← Explore on the interactive map
Polynesian Navigation
In the 1290s, Polynesian navigators used stars, currents, and bird observation for long-distance ocean voyaging and island colonization across the va…
Timeline
- 1290–1295Central Pacific island sea lanes · PolynesiaPolynesian navigators steered double-hulled canoes using star navigation, wave-pattern reading, and monsoon and trade-wind cycles to plan routes. Oral navigational knowledge passed down among seafaring families made voyages of thousands of kilometers across the ocean possible.
- 1295–1299Coast of New Zealand's South Island · New ZealandArchaeological sites and radiocarbon dating indicate that around the 1290s Polynesian navigators may have reached New Zealand and completed large-scale settlement, bringing crops, dogs, and stone tools, and initiating the development of Māori culture.
Sources
- On the Road of the Winds: An Archaeological History of the Pacific Islands before European Contact — Patrick Vinton Kirch (2017)
- Polynesian navigation https://www.britannica.com/topic/Polynesian-navigation