A different kind of canoe

This piqued my interest as the canoe was sailing in my old stomping grounds in Alaska. Hawaiian sailing canoe in Alaska Here's some info on the canoe itself: Hawaiian sailing canoe, and on Pacific sailing canoes in general Pacific sailing canoes. According to Dr. Wiki, they've been used for 1000s of years Wiki's entry. I can't say I'd like to cross the Pacific in one. But then you'd avoid portages, which would be a b*tch.

There are several theories that Polynesians sailed in large outrigger canoes to North or South America before Columbus, or possibly even before the presumed migration over the Bering Land Bridge during the last ice age about 17,000-30,000 years ago. These trans-Pacific sailing theories have been minority views in academia, at least prior to recent genetic studies.

One trans-Pacific theory is based on the similarity of the unique sewn-plank canoes among the Chumash people of Southern California and the primary ancient peoples who made such canoes, the Polynesians.

Here is Covid Zoom video that discusses theories about possible Polynesian contacts with the Americas:


Here is a month old video based on a very recent genetic study that looked for traces of Americas DNA in various Polynesian islands. The authors of the study basically conjecture that sailors radiated out of south Asia, possibly from Taiwan, about 4,000 to 6,000 years ago, settling largely in and around Samoa. DNA evidence shows that about 1,500 years ago Polynesian sailors radiated out of Samoa and populated dozens of Pacific islands as far east as Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Why wouldn't these brilliant sailors have gone further, all the way to South America? The DNA study concludes that there was at least one such contact around 1200 A.D. because South American DNA is found among many Pacific islanders beginning around that time.

And then there was Thor Heyerdahl's opposite trip on the Kon Tiki--going from South America to Polynesia. There's way too much history, pre-history and theories for my feeble mind to process. Personally, I like to stay in sight of land.

Mason said:

And then there was Thor Heyerdahl's opposite trip on the Kon Tiki--going from South America to Polynesia.

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Yes, and he hypothesized that the Pacific islands were populated by westward migrations of sailors from South America. I don't think anyone believes this, though it's not impossible that some boats could have traveled intentionally or unintentionally from South America to Pacific islands.

The important point as it relates to canoes is that Oceania and other parts of the Pacific basin were populated by ancient peoples sailing on outrigger canoe hulls. Their bravery is almost unimaginable to me, as one who doesn't like to wander far from shore. They set out from an island into the vast reach of the Pacific having absolutely no idea what was out there or how far it was.

^ There's an interesting book called Voyage of the Manteño, by John Haslett, that posits that Polynesians used a tactic of sailing into a trade wind (or whatever they'd call a constant, steadily-directional wind) so that if food ran out, people got bored, what have you, they knew the direction home and didn't have to work especially hard to get back. They may not known what was out there, but they knew a heck of a lot about getting back if they didn't like what they found. This tactic would be pertinent to (but not explained by) Heyerdahl's decision to sail from S.A. to Polynesia, rather than vice versa; the wind worked in his favor the whole way there.

Voyage of the Manteño is well worth a read by anyone interested in historical navigation and boat-building.

MyKneesHurt said:

This tactic would be pertinent to (but not explained by) Heyerdahl's decision to sail from S.A. to Polynesia, rather than vice versa; the wind worked in his favor the whole way there.

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I assume Heyerdahl was trying to prove his thesis that South Americans could have colonized the Pacific islands.

In one of the videos I linked, they say that Peru's immediate off-shore winds were against Heyerdahl and that he "cheated" by having to be towed 80 miles off-shore before he could catch the east-to-west trade winds.

Glenn MacGrady said:

I assume Heyerdahl was trying to prove his thesis that South Americans could have colonized the Pacific islands.

In one of the videos I linked, they say that Peru's immediate off-shore winds were against Heyerdahl and that he "cheated" by having to be towed 80 miles off-shore before he could catch the east-to-west trade winds.

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You're right, it's been fifteen years since I read Kon-Tiki. I knew he was working on a doctoral on Easter Island when he noted the apparent similarity in carving.

Their bravery is almost unimaginable to me, as one who doesn't like to wander far from shore. They set out from an island into the vast reach of the Pacific having absolutely no idea what was out there or how far it was.

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While I think I'd like to believe that it was purely wanderlust that drove them, it's entirely possible that they had no choice. They may have been running from oppression, a failing society or to protect their families from ideas that they deemed toxic. People are people after all.

I wonder if the genetic markers indicate a one-way migration or a prolonged period of back & forth exchange?

I assume Heyerdahl was trying to prove his thesis that South Americans could have colonized the Pacific islands.

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Unfortunately, it's not all that uncommon to design experiments that prove theories instead of designing to find out if a theory is correct.

I always thought there was a connection between the Natives of Southeast Ak. and Pacific Islanders. As a layman it appears to me they have similarities in their art among other things. I assumed the movement was West to East, just like the prevailing winds and storms. I wonder if the DNA backs this up.