Were the Austronesians hapless travelers on fragile craft, drifted
at the mercy of the waves to the far-flung islands of the Pacific?
Or were they intrepid seafarers whose exploratory voyages covered
much of the great ocean on seaworthy canoes capable of being sailed
against the wind? This book addresses these questions in one of the
most thorough discussions of Austronesian sailing canoes ever
attempted.
The canoes themselves are described in detail, and similarities and
differences in hull configuration, sails, and sailing techniques
are noted. A review of earlier writings on the canoes repeats the
earlier understanding of their origins: that the earliest canoes
were the double-outrigger type and that single-outrigger canoes
came later, followed by the double canoes in which the great
voyages from Central Polynesia to such extremities as Hawaii and
New Zealand were made. Another chapter summarizes the great
advances of recent years in anthropological and archaeological
studies of the Pacific.
At the heart of the book is a thorough examination of canoe
seaworthiness. Doran's conclusions are that Austronesian canoes
were amply seaworthy and fully capable of intentional voyages of
discovery, and that previous views on the ages of canoe types are
just the opposite of the probable sequence. Double canoes seem to
be the oldest type; single-outrigger canoes probably were devised
somewhat later; and much later, possibly only about 2,500 years
ago, double outriggers were developed. Maps showing the
distribution of canoe types, sail types, sailing techniques, and
the like, illustrate these ideas.
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