Journey of Discovery
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Human Discovery and Settlement of the Remote Easter Island (SE Pacific)
quaternary Review Human Discovery and Settlement of the Remote Easter Island (SE Pacific) Valentí Rull Laboratory of Paleoecology, Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera (ICTJA-CSIC), C. Solé i Sabarís s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; [email protected] Received: 19 March 2019; Accepted: 27 March 2019; Published: 2 April 2019 Abstract: The discovery and settlement of the tiny and remote Easter Island (Rapa Nui) has been a classical controversy for decades. Present-day aboriginal people and their culture are undoubtedly of Polynesian origin, but it has been debated whether Native Americans discovered the island before the Polynesian settlement. Until recently, the paradigm was that Easter Island was discovered and settled just once by Polynesians in their millennial-scale eastward migration across the Pacific. However, the evidence for cultivation and consumption of an American plant—the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas)—on the island before the European contact (1722 CE), even prior to the Europe-America contact (1492 CE), revived controversy. This paper reviews the classical archaeological, ethnological and paleoecological literature on the subject and summarizes the information into four main hypotheses to explain the sweet potato enigma: the long-distance dispersal hypothesis, the back-and-forth hypothesis, the Heyerdahl hypothesis, and the newcomers hypothesis. These hypotheses are evaluated in light of the more recent evidence (last decade), including molecular DNA phylogeny and phylogeography of humans and associated plants and animals, physical anthropology (craniometry and dietary analysis), and new paleoecological findings. It is concluded that, with the available evidence, none of the former hypotheses may be rejected and, therefore, all possibilities remain open. -
A Brief Ethnohistory of Rapa Island, French Polynesia, AD 1791–1840
2 ‘Dwelling carelessly, quiet and secure’ A brief ethnohistory of Rapa Island, French Polynesia, AD 1791–1840 Atholl Anderson Department of Archaeology and Natural History, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, [email protected] Introduction In 1826, the first European missionary to Rapa, the Rev. John Davies, quoted Judges 18:7 in seeing the Rapans as ‘dwelling carelessly, quiet and secure, and having no business with any man’ (in Stokes n.d.:28; an idiomatic rendering of the passage). It was to some extent, possibly to a great extent, quite illusory. Rapa was certainly isolated by comparison with most of East Polynesia, and it was small, mountainous and relatively cold, but even the first European visitors found that Rapans exhibited evidence of contact with the outside world, and within Rapan traditions, historical observations and ethnographic data which together form the stuff of ethnohistory, the theme of contact and change is illustrated continually. Rapan society was East Polynesian in ancestry and culture. Rapans spoke an East Polynesian language, but its closest affinities were puzzling for a long time. The earliest historical contacts with Rapans showed that they found both Hawaiian and Tahitian largely unintelligible and later characterisation of Rapan by European scholars was confused because of the early introduction of Tahitian by missionaries and, after 1863, of other Polynesian languages by Tongans, Tokelauans and Cook Islanders, whose descendants came eventually to represent nearly half of the population (Stokes 1955). Samuel Stutchbury had observed, presciently, in 1826 (in Richards 2004:5) that the Rapan language was ‘something resembling the Marquesan’, but Horatio Hale (1968:141), about 1840, ‘obtained at Tahiti, from a native of Rapa, a brief vocabulary of the language spoken there, which turns out to be, with a few verbal exceptions, pure Rarotongan, and this in its minute peculiarities’, while the missionaries William Ellis (1838) and M. -
CRYPTORRHYNCHINAE of the AUSTRAL ISLANDS (Coleoptera, Curculionidae)
CRYPTORRHYNCHINAE OF THE AUSTRAL ISLANDS (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) By ELWOOD C. ZIMMERMAN BERNICE P. BISHOP MUSEUM OCCASIONAL PAPERS VOLUME XII, NUMBER 17 :. ..,," HONOLULU, HAWAII PUBLISHED BY THE MUSEUM October 30, 1936 CRYPTORRHYNCHINAE OF THE AUSTRAL ISLANDS1 2 (COLl';OPTtRA, CURCULIONIDAE) By ELWOOD C. ZIMMER:>IAN INTRODUCTION This paper is based on the collection of Cryptorrhynchinae made by me in the Austral Islands while on the "Mangarevan Expedition to southeastern Polynesia in 1934. The Austral Archipelago is a group of five scattered islands lying to the south of the Society Islands and to the southeast of the Cook Islands (21 0 30' S. to 24° 00' S; 147 0 40' W. to 154 0 55' W.). The general trend of the group is northwest by southeast, and the islands are, in order: Maria, Rimatara, Rurutu, Tubuai, and Raivavae. The northwesternmost island, Maria, is a low coral atoll; the next island to the east, Rimatara, reaches an elevation of about 300 feet, and the following three islands reach elevations of 1,300, 1,309, and 1,434 feet respectively. The devastation of the endemic flora of the group has been extensive. Raivavae has the greatest areas of native vegetation. Tubuai and Rurutu have been so com pletely denuded that there now remain only small pockets of endemic forest near the summits of their highest peaks. The interior of Rimatara has yielded completely to fire and cultivation, while Maria has the typical, widespread flora of the atolls. It is only in the small vestiges of native vegetation that endemic Cryptorrhynchinae can now be found. -
