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Polynesian Navigation Expansion

Type Event Region Oceania Time 1111–1120

Around the 11th century CE, Polynesian navigators using stars, currents, and bird observation spread to remote Pacific islands;…

Timeline

  1. 1111–1115Hawaiian Islands · HawaiiArchaeological evidence shows rapid expansion of agricultural settlements and coastal fisheries across the Hawaiian Islands in this period; canoe fleets brought taro, pigs, chickens, and pottery techniques, forming independent island-chiefdom societies.
  2. 1115–1120Fiji–Tonga–Samoa Triangle · Melanesian frontierDouble-hulled canoes traveled between the islands, maintaining stone architecture, elite exchange, and the transmission of navigational knowledge, providing the technical and manpower base for later exploration of more distant islands in Eastern Polynesia.

Sources