Researchers studying the evolution of culture say analysis of Polynesian canoe design suggests New Zealand was at least partially settled from Hawaii.The concept of Hawaii as the ancestral home of Maori fell out of fashion in archaeological circles over 60 years ago.But the new research in the November Proceedings of the Royal Society B (crct) suggests a course of Polynesian settlement that started in the far western islands, jumped to the far eastern islands, then worked backwards towards the original point of origin.Archaeologists have said the Lapita peoples - probably from China and South East Asia - who colonized Pacific islands between about 1400-900 BC became the Polynesians who settled several island groups outwards out of Tonga and Samoa beginning about 500 BC, arriving in the Marquesas about 300 AD, the Hawaiian islands by 800-900 AD, and finally in New Zealand about 1200 AD.Stanford University researcher Marcus Feldman, Deborah Rogers and Paul Erlich analysed a big 1930s study of traditional canoe design by AC Haddon and James Hornell.They tracked functional characteristics such as outrigger attachments, construction technique, keel shape, and symbolic things such as painting, detailed designs, and figureheads of pre-European canoes from different island groups.Canoe construction techniques persisted, with the Polynesians bringing traditional techniques but changing decorative features as they colonized new island groups.The study showed scientists could measure the effects of cultural evolution, they said."Evolution is a logical way of looking at change over time," said Rogers, an evolutionary biologist.The study involved computing 10 million possible configurations of canoe taxonomy and Rogers said the same methods could be applied to anything from pottery design and fishhook construction to social and legal structures.Erlich said that if science can shed insight into the mechanisms underlying cultural change, it might help modern cultures turn climate change insight into action or avoid ill-advised wars.
Hey Hawea thank you so much for you contribution to this discussion and the information you have shared. It is just really nice to be able to hear and share all the different linkages that further establish the connections internally we know we already have. This body of information you have share sounds pretty accurate too be. It never had to be scientific - but this was an article I had come across. I do agree with you I think Māori do look very similar to Hawaiian people and of course we both know why. Thank you for your share. Right on bra - chillaxin!
here is what I have heard through discussion with others, by no means is this scientific.
Hawaii was first settled by Marquesans. The Marquesans (or Manahune...as some would call them) lived in peace and prospierty for many years. When the Tahitians migrated to Hawai`i...with them they brought war, sacrifice and the god Ku. There was a group of Kanaka (from Hawaii Island) that left Hawai`i at this time in seven canoes to leave what Hawai`i had become thanks to the Tahitian migration. These seven canoes traveled south and eventually ended up in Ao Tearoa. Even today, our Maori cousins resemble our Hawaiian features the most, especially in the older generations. This is the story I got through speaking with others who are interested in these things. Hopefully, this is accurate. Im always willing to learn more!
Mahalo a malama pono,
Hawea
Comments
Hey Hawea thank you so much for you contribution to this discussion and the information you have shared. It is just really nice to be able to hear and share all the different linkages that further establish the connections internally we know we already have. This body of information you have share sounds pretty accurate too be. It never had to be scientific - but this was an article I had come across. I do agree with you I think Māori do look very similar to Hawaiian people and of course we both know why. Thank you for your share. Right on bra - chillaxin!
Hawaii was first settled by Marquesans. The Marquesans (or Manahune...as some would call them) lived in peace and prospierty for many years. When the Tahitians migrated to Hawai`i...with them they brought war, sacrifice and the god Ku. There was a group of Kanaka (from Hawaii Island) that left Hawai`i at this time in seven canoes to leave what Hawai`i had become thanks to the Tahitian migration. These seven canoes traveled south and eventually ended up in Ao Tearoa. Even today, our Maori cousins resemble our Hawaiian features the most, especially in the older generations. This is the story I got through speaking with others who are interested in these things. Hopefully, this is accurate. Im always willing to learn more!
Mahalo a malama pono,
Hawea