here - Polynesian Catamaran Association

LA P ITAThe Pacific was the W orld's firstocean to be exploredand settled by hum ans. It >as the greatest m aritim eadventure ofaIthe tim es.Buthow this have happened?How som e hum an people becam e the greatestsailors asthey had noteven a writing system ?Who were they?H ow did they sall?hishappenedintwo l-najorepisodes.The tirst one oeeurredbetw een approx il'nate ly50,()00 and 30,000 BC during the IatePleistocene periods from nlainlandA sia thl-ough :1 chain of Iarge andelose islands stretching tosvards N eNv(J-uineaNvhich u-erejoinedtogetheratthat tin'le t)t-Iou'Ice-Age sea level.This voyaging corridor ended at thesoutheast extrel-nity of the Solol-nonIslands.TohaveaInorepreciseideajusttlinkthat, in the sal-ne period, began theHol-no Sapiens til-nes in the lnidPalaeolithie era (Stone Age)and itisinteresting to note thats Nvith thelnodern anatonlical changes in tlzehunlan appearance, it appears alsothreeassociated traits'.l The Ianguage ability as w'eknou'ittoday.The ability to create art(thedecorated caves as knowrn inEurope are dated frol-n thisperiod).A nd the ability to build boatsu'hich is probably the I'naindiseovering forus.Isn'tit?Atker30,0()0 BC you need to think oftle w ider region of the NvesternPacitsc as a nursery tbr developingseagoing skills dtlring n-lore than25,000 years.A bout10,000 yearsagothe nlodern clil'natic cond ition sappeared an d , w ith th e1-n , th e'j . ,AI J ' # . -,'. r'. A'' a l '. 4,' r .' Y'.w '. ..,> %. .. .œ ' 1 # --- ..: zp. b '. jI .' ) .l t / ,.- .'.,I '@ ,413# a. 'l' /,. 4 ' ,I'd.. % ,.tb*glaciation .,' %- < xXz.' iNx. . ' t'.'''1. . 1.= ' .. /. .' .' . t. . ';tr'h , .... G. fṟ. .. (: . . . 'X . .' . ị.:7 ..u ..' .' i' .xls L-QL 'I W K '->u r%! F irs tro ute*o f - 'k ài manpenetration )ILapita complexforming areadeveloplnent of neu' l-nethods o 1-e blltiN':1tio 1s g 1-oNvth in htl1-na 1-1Po p ulat1o 1'1 a 1d ch a1'1ge s i1 thep a tter1s o f su bsiste1ce :11'1dsettlelnent.Itw'astil-ne fora nextstepin Pacit'iceolonisation.Then the second nlajor episode ofcolonisation began after 1500 BC inl-nodern geological tilnes in IslandS o tlt1ea st A sia a 1d u'este r1Nlelanesia.H ighly ski11ed navigatorstook soph isticated otltrigger anddotlble-hulled sailing canoes out intothe relnote Pacit-ic Ocean . Thisepisode tinished only Iater, arotlndA D I000 w'hen explorersreacled intohigher latitudes throtlgh subtropicalNveathersystelmsto N ew'Zealand.?>Chart of thewestern Oceaniaduring theglaciationIleklenlbtlr2()08* *'I-heSetI'klklple J'tfvt?lI