Report for the 2002 Pacific Biological Survey, Bishop Museum Austral Islands, French Polynesia Expedition to Raivavae and Rapa Iti
Rapa K.R. Wood photo New Raivavae Damselfly Sicyopterus lagocephalus: Raivavae REPORT FOR THE 2002 PACIFIC BIOLOGICAL SURVEY, BISHOP MUSEUM AUSTRAL ISLANDS, FRENCH POLYNESIA EXPEDITION TO RAIVAVAE AND RAPA ITI Prepared for: Délégation à la Recherche (Ministère de la Culture, de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche), B.P. 20981 Papeete, Tahiti, Polynésie française. Prepared by: R.A. Englund Pacific Biological Survey Bishop Museum Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96817 March 2003 Contribution No. 2003-004 to the Pacific Biological Survey 2002 Trip Report: Expedition to Raivavae and Rapa, Austral Islands, French Polynesia TABLE OF CONTENTS Résumé ..................................................................................................................................................................iii Abstract.................................................................................................................................................................. iv Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 1 Study Area.............................................................................................................................................................. 1 Aquatic Habitats- Raivavae .............................................................................................................................. 3 Aquatic Habitats- Rapa.................................................................................................................................... -
Imagereal Capture
EVOLUTION OF LAND POLICY IN FRENCH POLYNESIA Y-L SAGE Maitre de Confe'rences, French University of the Pacific Honorary Fellow in Law, Victoria University of Wellington Land was always a matter of major concern in the former French colonies. From a social perspective, it presented an immediate and obvious antagonism between the first settlers and native populations. The main difficulty faced by French colonial administrations' was to calm the worries of the latter about possible deprivation and at the same time to satisfy the new arrivals' expectations for land. Moreover in the French administration of the 19th century, it was widely recognised that simple and non-formalistic legislation on land which facilitated goods and chattels circulating freely and which provided guarantees to the purchaser and the creditor, favoured the development of new colonies. Therefore all the steps necessary (even the most radical) to achieve this result were considered. Broadly stated the islands of the Polynesian archipelagos followed this general trend but, if the theory is clear, in the ordinary run of things its application was beset with difficulties. Girault commented that if French Colonial policy ... was generous [it was also] untested. It originated from an a priori concept which clashed with reality at every point. Our colonial legislation seemed like the work of well-intentioned but ignorant people. The colonies were endowed with truly liberal institutions, but the policy of assimilation which was practiced indiscriminately led to ridiculous or lamentable consequences - metropolitan France still had to learm2 In French Polynesia, the law on land tenure did not enjoy an evolution equal to that occurring in other areas. -
Early Settlement Ofrapa Nui (Easter Island)
Early Settlement ofRapa Nui (Easter Island) HELENE MARTINSSON-WALLIN AND SUSAN J. CROCKFORD RAPA NUl, THE SMALL REMOTE ISLAND that constitutes the easternmost corner of the Polynesian triangle, was found and populated long before the Europeans "discovered" this part ofthe world in 1722. The long-standing questions concern ing this remarkable island are: who were the first to populate the island, at what time was it populated, and did the Rapa Nui population and development on the island result from a single voyage? Over the years there has been much discussion, speculation, and new scientific results concerning these questions. This has resulted in several conferences and numerous scientific and popular papers and monographs. The aim ofthis paper is to present the contemporary views on these issues, drawn from the results of the last 45 years of archaeological research on the island (Fig. 1), and to describe recent fieldwork that Martinsson-Wallin completed on Rapa Nui. Results from the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Rapa Nui in 1955 1956 suggest that the island was populated as early as c. A.D. 400 (Heyerdahl and Ferdon 1961: 395). This conclusion was drawn from a single radiocarbon date. This dated carbon sample (K-502) was found in association with the so-called Poike ditch on the east side of the island. The sample derived from a carbon con centration on the natural surface, which had been covered by soil when the ditch was dug. The investigator writes the following: There is no evidence to indicate that the fire from which the carbon was derived actually burned at the spot where the charcoal occurred, but it is clear that it was on the surface of the ground at the time the first loads of earth were carried out of the ditch and deposited over it. -
