The latitudes of specific islands were also known, and the technique of “sailing down the latitude” was used. That is, Polynesians navigated by the stars through knowledge of when particular stars, as they rotated through the night sky, would pass over the island to which the voyagers were sailing.
Traditional Polynesian navigators position themselves mainly by the stars, using what’s called a star compass. The ability to read the night sky is a great skill. A star compass is used to help memorise the rising and setting points of the brightest and most distinctive stars and planets to set direction.
The early Polynesian voyagers were some of the best wayfinders in history (Fig. 8.3). They were able to find their way across vast reaches of the Pacific ocean basin navigating by the sun, stars, and other natural cues.
Studying celestial bodies, birds, the wind, clouds, ocean currents and wave patterns provided ancient Polynesian wayfinders with vital information that helped them navigate the Pacific.
What tools did Polynesians use?
Emory and Rowena Keaka. The stone adz was the most important tool of the Polynesians. With it they felled trees, shaped their canoes and canoe parts, and hewed timbers and household furnishings, wooden spears, and clubs.
The latitudes of specific islands were also known, and the technique of “sailing down the latitude” was used. That is, Polynesians navigated by the stars through knowledge of when particular stars, as they rotated through the night sky, would pass over the island to which the voyagers were sailing.
How did Polynesians get fresh water?
Apart from stores of water in gourds, coconuts and fish or seabirds, they were also able to catch and store rain water as replenishment.
Marine Navigation Basic Tasks
- To figure out where you are, look around and locate three charted landmarks like navigational aids, bridges, or water towers on shore.
- Point your compass (which means pointing your boat, unless you have a handheld compass) at them one at a time.
- Record the bearing.
What did the Polynesians discover?
The Polynesians were very observant. They noted the directions that waves came from and how they affected or rocked their canoes. They had a keen sense of ocean currents and variations in bird and sea life in different places in the Pacific.
How did Polynesians travel to Hawaii?
The Hawaiian Islands were first settled as early as 400 C.E., when Polynesians from the Marquesas Islands, 2000 miles away, traveled to Hawaii’s Big Island in canoes.Shortly afterward, Western traders and whalers came to the islands, bringing with them diseases that devastated the native Hawaiian population.
Why did Polynesians migrate to Hawaii?
To keep track of each other in the darkness of night, they blew on conch shells. Many historians believe that the Polynesians who settled Hawaii came from the Marquesas Islands, which had forbidding terrain and poor conditions for farming. To aid their venture’s success, they brought many types of supplies.
Did Polynesians use sails?
Polynesians traveled on double-hull canoes connected by two crossbeams with a central platform that laid over them. The triangular sails were made out of specialized woven mats (see this blog for more information: Ancient Art of Tonga).
What did Polynesians make sails out of?
mats
The sails were made of mats woven from pandanus leaves. These vessels were seaworthy enough to make voyages of over 2,000 miles along the longest sea roads of Polynesia, like the one between Hawai’i and Tahiti.
How far did the Polynesians sail?
The goal of the project was to show that, although no such voyage had been made for hundreds of years, ancient Polynesian voyagers had been able to navigate distances of more than 2,500 miles using nothing more than their knowledge of the wind, sea, and stars.
The earliest navigation methods involved observing landmarks or watching the direction of the sun and stars. Few ancient sailors ventured out into the open sea. Instead, they sailed within sight of land in order to navigate. When that was impossible, ancient sailors watched constellations to mark their position.
Te kapehu whetū – the Māori star compass – divides the 360 degrees around a canoe in the open ocean into different whare (houses). The location of these houses depends on where the sun, moon and stars set and rise. The navigator attempts to keep the canoe on a course relative to these observations.
Why did Polynesians migrate to New Zealand?
Immigration and aid
After the Second World War, close links, job opportunities and population pressure on some islands led many Pacific people to migrate to New Zealand. During the 1970s the government clamped down on people overstaying their visas, particularly targeting Pacific Islanders.
How did Polynesians preserve food?
Polynesians preserved food through fermentation and drying. Mashed, fermented starch such as breadfruit or taro were a particularly useful source of carbohydrates.
How did Polynesians get food?
The early Hawaiians harvested fish by netting, spearing, hooking and trapping. Their traps were slanted wooden cages that caught a variety of fish, including dolphin, tuna, snapper and barracuda, as well as shellfish and turtles. Hawaiians ate small fish raw but cooked the larger ones in underground ovens.
What did Polynesian voyagers eat?
Polynesian Expansionists—A Penchant for Protein
Medium-sized vessels measured 15 to 18 meters in length and carried two dozen men; some even had moveable hearths lined with stone or coral so voyagers could cook safely at sea. They roasted meats and some plants, and they often ate fish raw or dipped in salt water.
As with different ways to describe location, there are also different ways to navigate places. Three main types of navigation are celestial, GPS, and map and compass.
Contents