Origins of Pacific Islanders

 

I. Oral Traditions

         A. Creation Stories

                  1. Story of Latmikaik (Belau)

                  2. Kumulipo (Hawai`i)

         B. Genealogies

                  1. names (i.e. Avaiki, Maui)

                  2. legendary voyages

II. Theories

         A. Capt. CookÕs observation

         B. Theories of the 19th c.

                  1. Lost Tribes of Israel

                  2. Pacific Continent of Mu

                  3. Horatio HaleÕs theory

         C. Theories of the 20th c.

                  1. from Southeast Asia

                           -- two waves of migration

                  2. from South America

                           -- Thor HeyerdahlÕs Kon Tiki (1947)

III. Evidence

         A. Linguistics -- language family tree

         B. Genetics -- Òfounder effectÓ

         C. Ethnobotany (i.e. taro, yams, breadfruit, bananas)

         D. Archaeology -- Lapita pottery

                  1. Western Lapita (Bismarck Arch. to Vanuatu)

                  2. Eastern Lapita (Fiji, Tonga, Samoa)

         E. Navigation (i.e. Hokule`a)

IV. Settlement

         A. Aborigines

                  1. Sunda (60,000 B.P.) = Southeast Asia

                  2. Sahul (40,000 B.P.) = Australia & New Guinea

         B. Austronesians

                  1. original homeland = Taiwan

                  2. cultural developments

                           -- sophisticated watercraft

                           -- domestication of plants & animals

                  3. settlements

                           -- New Guinea (6000 B.P.)

                           -- New Caledonia (4000 B.P.)

                           -- Fiji (3500 B.P.)

                           -- Tonga (3200 B.P.)

                           -- Samoa (3000 B.P.)

         C. Micronesians

                  1. from Southeast Asia (4000 B.P.)

                           -- Philippines --> Marianas & Yap

                           -- Indonesia --> Palau

                  2. from eastern Melanesia (3500 B.P.)

                           --> Caroline, Marshall & Gilbert Islands

         D. Polynesians

                  1. Fiji-Tonga-Samoa (3000 B.P.)

                  2. from Samoa to Marquesas Islands (300 A.D.)

                  3. from Marquesas to:

                           -- Easter Island (400 A.D.)

                           -- Hawaii (600 A.D.)

                           -- Society Islands (600 A.D.)

                           -- New Zealand (750 A.D.)

                  4. from Tahiti to Hawaii & New Zealand (1000 A.D.)

 

 

 

Think/Write

Do you think sudden cultural changes usually come from a new wave of migrants or from internal ingenuity?