Book contents
- The Cambridge History of the Pacific Ocean
- The Cambridge History of the Pacific Ocean
- The Cambridge History of the Pacific Ocean
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors to Volume I
- Frontispiece
- General Editor’s Introduction
- Preface to Volume I
- Part I Rethinking the Pacific
- Part II Humans and the Natural World in the Pacific Ocean
- Part III Deep Time: Sources for the Ancient History of the Pacific
- 10 Biological Anthropology and Genetics in Pacific History
- 11 The Word as Artefact
- 12 Oral Traditions in Pacific History
- 13 The Evolution of Pacific Island Societies
- 14 Ancient Voyaging Capacity in the Pacific
- 15 Revitalizing ‘Traditional’ Navigation Systems in the Contemporary Pacific
- Part IV The Initial Colonization of the Pacific
- Part V The Evolution of Pacific Communities
- Part VI Europe’s Maritime Expansion into the Pacific
- References to Volume I
- Index
14 - Ancient Voyaging Capacity in the Pacific
Lessons for the Future
from Part III - Deep Time: Sources for the Ancient History of the Pacific
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 November 2022
- The Cambridge History of the Pacific Ocean
- The Cambridge History of the Pacific Ocean
- The Cambridge History of the Pacific Ocean
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors to Volume I
- Frontispiece
- General Editor’s Introduction
- Preface to Volume I
- Part I Rethinking the Pacific
- Part II Humans and the Natural World in the Pacific Ocean
- Part III Deep Time: Sources for the Ancient History of the Pacific
- 10 Biological Anthropology and Genetics in Pacific History
- 11 The Word as Artefact
- 12 Oral Traditions in Pacific History
- 13 The Evolution of Pacific Island Societies
- 14 Ancient Voyaging Capacity in the Pacific
- 15 Revitalizing ‘Traditional’ Navigation Systems in the Contemporary Pacific
- Part IV The Initial Colonization of the Pacific
- Part V The Evolution of Pacific Communities
- Part VI Europe’s Maritime Expansion into the Pacific
- References to Volume I
- Index
Summary
Some 6,000 to 10,000 years ago, humans migrated from Southeast Asia and populated the myriad islands of the vast Pacific Ocean. Their voyaging and maritime technologies were unique and unparalleled elsewhere, and evolved over time into specialized local knowledge.2 While the catamaran-style vessels3 of the eastern Pacific have received global exposure, the other remarkable and multiple vessel design evolutions that occurred across the Pacific are less well illuminated in the literature. We use the examples of the Drua class of vessel that emerged in central Oceania, including Sāmoa, Tonga, and Fiji, and the TePuke of Taumako in the Solomon Islands to illustrate how technologies evolved and became attuned to various maritime and terrestrial environments, adapting to and exploiting local materials, tools, and weather and ocean conditions.4
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- The Cambridge History of the Pacific Ocean , pp. 323 - 344Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023