Knowra Polynesian expansion Polynesian expansion The settlement of islands across the Pacific by Polynesian seafaring communities, culminating in distant settlements including Hawaiʻi, Rapa Nui, and Aotearoa.
Polynesian navigation : A system of wayfinding that uses stars, winds, waves, currents, and other environmental signs to navigate the Pacific. Its accumulated knowledge enabled voyages between islands beyond sight of land.
Lapita culture : An archaeological culture of the western Pacific, recognized especially by distinctive dentate-stamped pottery dating from about 1600 to 500 BCE. Lapita communities established a major early phase of expansion into Remote Oceania.
Hawaiian Islands : An archipelago in the North Pacific that became the homeland of Native Hawaiian society. Their settlement demonstrates voyages reaching far north of the central Pacific.
Polynesian settlement of New Zealand : The arrival and establishment of Polynesian communities in New Zealand, generally dated to the late thirteenth century. Its chronology anchors the final major settlement of a large, distant island group.
Outrigger canoe : A watercraft stabilized by a float attached parallel to the hull by one or more crossbeams. Outriggers helped make seaworthy Pacific voyaging craft stable and maneuverable.
Remote Oceania : The Pacific islands east of the main Solomon Islands that were first settled by people using long-distance voyaging. Its settlement marks the oceanic frontier crossed during Polynesian expansion.
Rapa Nui : A remote Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific, also known as Easter Island. Its settlement marks one of the expansion's most isolated eastern destinations.
Polynesian settlement of Rapa Nui : The arrival and establishment of Polynesian communities on Rapa Nui, usually placed in the late first or early second millennium CE. Dating this settlement helps constrain possible routes across eastern Polynesia.
Polynesian double-hulled canoe : A large voyaging vessel made from two parallel hulls joined by a platform and crossbeams. Double-hulled craft could carry people, provisions, and plants on long settlement voyages.
Samoa : An archipelago in the central South Pacific, with a long history of Polynesian settlement. Samoa was part of the central region from which later Polynesian voyages spread.
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