Oceanic Migration Paths, Sequence, Timing and Range of Prehistoric Migration in the Pacific and Indian Oceans

About this book

Oceanic Migration studies the prehistoric peopling of the Pacific. It uses science and mathematics to expand the research base of Pacific prehistory and casts new light on this final human expansion. It explores the fundamental roles of oceanography and of global climate change in determining the paths, sequence, timing and range of Spice Island-based maritime migrations ranging across a quarter of the globe. Oceanic Migration is of interest to Pacific prehistorians, oceanographers and American anthropologists concerned with the diffusionist debate.

For oceanographers it presents the new idea of the role of the West Pacific Warm Pool and of three of its four major currents in determining the evolution of voyaging in two oceans. For diffusionists it provides new chronological and technological contexts in which the issue of diffusionism needs to be reconsidered. For prehistorians it creates a paradigmatic shift by establishing a new time depth and mechanism for Polynesian exploration, offers a new view of voyaging and exploration strategies and of economic imperatives and adds a new dimension to the debate on Polynesian origins.

Contents

Part 1: Early Exploration Strategies and Migration Paths
1: Introduction
2: The Genetic Context
3: The Oceanographic Context
4: Transoceanic Trade and Migration (1)
5: Transoceanic Trade and Migration (2)
6: Transoceanic Voyaging in the Pacific
7: The Horticultural Context
8: Transoceanic Trading in Two Oceans
9: Exploration Strategies, Settlement Sequence and the Evolution of Canoe Design
10: Studying the History of Spice Island Migration Through Cultural Diffusion

Part 2: Evidence for a Lapita Age First Settlement of New Zealand
11: Challenging a Late First Settlement Date for New Zealand
12: The Context of Global Climate Change
13: The Context of Field Archaeology
14: New Zealand Palaeodemography
15: Dating the First Settlement of New Zealand
16: The Context of Oral Traditions
17: The Mythological Context

Part 3: Sketching a Chronology for the Exploration and Colonization of the Pacific
18: Dating the Last Migration to New Zealand
19: Correlation of Significant Voyaging Activity with Rare Extreme Climate Events
20: Dating the First Migration to New Zealand
21: A Consilience of Evidence

Appendix 1: Genealogies

Customer Reviews

Biography

Charles Pearce holds the Thomas Elder Chair of Mathematics, University of Adelaide, Australia. He has been awarded the ANZIAM Medal and the Potts Medal for outstanding contributions to applied and industrial mathematics and to operations research. He is foundation Editor-in-Chief of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ANZIAM Journal) and a member of the editorial boards of a number of international mathematical journals. He has over 300 research publications in the fields of optimization, convex analysis and the probabilistic modelling of physical and biological processes.

Frances Pearce, a writer, plant hybridizer and former lecturer from the University of Adelaide, has interests in the areas of prehistory, oceanography, genetics and climate history, particularly in the use of science to illuminate prehistory.