. or earlier, voyagers from the the Cook Islands, Tahiti-nui, and /or Hiva settled Hawai'i.
- Around 1000 A.D. or earlier, voyagers from the Society and/or the Cook Islands settled Aotearoa (New Zealand).
Frankly, I find it amazing that some of these remote islands were settled at all at the times they were. Travel by canoe over the vast Pacific Ocean was a Herculian sized feat and I have nothing but admiration for the colonists who settled in places like Easter Island, Hawaii, and the Cook Islands.
- What Is Oceania?
Oceania is a term often used to describe a large part of the world in the Pacific. I use Oceania as a label at this blog for some posts. However, I have been reading conflicting definitions of what this word actually means. History of Nations - Oceania...
- History Of Cook Islands
History of Cook Islands. This is a brief history of this Oceania island territory of New Zealand called the Cook Islands. It is probably best known to Americans as the location for the current season of the Survivor television series. The Encyclopædia...
- History Of French Polynesia
History of French Polynesia. This is a short overview to the history of this French possession in the Pacific. This is also where Tahiti is located. From the site: Part of the archipelago was discovered by Pedro Fernandez Quiros in 1607. In 1767 Samuel...
- History Of Samoa
History of Samoa. This is a short overview to the history of the Pacific island nation of Samoa. From the site: Migrants from Southeast Asia arrived in the Samoan islands more than 2,000 years ago and from there settled the rest of Polynesia further to...
- History Of American Samoa
History of American Samoa. This is a small but intersting look at the history of American Samoa. From the site: Migrants from Southeast Asia arrived in the Samoan islands more than 2,000 years ago and from there settled the rest of Polynesia further...