Geoffrey Irwin

Pacific Seascapes, Canoe Performance, and a Review of Lapita Voyaging with Regard to Theories of Migration

The first part of this paper establishes in a general kind of way that the domain or seascape that Lapita sailors operated in was more demanding than that of Wallacea and Near Oceania, but markedly less so than that negotiated later by East Polynesians. The second part takes a look at the form and performance of canoes, the possible nature of Lapita craft, and suggests ways to improve modern estimates of prehistoric performance by mechanical and mathematical modeling. The third part considers the practicalities of sailing in the Lapita domain; it argues that the dispersal of Lapita was in a selected direction rather than a random one, and o¤ers a glimpse of how these ambitious but relatively cautious sailors learned to navigate. The final aim of the paper is to summarize three theories of migration, which support each other in some respects, but which di¤er in others—especially in their views of prehistoric canoe performance.

DRIVING FACTORS IN THE COLONIZATION OF OCEANIA: DEVELOPING ISLAND-LEVEL STATISTICAL MODELS TO TEST COMPETING HYPOTHESES

Migration is a key driver of human cultural and genetic evolution, with recent theoretical advances calling for work to accurately identify factors behind early colonization patterns. However, inferring prehistoric migration strategies is a controversial field of inquiry that largely relies on interpreting settlement chronologies and constructing plausible narratives around environmental factors. Model selection approaches, along with new statistical models that match the dynamic nature of colonization, offers a more rigorous framework to test competing theories. We demonstrate the utility of this approach by developing an Island-Level Model of Colonization adapted from epidemiology in a Bayesian model-selection framework. Using model selection techniques, we assess competing colonization theories of Near and Remote Oceania, showing that models of exploration angles and risk performed considerably better than models using inter-island distance, suggesting early seafarers were already adept at long-distance travel. These results are robust after artificially increasing the uncertainty around settlement times. We show how decades of thinking on colonization strategies can be brought together and assessed in one statistical framework, providing us with greater interpretive power to understand a fundamental feature of our past.

An early sophisticated East Polynesian voyaging canoe discovered on New Zealand's coast

Significance Conservation of a large section of an early, sophisticated sailing canoe recently discovered on the New Zealand coast provides an opportunity to study maritime technology directly associated with the colonization of East Polynesia. A sea turtle carved on its hull makes symbolic connections with ancestral Polynesian culture. We describe the artifact, identify and radiocarbon date construction materials, and reconstruct a likely form of the canoe in the context of archaeological and ethnohistoric information. The canoe is contemporary with early archaeological settlements around New Zealand and on-going voyaging between Polynesian islands. The colonization of the islands of East Polynesia was a remarkable episode in the history of human migration and seafaring. We report on an ocean-sailing canoe dating from close to that time. A large section of a complex composite canoe was discovered recently at Anaweka on the New Zealand coast. The canoe dates to approximately A.D. 1400 and was contemporary with continuing interisland voyaging. It was built in New Zealand as an early adaptation to a new environment, and a sea turtle carved on its hull makes symbolic connections with wider Polynesian culture and art. We describe the find and identify and radiocarbon date the construction materials. We present a reconstruction of the whole canoe and compare it to another early canoe previously discovered in the Society Islands.