The Prehistoric Exploration and Colonisation of the Pacific (Paperback, Revised)

The exploration and colonisation of the Pacific is a remarkable episode of human prehistory. Early sea-going explorers had no prior knowledge of Pacific geography, no documents to record their route, no metal, no instruments for measuring time and none for exploration. Forty years of modern archaeology, experimental voyages in rafts, and computer simulations of voyages have produced an enormous range of literature on this controversial and mysterious subject. This book represents a major advance in knowledge of the settlement of the Pacific by suggesting that exploration was rapid and purposeful, undertaken systematically, and that navigation methods progressively improved. Using an innovative model to establish a detailed theory of navigation, Geoffrey Irwin claims that rather than sailing randomly downwind in search of the unknown, Pacific Islanders expanded settlement by the cautious strategy of exploring upwind, so as to ease their safe return. The author has tested this hypothesis against the chronological data from archaeological investigation, with a computer simulation of demographic and exploration patterns and by sailing throughout the region himself.

General

Imprint:	Cambridge UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	June 1994
First published:	1992
Authors:	Geoffrey Irwin
Dimensions:	246 x 189 x 14mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	260
Edition:	Revised
ISBN-13:	978-0-521-47651-5
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > History of other lands Books > Humanities > Archaeology > Archaeology by period / region > Prehistoric archaeology Books > History > History of other lands Promotions
LSN:	0-521-47651-8
Barcode:	9780521476515

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