Kontiki didn't prove much about the Polynesian navigation or the types of crafts they used. Linguistic and other evidence strongly suggests that the Polynesian

Kontiki didn't prove much about the Polynesian navigation or the types of crafts they used. Linguistic and other evidence strongly suggests that the Polynesian islands were settled from west to east (probably originating from Taiwan) and Kontiki drifted with the currents from east to west. What's interesting is that the Polynesians settled the outlying islands by sailing into the prevailing winds (making it easier to return home if the failed to find land). They used efficient outrigger canoes which could be tacked or, sometimes even better, shunted, into the wind. They also did a lot more than follow birds, they relied on keen observation of the ocean (interference patterns in the swells caused by an unseen island), the colour of the clouds (clouds are darker underneath when there is land beneath them) and relied on a sophisticated 'star compass' for latitude navigation. If their home island was at latitude -18deg for example, they knew which zenith stars passed above their island, and which stars set at what point on the horizon at that latitude. So after an eastward exploration run, when they wanted to find their way home, they just kept their islands's zenith star at the zenith and sailed west with the wind till they made landfall. Polynesian non-instrument navigation is undergoing a revival. See: http://www.hokulea.com/ http://www.hokulea.com/ http://archive.hokulea.com/holokai/1976/ben_finney.html http://archive.hokulea.com/holokai/1976/ben_finney.html