3 ms·

This sounds very romantic, but they were mostly at drift. Most very using rafts without any form of propulsion. "Navigation" across wast distances was one way r

This sounds very romantic, but they were mostly at drift. Most very using rafts without any form of propulsion. "Navigation" across wast distances was one way road with no return ticket. They had to do it for overpopulation, not for some explorative spirit.

niccl 3y ago
I think there's a large Maori population in Aotearoa that would disagree with this. Heyerdahl's theory was discredited a while ago
082349872349872 3y ago
Granted, overpopulation drove much, but if it was all one way drifting, then why would the Hawai'ians have a channel named "the way to Tahiti"? see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hōkūleʻa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hōkūleʻa
Affric 3y ago
Do you have a source for your claims?
jollyllama 3y ago
>They had to do it for overpopulation, not for some explorative spirit. Navigation methods aside, those aren't mutually exclusive.
wiml 3y ago
I don't have references easily to hand but I don't think that's true. Polynesian navigators were able to make repeat journeys to the same destination reliably enough to return home and build maps and train successors in their craft.
SamBam 3y ago
There is plenty of evidence that Pacific Islanders were able to navigate from island to island, for example in the book I cited above. Here's more [1]. What's your evidence for them not being able to? Honestly, this sounds like some crap spread by people who can't bring themselves to believe that non-Western "primitive people" could have highly developed skills. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesian_navigation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesian_navigation
ianburrell 3y ago
The Polynesians used double-hulled canoes not rafts. King Kamehameha conquered the Hawaiian island using giant canoes with accounts from Westerners. The system of navigation was recorded orally. People in living memory retained the knowledge. Anthropologists got it from them, built replica canoes, and then sailed around discovering that it worked. Captain Cook used Polynesian navigator who was well traveled. Maybe the rafts are coming from Easter Island losing the technology and using rafts instead.

niccl 3y ago

I think there's a large Maori population in Aotearoa that would disagree with this. Heyerdahl's theory was discredited a while ago

082349872349872 3y ago

Granted, overpopulation drove much, but if it was all one way drifting, then why would the Hawai'ians have a channel named "the way to Tahiti"? see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hōkūleʻa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hōkūleʻa

Affric 3y ago

Do you have a source for your claims?

jollyllama 3y ago

>They had to do it for overpopulation, not for some explorative spirit. Navigation methods aside, those aren't mutually exclusive.

wiml 3y ago

I don't have references easily to hand but I don't think that's true. Polynesian navigators were able to make repeat journeys to the same destination reliably enough to return home and build maps and train successors in their craft.

SamBam 3y ago

There is plenty of evidence that Pacific Islanders were able to navigate from island to island, for example in the book I cited above. Here's more [1]. What's your evidence for them not being able to? Honestly, this sounds like some crap spread by people who can't bring themselves to believe that non-Western "primitive people" could have highly developed skills. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesian_navigation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesian_navigation

ianburrell 3y ago

The Polynesians used double-hulled canoes not rafts. King Kamehameha conquered the Hawaiian island using giant canoes with accounts from Westerners. The system of navigation was recorded orally. People in living memory retained the knowledge. Anthropologists got it from them, built replica canoes, and then sailed around discovering that it worked. Captain Cook used Polynesian navigator who was well traveled. Maybe the rafts are coming from Easter Island losing the technology and using rafts instead.