Polynesian Navigation

Prerequisite: none

Many people are impressed that Columbus sailed across the Atlantic in 1500.

But consider this.

It is 1000 BC and you need a way to sail throughout the Pacific. You know nothing about compasses, massive ships, and telescopes. You do not even know of writing. How are you supposed to navigate the largest ocean on a canoe?

The Polynesians certainly found a way.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/neverlost/

This site gives details on how they construct canoes, read weathers, utilize stars, pinpoint latitudes, harness winds, measure traveling speeds, interpret wave patterns.. and much more! It is all very impressive.

There is even evidence of having sailed all the way to South America. Surely these people must have been somewhat sophisticated to have done such feats. How many people before the birth of Christ had managed to travel such distances in their lifetime? Not a lot!

I refuse to believe that interactions only happen across land. Despite being split on our standard world map, the Pacific is just as full of activity and exchange. There is a widespread something from Taiwan, to New Zealand, to Hawaii, and all the lesser known islands in between. When I think of the relation between Polynesian and Aboriginal Taiwanese sea culture, it opens to me a further curiosity for the forgotten islands on the Pacific.

I ought to find out more about these people..