ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the origins and population history of Polynesians. The large geographic range of Polynesians fascinated many European explorers who found natives living on islands throughout this area, ranging from New Zealand in the south to the Easter Islands to the east and as far north as the Hawaiian Islands. The voyagers took plants and animals with them as part of deliberate colonization efforts. It seems likely that these early ocean voyagers used double-outrigger canoes similar to those still used today by some Polynesian peoples. Genetic analyses have suggested that Taiwan is unlikely to have been the source of Asian genes in Polynesians and point instead to Southeast Asia. Genetic studies of Polynesian history show an interesting sex difference in population relationships. The potential complexity of Polynesian history is supported by genetic analyses of rats, of all things. Skeletal remains of the Pacific rat have been found throughout Polynesia.