The Australs & the Gambier Archipelago
©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd The Australs & the Gambier Archipelago Includes ¨ Why Go? The Australs ............... 194 Isolated and straddling the Tropic of Capricorn, the mag- Rurutu ........................ 194 nificent and pristine Austral Islands are arguably French Tubuai..........................197 Polynesia’s most underrated destination. The climate here is temperate, but everything else befitting a tropical paradise Raivavae ..................... 198 is here: flower-filled jungles, sharp peaks, outrageously blue The Gambier water and genuinely friendly people. The islands here have Archipelago ................ 201 had less of a history with Europeans and less influx from the Mangareva ................. 201 outside world, so have kept their culture alive. If, after visiting the Australs, you still feel the urge for more off-the-beaten-track adventures, consider travelling to the Gambier, where visitors are an absolute rarity. All the Best Places makings of an island holiday paradise can be found in this to Stay jaw-droppingly beautiful archipelago, but it’s so far away (about 1700km southeast from Tahiti) and expensive to get ¨ Manotel (p196) to that it remains one of the best-kept secrets in French ¨ Teautamatea (p196) Polynesia. ¨ Raivavae Tama (p199) ¨ Maro’i (p202) When to Go ¨ During the dry season (May to October), the climate is Best Outdoor significantly cooler than in other parts of the country. Experiences ¨ With average daily temperatures around 20°C, which can drop to a low of 15°C at night, the June to September period ¨ Walking to the top of Mt is not the best time to visit if you’re hoping to laze around on a Hiro (p199) beach, but is an ideal time for hiking. -
Rapa Nui Journal 5#4, Winter 1991
Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation Volume 5 Article 1 Issue 4 Rapa Nui Journal 5#4, Winter 1991 1991 Rapa Nui Journal 5#4, Winter 1991 Follow this and additional works at: https://kahualike.manoa.hawaii.edu/rnj Part of the History of the Pacific slI ands Commons, and the Pacific slI ands Languages and Societies Commons Recommended Citation (1991) "Rapa Nui Journal 5#4, Winter 1991," Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation: Vol. 5 : Iss. 4 , Article 1. Available at: https://kahualike.manoa.hawaii.edu/rnj/vol5/iss4/1 This Research Report is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Hawai`i Press at Kahualike. It has been accepted for inclusion in Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation by an authorized editor of Kahualike. For more information, please contact [email protected]. et al.: Rapa Nui Journal 5#4, Winter 1991 I VolS, No 4 EASTER ISLAND FOVNDAnON December 1991 Lost Islands Cmise Has the British Museum a Georgia Lee "stolen friend" from Rapa Nui? The September-October 1991 Society Expeditions cruise, Steven Roger Fischer, Ph.D. "Polynesian Migration", took us to some of the far-flung and hard to reach places in the south Pacific ocean. This begins a For more than a century the British Museum has perhaps two-part article describing the islands visited, their history, been harboring a "Stolen Friend" of the Rapanui For "Stolen and life today. Although our visits on shore were brief, they Friend" could well be the proper translation of the name of were memorable. -
Nautical Cartography and Traditional Navigation in Oceania
13 · Nautical Cartography and Traditional Navigation in Oceania BEN FINNEY MENTAL CARTOGRAPHY formal images and their own sense perceptions to guide their canoes over the ocean. The navigational practices of Oceanians present some The idea of physically portraying their mental images what of a puzzle to the student of the history of carto was not alien to these specialists, however. Early Western graphy. Here were superb navigators who sailed their ca explorers and missionaries recorded instances of how in noes from island to island, spending days or sometimes digenous navigators, when questioned about the islands many weeks out of sight of land, and who found their surrounding their own, readily produced maps by tracing way without consulting any instruments or charts at sea. lines in the sand or arranging pieces of coral. Some of Instead, they carried in their head images of the spread of these early visitors drew up charts based on such ephem islands over the ocean and envisioned in the mind's eye eral maps or from information their informants supplied the bearings from one to the other in terms of a con by word and gesture on the bearing and distance to the ceptual compass whose points were typically delineated islands they knew. according to the rising and setting of key stars and con Furthermore, on some islands master navigators taught stellations or the directions from which named winds their pupils a conceptual "star compass" by laying out blow. Within this mental framework of islands and bear coral fragments to signify the rising and setting points of ings, to guide their canoes to destinations lying over the key stars and constellations. -
