Why did the Polynesians migrate?

Why did the Polynesians migrate?

Despite predominant easterly winds in the subtropical Pacific, Polynesian navigational skills and the aid of cyclic or seasonal changes in the winds and currents enabled dispersal from the western Pacific to islands as distant as Easter Island and Hawaii. …

When did Polynesians migrate to Easter Island?

The first human inhabitants of Rapa Nui (the Polynesian name for Easter Island; its Spanish name is Isla de Pascua) are believed to have arrived in an organized party of emigrants. Archaeology dates their arrival at between 700-800 A.D., while linguists estimate it was around the year 400.

How did Polynesians get to Easter Island?

Some scientists say that Easter Island was not inhabited until 700–800 CE. The Austronesian Polynesians, who first settled the island, are likely to have arrived from the Marquesas Islands from the west. These settlers brought bananas, taro, sugarcane, and paper mulberry, as well as chickens and Polynesian rats.

Why did the Polynesians on Easter Island resort to cannibalism?

With no trees to anchor the soil, fertile land eroded away resulting in poor crop yields, while a lack of wood meant islanders couldn’t build canoes to access fish or move statues. This led to internecine warfare and, ultimately, cannibalism.

Why did Polynesians leave the Pacific islands?

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.

What caused the demise of Easter Island?

Around 1200 A.D., their growing numbers and an obsession with building moai led to increased pressure on the environment. By the end of the 17th century, the Rapanui had deforested the island, triggering war, famine and cultural collapse.

Why was Easter Island built?

The moai were probably carved to commemorate important ancestors and were made from around 1000 C.E. until the second half of the seventeenth century. Over a few hundred years the inhabitants of this remote island quarried, carved and erected around 887 moai.

Why is Easter Island so mysterious?

Deforestation, slavery and rats were all factors in the Pacific island’s population decline. Most people have heard of the decimation of the population of Easter Island (also called Rapa Nui) and have seen pictures of the massive stone statues (moai) that line the coastline.

What caused Easter Island to collapse?

For decades, researchers have proposed that climate change and human-caused environmental destruction led to demographic collapse on Easter Island. Researchers have proposed that deforestation and climatic changes led to societal collapse on the island, prior to European contact.

Why were the Easter Island statues made?

Moai statues were built to honor chieftain or other important people who had passed away. They were placed on rectangular stone platforms called ahu, which are tombs for the people that the statues represented.

Why did the Polynesians stop sailing?

Researchers Now Think They Have the Answer They determined that the El Nino pattern would have created very strong winds around Tonga and Samoa that would have been extremely difficult to maneuver around in the ancient sail vessels used by the Polynesians. Unable to go any further, the Polynesians stopped voyaging.

Did Easter Island once belong to a Polynesian civilization?

Explorers have searched in vain for a mysterious land in the pacific. To this day, the elders of Easter Island claim their ancestors came from a continent call Hiva, believed to have sunk after a great disaster. Now, new scientific evidence points to a remote island chain in Polynesia as the centre of an ancient, thriving civilization.

Did Polynesians migrate east or west?

However, there is evidence of trade and contact among disparate Pacific Island societies, and it is possible that Polynesians may have come in contact with those to both their east and west. While motives for prehistoric migration cannot be known, a number of possibilities present themselves for speculation.

Where did the first Polynesians settle in Hawaii?

First travellers begin to move from Asia through the islands, moving east towards what becomes the Polynesian Triangle. Tonga is settled. Samoa is settled. Polynesians move further east and settle the islands of Hawaii and Rapa Nui (Easter Island).

How did the Polynesians expand their empire?

Polynesian Expansion. Between c.700 and 1756, Polynesian people settled thousands of islands across a wide area of the Pacific Ocean. This region is now known as the Polynesian Triangle. As they spread throughout the region, Polynesians formed unique societies on each of the islands they settled.