A review by startjpw23
Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina Thompson

adventurous informative inspiring mysterious medium-paced

4.0

The book talks about the history of attempts to determine who first settled the Polynesian Islands, where the settlers came from, and how they were able to travel there. It starts in the late 1500's when European seafarers first came upon Polynesian Islands. It continues when other European seafarers came upon other Polynesian islands. It continues through repeated contacts between Europeans and Polynesians. Initial contact didn't always go well for either group. The Polynesians had no written history. They only had oral history. And their oral history included things that happened tied in with their mythology and included animate objects as well as inanimate objects such as rocks. The Europeans depended on written history and wanted concrete facts. The difference in views created problems through the whole history of determining what happened. A big impetus for exploring the area was that there was a strong belief in Europe that there was a great southern continent (of course, there is Antartica, but they believed there was a continent with abundant resources). Eventually the islands were colonized (except for Tonga). The studies went on as the islands were explored more. Items the early islanders used and built were dug up. There was a point where the scientists and others studying the issue totally discounted the oral history of the islanders. Pottery was found in digs which helped date some of the settlements. Many discounted the Polynesians had the navigation skills to travel the distances between some of the widely scattered islands. There was some racial bias in a fair amount of the theories put forth throughout the years. Carbon dating was discovered around 1950 (and refined as time went by).  It helped tremendously in establishing timelines. Around 1980, several voyages were made in ships with a similar construction to the ships the Polynesians built and sailed in. The navigators used methods that were available to the Polynesians. DNA testing was used in recent years and was very helpful. I struggled a little bit with all the names and locations in this book. I thought the author did a great job with her writing. History writing is sometimes dry. She kept it interesting. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn about the history of the Polynesian islands and the people who settled them. I read an eBook I borrowed from the library. If you do want to read it, I suggest you get a physical book. Hopefully your library has one.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings