1985/03/01 by Ben Finney · 3 citations
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies #Maritime and Coastal Archaeology #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
paper · pdf · doi:10.1525/aa.1985.87.1.02a00030
openalex publication_date 1985/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
The west to east migration of the Polynesians and their Lapita predecessors was not accomplished by tacking against the prevailing southeast trade winds, but by using periodic westerly wind reversals to sail eastward. Data on equatorial westerlies and associated ocean current effects, including those gathered during recent El Niño events, are presented to indicate how these canoe voyagers were able to migrate so far into the Pacific.