Information AboutPolynesia |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT POLYNESIA | |
| geography of oceania | |
| polynesiageography of oceania | |
| polynesia | |
| islands of oceania | |
| oceania | |
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]] Polynesia (from of Oceania , comprising a large grouping of over 1,000 Island s scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean . DEFINITION Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian Triangle . The term "Polynesia", meaning many islands, was first used by Charles De Brosses in 1756, and originally applied to all the Islands Of The Pacific . Jules Dumont D'Urville in an 1831 lecture to the Geographical Society of Paris proposed a restriction on its use. from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840]] Geographically, and oversimply, Polynesia may be described as a triangle with its corners at Hawaii , Aotearoa ( New Zealand ) and Rapa Nui ( Easter Island ). The other main island groups located within the Polynesian triangle are Samoa , Tonga , the various island chains that form the Cook Islands and French Polynesia . Niue is a rare solitary island state near the centre of Polynesia. Polynesian island groups outside of this great triangle include Tuvalu and the French territory of Wallis And Futuna . Rotuma in the northern Fiji an islands and some of the Lau group to Fiji's southeast have strong polynesian character too. There are also small outlier Polynesian enclaves in Papua New Guinea, the Solomons and in Vanuatu. However, in essence, it is an Anthropological term referring to one of the three parts of Oceania (the others being Micronesia and Melanesia ) whose pre-colonial population generally belongs to one ethno-cultural family as a result of centuries of maritime migrations. HISTORY The spread of pottery and domesticates in Polynesia is connected with the Lapita -culture that, around 1600–1200 BC , started expanding from New Guinea as far east as Fiji , Samoa and Tonga . During this time the aspects of the Polynesian culture developed. Around 300 BC this new Polynesian people spread from Fiji, Samoa and Tonga to the Cook Islands , Tahiti , the Tuamotus and the Marquesas Islands . This was supported by Patrick Kirch and Marshall Weisler when they performed X-ray fluorescence sourcing of Basalt artifacts found on both islands.1 Between 300 and 1200 CE , the Polynesians discovered and settled Rapa Nui (Easter Island). This is supported by archaeological evidence as well as the introduction of flora and fauna consistent with the Polynesian culture and characteristic of the tropics to this subtropical island. Around AD 400 Hawai'i was settled by the Polynesians and around AD 1000 Aotearoa (New Zealand) was settled as well. The migration of the Polynesians is impressive considering that the islands settled by them are spread out over great distances—the Pacific Ocean covers nearly a half of the Earth's surface area. Most contemporary cultures, by comparison, never voyaged beyond sight of land. CULTURES OF POLYNESIA See Also: Polynesian culture |
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