NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Ancient mariners enjoyed Hawaiian holidays
From: Wolfgang K�berer
Date: 2007 Oct 30, 21:23 +0100
From: Wolfgang K�berer
Date: 2007 Oct 30, 21:23 +0100
I have not watched the recent series on the History Channel "LIGHT AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD" and I wholeheartedly agree with the ideas that Wade Davis apparently seeks to spread, namely a recognition that Western culture is not the highest form of humanity, but constantly endangers other ways of living in remoter parts of the world. Still I am surprised that the information about Polynesian (and Micronesian, I suppose) navigation is apparently presented as something new. In fact navigation of the island populations of the Pacific has been studied since the late 19th century. The field has been popularized particularly by David Lewis, the British doctor who circumnavigated Antarctica single-handed, in his books "We, the Navigators" (1972) and "The Voyaging Stars" (1978) - and articles in the JIN, too. The settlement of Polynesia has been the topic of quite a few contributions by Andrew Sharp starting with "Ancient Voyagers in the Pacific" (1957). And there is a study by Kjell Akerblom "Astronomy and navigation in Polynesia and Micronesia : a survey" (1968) that challenges some of the theories that Wade Davis seems to adhere to (if the summaries of the film can be trusted). Personally I believe that the idea that "the "map" of the Pacific was recorded in the mind in the form of all this information." and "They successfully reached their destination with little error" is about as plausible as Menzies' claim that the Chinese reached America in 1421. And you don't have to presume such almost supernatural powers to explain the achievements of Polynesian and Micronesian navigators. That they had ways to record and process information (wave patters, wind patterns, cloud formation etc.) useful for successfully shaping a course from one island to another that were not in the European program of navigation any more is a fact. But the idea that they used the stars in more ways than direction finding has never been presented convincingly and in agreement with astronomical principles. -----Urspr�ngliche Nachricht----- Von: NavList@fer3.com [mailto:NavList@fer3.com]Im Auftrag von Michael Daly Gesendet: Dienstag, 30. Oktober 2007 18:27 An: NavList@fer3.com Betreff: [NavList 3711] Re: Ancient mariners enjoyed Hawaiian holidays Peter Fogg wrote: > By Deborah Smith Science Editor > October 30, 2007 > The sailors would have navigated by the stars and had extensive knowledge of > the weather patterns. They would also have relied on clues such as the > driftwood, sea birds and the colour of clouds, he said. > > "Very sophisticated knowledge was passed down as part of the oral tradition > of a society." In one episode of a recent series on the History Channel*, "LIGHT AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD", the host, Wade Davis, travelled to Hawaii and looked at the traditions of the native people. In particular, he concentrated on the navigation skills being passed down from an elder to a younger man. They followed this by doing a long voyage (1000s of km) on a traditional style sailing boat. They had no navigation aids like sextants or GPS and relied entirely on the young navigator's learned skills. He watched the skies and weather patterns, the stars, the currents and the materials floating on the water (indicating land), birds etc. The "map" of the Pacific was recorded in the mind in the form of all this information. They successfully reached their destination with little error. Davis, who tends toward a sort-of spiritual view at times (in spite of being a trained anthropologist and ethnobotanist), found this suitably remarkable. While a single voyage is not scientific proof of the navigation concepts, it certainly demonstrated that the navigator was not lost. The Pacific is not a giant featureless expanse of water - the information on location is there if you've learned to see it. It adds to the evidence that these people certainly knew the ocean well and could travel with confidence over long distances. *(Canadian, not sure if it was shown in the US or other countries) Mike --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ To post to this group, send email to NavList@fer3.com To , send email to NavList-@fer3.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---