Case 4
- Polynesian Voyaging, 20th century sources 3
Geoffrey Irwin. The Prehistoric Exploration and Colonisation of the Pacific. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
First published in 1992, this work represents a major advance in knowledge of the settlement of the Pacific by suggesting that exploration was rapid and purposeful, undertaken systematically, and that navigation methods progressively improved. Using an innovative model to establish a detailed theory of navigation, New Zealand archaeologist and academic Geoffrey Irwin claims that rather than sailing randomly downwind in search of the unknown, Pacific Islanders expanded settlement by the cautious strategy of exploring upwind, so as to ease their safe return. The author has tested this hypothesis against the chronological data from archaeological investigation, with a computer simulation of demographic and exploration patterns and by sailing throughout the region himself.
Geoffrey Irwin. The Prehistoric Exploration and Colonisation of the Pacific. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
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Douglas G. Sutton (Editor). The Origins of the First New Zealanders. Auckland: Auckland University Press, 1994.
In this volume, Sutton pulls together a wide-ranging group of scholars from different disciplines: archaeology; linguistics; ecology; anthropology and biology, to explore different viewpoints on Polynesian voyaging and the settlement of Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu.
As Sir Hugh Kawharu says in theForeword, this book "is science's contribution not only to its own several fields, but also to the shaping of the context in which a contemporary Maori ethnicity may at last be understood."
Douglas G. Sutton (Editor). The Origins of the First New Zealanders. Auckland: Auckland University Press, 1994.
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Jeff Evans. The Discovery of Aotearoa. Auckland: Reed, 1998.
By examining myth, star charts and contemporary Polynesian seafaring, Jeff Evans traces the methods by which Polynesian explorers made their epic voyages and retraces the historic sailing of the traditional canoe Hawaiki-nui with no modern aids from Tahiti down to New Zealand.
Evans uses the legend of Te Wheke-a-Muturangi to illustrate the blending of fact and story in the passing down of traditional knowledge. Te Wheke-a-Muturangi, a giant octopus pet of Muturangi, was held responsible for failing fish catches and Kupe and Te Ngahue were sent out to catch and kill her. The pursuit ultimately ended in the discovery of Aotearoa me Te Wai Pounamu, and the story passed down contains numerous references that would aid someone versed in the sea and navigation to follow the route.
