Article URL: https://theconversation.com/the-real-mystery-behind-moana-after-1-700-years-why-did-polynesians-suddenly-sail-east-287226 Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/it…

The same question drives both the plot of Moana and decades of archaeological research: why, after centuries of relative stability, did Polynesian voyagers suddenly begin settling islands thousands of kilometres away across the Pacific? The latest Moana movie is a live-action adaptation of a Disney animated movie of the same name. While the films are fictional, they draw inspiration from the rich seafaring heritage of Polynesian peoples, whose ancestors undertook one of the greatest episodes of maritime exploration in human history. The backdrop to Moana is the mystery of the “long pause”. This was a period when Polynesian ancestors, the Lapita people, sailed east into the Pacific as far as the island archipelagos of Samoa and Tonga, arriving around 3,000 years ago. They brought with them distinct pottery styles and an island-based culture. Yet, for the next 1,700 years, there was little voyaging further east. Archaeological evidence suggests that populations in Tonga and Samoa grew and developed their own distinct post-Lapita culture. Then, between 900 and 1100 AD, ancestral Polynesians suddenly undertook a massive phase of eastward migration. Over the next century, voyagers in huge double-hulled sailing canoes reached Hawai’i, Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The spread of sweet potatoes around Pacific islands indicate they probably made contact with the continental Americas too. When European navigators finally arrived centuries later, they were astonished to find even the smallest atolls peopled by communities sharing deep cultural and linguistic commonalities. For generations, anthropologists and historians have debated what ended the long pause. Was it new sailing technology able to combat the easterly trade winds? Was it driven by social pressures and growing populations? Or was there a physical, environmental catalyst behind their choice? To answer this, we have to look at the physical factors that make survival on a Pacific island possible: fresh water and food. As populations grow, resource demands intensify.