What a fascinating people. The accumulated knowledge and bravery that allowed them to settle over such a vast area is impressive. Scholars are learning more all the time. Thanks for the review.
I would like to offer up a defense of Thor Heyerdahl and his book Kon-Tiki. I appreciate your not taking the all to common smug dismissal. Because, what Kon-Tiki represents primarily for generations of readership is adventure. That these young men in the months after fighting in WW2 were still so restless that they planned and embarked on a grand adventure is admirable and exciting. That is the story, not his theory of the origins of the Polynesians. What reader of this tale hasn't been inspired to contemplate or take on some greater personal challenge?
I think you’re right about the adventure angle with Kon-Tiki. It was a wild excursion, and the fact the pulled it off is amazing. How inspirational that was for the books’ millions of readers can’t be underestimated.
If ever in Honolulu, a visit to the Bishop Museum provides an up-close look at stone-age Polynesian culture, farming, fishing, village locations and layouts. As well as migrations. All in a beautiful building. I’ve added this book to my TBR list. Thanks for the review.
I have always admired the Polynesians, but that mention of their skill in oral history is very impressive. I have lived in another culture that still relied primarily on oral history and they had family surnames than ran back over a thousand years, but the two options for further education were either in English or Arabic, neither the mother tongues of the inhabitants. The few history books I found on the area relied on sparse historical Arabic and European writings, some of which contained the sort of tall tales that are clearly based only on distant rumours of a place. The experience taught me how much collective memory is lost by relying only on written records for history. I am thankful for the tape recorder, which allows a record of those oral histories to be preserved, but it was invented too late to preserve many such histories. As for the questions about origins, I tend to think that all genuine myths - i.e. the ones passed down in an oral society, not the ones created as propaganda in writing societies - carry a heart of fact in them.
Very interesting! I read Kon-tiki in 6th grade and remember only the basic idea of the raft journey. But I am fascinated by the mystery of those islands and how they were discovered and settled. Making a note of this book.
The sheer audacity of the voyagers makes it worth study. Thompson follows so many interesting angles as people wrestled with the question of how they got there. It’s excellent.
According to a documentary recently shared over PBS, DNA studies on Rapa Nui showed a Polynesian population with some limited input for older indigenous peoples from modern Colombia.
Fascinating. I can definitely see how South Americans could have made it to Easter Island. I find the full-scale population of the Triangle from the southeast impossible to imagine, especially if we’re primarily talking about drift navigation.
What a fascinating people. The accumulated knowledge and bravery that allowed them to settle over such a vast area is impressive. Scholars are learning more all the time. Thanks for the review.
I would like to offer up a defense of Thor Heyerdahl and his book Kon-Tiki. I appreciate your not taking the all to common smug dismissal. Because, what Kon-Tiki represents primarily for generations of readership is adventure. That these young men in the months after fighting in WW2 were still so restless that they planned and embarked on a grand adventure is admirable and exciting. That is the story, not his theory of the origins of the Polynesians. What reader of this tale hasn't been inspired to contemplate or take on some greater personal challenge?
Thanks,
I think you’re right about the adventure angle with Kon-Tiki. It was a wild excursion, and the fact the pulled it off is amazing. How inspirational that was for the books’ millions of readers can’t be underestimated.
If ever in Honolulu, a visit to the Bishop Museum provides an up-close look at stone-age Polynesian culture, farming, fishing, village locations and layouts. As well as migrations. All in a beautiful building. I’ve added this book to my TBR list. Thanks for the review.
I’d love to see that. One more reason to visit Honolulu!
Loved Kon Tiki - looking forward to this one
I bet you’ll dig it.
I have always admired the Polynesians, but that mention of their skill in oral history is very impressive. I have lived in another culture that still relied primarily on oral history and they had family surnames than ran back over a thousand years, but the two options for further education were either in English or Arabic, neither the mother tongues of the inhabitants. The few history books I found on the area relied on sparse historical Arabic and European writings, some of which contained the sort of tall tales that are clearly based only on distant rumours of a place. The experience taught me how much collective memory is lost by relying only on written records for history. I am thankful for the tape recorder, which allows a record of those oral histories to be preserved, but it was invented too late to preserve many such histories. As for the questions about origins, I tend to think that all genuine myths - i.e. the ones passed down in an oral society, not the ones created as propaganda in writing societies - carry a heart of fact in them.
What a rare treat. Experiences like that give one a special frame through which to view the world.
Very interesting! I read Kon-tiki in 6th grade and remember only the basic idea of the raft journey. But I am fascinated by the mystery of those islands and how they were discovered and settled. Making a note of this book.
The sheer audacity of the voyagers makes it worth study. Thompson follows so many interesting angles as people wrestled with the question of how they got there. It’s excellent.
According to a documentary recently shared over PBS, DNA studies on Rapa Nui showed a Polynesian population with some limited input for older indigenous peoples from modern Colombia.
Fascinating. I can definitely see how South Americans could have made it to Easter Island. I find the full-scale population of the Triangle from the southeast impossible to imagine, especially if we’re primarily talking about drift navigation.