The Missing Hotspot Found in the Austral Islands
Arago Seamount: The missing hotspot found in the Austral Islands Alain Bonneville Centre National de la Recherche Scienti®que, GeÂosciences Marines, Institut de Physique du Globe, 4 place Jussieu, Paris, France Raymond Le Suave Centre National de la Recherche Scienti®que, DeÂpartement de GeÂosciences Marines, Institut FrancËais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer, BP 70, 29280 PlouzaneÂ, France Laurence Audin Universite Paul Sabatier, Institut de Recherche pour le DeÂveloppement, 38, rue des 36 Ponts, 31000, Toulouse, France ValeÂrie Clouard Universite de la PolyneÂsie FrancËaise, BP 6570, Faaa, Tahiti, French Polynesia Laure Dosso Centre National de la Recherche Scienti®que, DeÂpartement de GeÂosciences Marines, Institut FrancËais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer, BP 70, 29280 PlouzaneÂ, France Pierre Yves Gillot Laboratoire GeÂochronologie, Sciences de la Terre, Universite Paris-Sud, 91405 Orsay, France Philip Janney Department of Geology, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois 60605, USA Kelsey Jordahl Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, California 95039, USA Keitapu Maamaatuaiahutapu Universite de la PolyneÂsie FrancËaise, BP 6570, Faaa, Tahiti, French Polynesia ABSTRACT The Austral archipelago, on the western side of the South Paci®c superswell, is composed of several volcanic chains, corresponding to distinct events from 35 Ma to the present, and lies on oceanic crust created between 60 and 85 Ma. In 1982, Turner and Jarrard proposed that the two distinct volcanic stages found on Rurutu Island and dated as 12 Ma and 1 Ma could be due to two different hotspots, but no evidence of any recent aerial or submarine volcanic source has ever been found. -
Your Cruise Polynesia: the Austral Islands & Bora Bora
Polynesia: the Austral Islands & Bora Bora From 04/05/2021 From Papeete, Tahiti Island Ship: LE SOLEAL to 13/05/2021 to Papeete, Tahiti Island From Tahiti, PONANT invites you to embark on a brand-new10-day cruise to discover French Polynesia. Set sail for an unforgettable journey to discover idyllic islands and atolls. Between pearl farms and white sandy beaches, French Polynesia will reveal its many mysteries to you. Surrounded by superb lagoons of translucent waters edged by exceptional coral reefs, the islands of Polynesia are undoubtedly some of the most beautiful in the world and home to an astonishing and rich wildlife. An experienced diving instructor is on board for the entire cruise, enabling you to safely enjoy swimming and scuba diving. First of all, your ship will take you towards one of the most secret and authentic archipelagos in Polynesia: the Austral Islands. Various ports of call will enable you to admire the sumptuous “motu piscine” reef islet ofRaivavae , the coral reefs ofTubuai , the mysterious marine caves of Rurutu, and discover the traditional handicraft of Rimatara. On these islands off the beaten path, nature and ancestral traditions are treasures that are shared in all simplicity. You will then head towards the Society Islands. You will be dazzled by the incomparable beauty ofBora Bora, with its distinctly recognisable volcanic silhouette, and will also appreciateMoorea , with its hillside pineapple plantations and its verdant peaks overlooking the island. The information in this document is valid as of 17/08/2020 Polynesia: the Austral Islands & Bora Bora YOUR STOPOVERS : PAPEETE, TAHITI ISLAND Embarkation 04/05/2021 from 16h00 to 17h00 Departure 04/05/2021 at 19h00 Capital of French Polynesia, the city Papeeteof is on the north-west coast of the island of Tahiti. -
TAHITI NUI Tu-Nui-Ae-I-Te-Atua
TAHITI NUI Tu-nui-ae-i-te-atua. Pomare I (1802). ii TAHITI NUI Change and Survival in French Polynesia 1767–1945 COLIN NEWBURY THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF HAWAII HONOLULU Open Access edition funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities / Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Humanities Open Book Program. Licensed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 In- ternational (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits readers to freely download and share the work in print or electronic format for non-commercial purposes, so long as credit is given to the author. Derivative works and commercial uses require per- mission from the publisher. For details, see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. The Cre- ative Commons license described above does not apply to any material that is separately copyrighted. Open Access ISBNs: 9780824880323 (PDF) 9780824880330 (EPUB) This version created: 17 May, 2019 Please visit www.hawaiiopen.org for more Open Access works from University of Hawai‘i Press. Copyright © 1980 by The University Press of Hawaii All rights reserved. For Father Patrick O’Reilly, Bibliographer of the Pacific CONTENTS Dedication vi Illustrations ix Tables x Preface xi Chapter 1 THE MARKET AT MATAVAI BAY 1 The Terms of Trade 3 Territorial Politics 14 Chapter 2 THE EVANGELICAL IMPACT 31 Revelation and Revolution 33 New Institutions 44 Churches and Chiefs 56 Chapter 3 THE MARKET EXPANDED 68 The Middlemen 72 The Catholic Challenge 87 Chapter 4 OCCUPATION AND RESISTANCE 94 Governor Bruat’s War 105 Governor Lavaud’s