Read Online Sea People The Puzzle of Polynesia eBook Christina Thompson
Download As PDF : Sea People The Puzzle of Polynesia eBook Christina Thompson
A blend of Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel and Simon Winchester’s Pacific, a thrilling intellectual detective story that looks deep into the past to uncover who first settled the islands of the remote Pacific, where they came from, how they got there, and how we know.
For more than a millennium, Polynesians have occupied the remotest islands in the Pacific Ocean, a vast triangle stretching from Hawaii to New Zealand to Easter Island. Until the arrival of European explorers they were the only people to have ever lived there. Both the most closely related and the most widely dispersed people in the world before the era of mass migration, Polynesians can trace their roots to a group of epic voyagers who ventured out into the unknown in one of the greatest adventures in human history.
How did the earliest Polynesians find and colonize these far-flung islands? How did a people without writing or metal tools conquer the largest ocean in the world? This conundrum, which came to be known as the Problem of Polynesian Origins, emerged in the eighteenth century as one of the great geographical mysteries of mankind.
For Christina Thompson, this mystery is personal her Maori husband and their sons descend directly from these ancient navigators. In Sea People, Thompson explores the fascinating story of these ancestors, as well as those of the many sailors, linguists, archaeologists, folklorists, biologists, and geographers who have puzzled over this history for three hundred years. A masterful mix of history, geography, anthropology, and the science of navigation, Sea People combines the thrill of exploration with the drama of discovery in a vivid tour of one of the most captivating regions in the world.
Sea People includes an 8-page photo insert, illustrations throughout, and 2 endpaper maps.
Read Online Sea People The Puzzle of Polynesia eBook Christina Thompson
"This engaging account tells us what is known about the Polynesians and how it came to be known. This amazing people achieved a feat of marine exploration of thousand of miles of ocean when everyone else in the world was just dabbling in calm waters."
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Sea People The Puzzle of Polynesia eBook Christina Thompson Reviews :
Sea People The Puzzle of Polynesia eBook Christina Thompson Reviews
- For me, this is an absolutely amazing book. The author has done extensive research and instead of answering the 5 W's that a reader is accustomed to in books, she has taken these a step more....She has answered 2 W's (Who and Where) and also 2 H's (How they got there and How We Know). Amazing....just amazing...
A most engaging and educational read which I always enjoy ...getting older, I appreciate anytime I can further my education. In addition to the mysteries, this one also contains the culture, anthropology, the histroy and more...much more.
Just the remoteness and the settling of these islands in the Pacific is indeed mind-boggling. Add to that remoteness, the idea of how these early inhabitants arrived there, and one realizes there is indeed a mystery...Not to worry, this author will thrill you with her findings.
There are photos and maps at the end which I enjoyed thoroughly. Am glad that I purchased this book as some time in the future, I will read it again. Such an excellent read for me and was not able to absorb all that I should have in my initial read.
Most highly recommended. - A brief history of the Polynesian people and their early interactions with Europeans, followed by an extensive discussion of how they might have sailed from island to island. Birds and butterflies sail our atmosphere by riding currents of air that they can perceive -- but that are mysterious to us earthbound creatures. In a similar manner, the island people of the Pacific grow up with the sea and can read information embedded in its expanses -- information denied to us land-bound creatures. How did they do it? How did they successfully travel expanses of hundreds of miles just by reading the ocean and the air? This science-based book doesn't have all the answers, but it does help us understand how it was possible. A concise and not overly esoteric read, authoritative as well.
- Fascinating story of a civilization separate from the old world. A civilization that accomplished great things on their own, much like the story of the the mesoamerican civilizations. Without a compass or sextant or charts of any kind these people learned how to navigate the entire pacific and populate all the pacific islands. This book unravels the mystery of how it was done. I found myself having to constantly refer to a map of the pacific as I read. It might be a good idea to print one out before u start reading.
- Expertly researched, wonderfully written. The complete description of the history of polynesia, Very engrossing and a joy to read.
- A wonderful book that follows European “learning†about the Polynesian settlement of the Pacific Ocean. The perspective is helpful, because it gives readers an understanding of the science and technologies involved, and an emotional interest in the revival of Polynesian culture. The revival, because of all that was lost or destroyed, necessarily relies on science and technology.
- This engaging account tells us what is known about the Polynesians and how it came to be known. This amazing people achieved a feat of marine exploration of thousand of miles of ocean when everyone else in the world was just dabbling in calm waters.
- Thanks, Christina Thompson. Now I have a list of other books to read so I can understand even more! My first reaction to the photo section was frustration that they hadn't been in the text, but in retrospect, it was a nice surprise at the end.
- Polynesians' seafaring exploits have fascinated me for several years. This book is a good introduction. I wish the book had more from Polynesians themselves. My biggest complaint is the small number of maps. In every chapter I wanted to see more of the geographic relationships of the islands and oceans being discussed.
