Mystery of the Pacific Ocean

The Europeans' "discovery" of the Pacific Island began in the 16th century as they groped their way eastward from around the Cape of Good Hope, or westward from around Cape Horn.


But what they found were island cultures that had existed for a long time, complete with royal hierarchies and elaborate ceremonies: complex societies with long histories.


Captain Cook was one of the first to wonder: just how did they get there? And when?

The story of the first settlers of the Pacific Islands has gradually emerged, thanks to the efforts of many archaeologists, agronomists, oceanographers and even linguists. And of many present day Polynesian people who are delving into their past and recording information for the future generations of island people.


In this blog I will record what has been learned about these early explorers whom we now know began an extraordinary journey from Southern China, back in the Stone Age.


It's a story that has to be told.

Monday, January 28, 2013

WHY DID SOME CULTURES DEVELOP FASTER THAN OTHERS?

Ever stop to think why some peoples advanced faster and further than others?

For example, why did the Australian aborigines remain at their Stone Age stage, and the American Indians, and the Eskimos, while other people such as the Europeans, Chinese and perhaps the Austronesian people developed technologies to solve their problems and undertake major explorations?  Why did that happen?

This is a question that I puzzled over and led me to write about the Austronesian peoples and their Pacific Ocean explorations of the late Stone Age.

Many of the answers came from a book recommended by my son in London:
"Guns, Germs and Steel', by Jared Diamond, Vintage, 2005, ISBN 9780099302780.

Jared Diamond traces the reasons behind differing rates of progress among the  major population groups of our world, and I was especially interested in Chapter 17 'Speedboat to Polynesia' as it related to what I had been thinking about:

"HOW DID PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY RIGHT ACROSS THE PACIFIC OCEAN?'

This book started me delving into the history of the Stone Age explorers who first discovered the islands of the vast, hitherto unpopulated Pacific Ocean.

The result of my modest research is my book nearing completion" "TOWARDS RAHITI".

There is much  more information over in the INFORMATION PAGES that will interest you if you have ever wondered, as I did, about the peopling of the Pacific Ocean.
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