The Prehistory of Polynesia
Jesse D. JenningsThe reality of the islands’ prehistory is far more exciting than the romantic fictions that have been concocted about it. In probing the Polynesian past, the scientists writing here have used not only sophisticated archaeological techniques but such adventurous methods as building a Hawaiian double-hull canoe and sailing it, with only the ancient navigational aids, across nearly 4,000 kilometers of open ocean to Tahiti.
The focus of the book moves chronologically from the early Lapitan villages to Fiji, Samoa/Tonga, the Marquesas, Easter Island, Hawaii, the Society Islands, and New Zealand. Further chapters explore the evidence provided by studies of the contemporary Polynesians and their environment: linguistic, biological, ecological, and navigational. A final chapter on the Melanesian background extends the chronology to earlier times. Throughout the book anthropological data from all fields are integrated.