Polynesian Pathways

By Peter Marsh

Hokulea - discovers Tahiti ('the distant land') from Hawai'i ('the

homeland').
Painting by Herb Kane

Chapters
1 GENETICS REWRITES PACIFIC PREHISTORY
2 MAINSTREAM THEORIES
3 PATHWAYS INTO POLYNESIA
4 CANADAIAN CONNECTION
5 PERUVIAN CONNECTION
6 GENETIC EVIDENCE
7 LAPITA POTTERY
8 PLANTS AND ANIMALS
9 ANCIENT ASIA
10 ANCIENT AMERICA
11 CATASTROPHES
12 CONCLUSION
13 APPENDIX
14 LINKS
Introduction
Ever since I was a child living in the Pacific, the complexities of
Pacific history and its people, have always intrigued me.
Many commonly held beliefs regarding Polynesian origins did not
sit right and I have always wanted to get to the truth of the
matter. Some of the things which helped spark my curiosity which
has resulted in a lifelong quest for the truth are
shown below.
1. My father and I (in the blue) looking at the rain erosion on the
Haamonga a Maui, hinting at it's great age.
2. Exploring some of the large circular fortification trenches near Taranaki.

3. My father, sister and myself inspecting a massive stockade on Ouvea

where a great war between people once raged. Ouvea
is a low coral island unable to support a forest with trees of this size.
Tthese trees are believed to have been transported from
a distant island.
4. My sister and myself sitting outside traditional round houses in Ouvea. If
I had just come from Kuelap in Peru, I would have
been astounded at the similarity in house construction.

5. Replica houses of the blond haired Chachapoya Cloud people, Peru.

6. I was always intrigued that King Cakabou was the first Polynesian style
king to rule Fiji. Living in Fiji and visiting Tonga,
Samoa and Niue helped me understand the profound differences between
Fijian and Polynesian society at an early age.
The mysterious origins of the Polynesians, is a subject that has generated a great
deal of controversy over the years. The Polynesians live in some of the most
isolated communities in the world, yet the people of Polynesia possess a richness of
culture, that indicates a great deal of interaction has occurred with other cultures in
their formative years. They are a wise, proud, competitive and spiritually aware
culture, possessing a complex society with Kings and Queens. Hardly the sort of
culture one would expect to be generated amongst a small group of isolated
individuals living on coral atolls and small volcanic islands.
Despite this, many scientists still believe Polynesian society has emerged from a
small group of individuals out of the 'big man' Melanesian society, a society which
is structured in a completely different manner to Polynesian society. Melanesians
take the richest, most charismatic man as their leader, whereas Polynesians have a
complex class society that is based on a hereditary system that goes back 16,000
years to a lady called Lailai. Many scientists still believe Polynesians 'mysteriously'
lost their dark skin, frizzy hair, their Melanesian genes and their knowledge of
pottery when they arrived in Polynesia - an assumption that has no credible
scientific backing. Polynesians worshipped different gods to the Melanesians, they
used different sailing craft, different tools and artifacts, including harpoons, lures
and two piece fishhooks.
 1.Village in the rainforested hills of Fiji. Photo: L Marsh. 2. Atoll lagoon.
The classic images of tropical island living.
This lush tropical environment is something most Polynesians and Melanesians do have in
common.
Many scientists still firmly believe that the Polynesians made Lapita pottery,
despite the fact that this pottery is not found in Polynesia. It is only found on
Western Pacific Islands amongst Melanesian artifacts. On many Melanesian islands
archaeological deposits show there have been few changes in culture right up to the
pottery making society that still exists on these islands today. Some scientists also
believe that a rat (Rattus Exulans) which emanated from S.E. Asia, and entered the
central Pacific via the distinctly Melanesian islands of New Caledonia and Vanuatu
over 3,000 years ago was brought by the Polynesians with their arrival 2,200 years
ago, despite a glaring chronological mismatch. How could Polynesians have
sourjourned in these Western Pacific islands with their 'pet' rat for 800 years
without being influenced genetically and culturally by the indigenous population of
Melanesians?
For many years it seemed that the truth about Polynesian origins was going to slip
from our grasp forever, but recently, genetics has started to provide us with the
answers we have all been looking for. As a result, the understanding of world
prehistory and in particular, Pacific prehistory is undergoing some radical new
changes.
There is mounting genetic and cultural evidence to suggest that ocean currents have
played a much bigger part in assisting with man's colonisation of the World than
ever expected. Many modern scholars have, grossly underestimated the ability of
early man to successfully navigate the oceans. They have assumed the ocean to be a
barrier to cultural interaction, but now, genetics is highlighting similar gene pools
on opposite sides of the oceans, indicating that ocean currents have acted like rivers
distributing man around the planet. Proof that the oceans were seen as highways in
ancient times, are 20,000 year old paintings in Borneo and the Kimberley region of
Australia showing high prowed ocean going boats with over 30 people in them.
Genetics is showing that there has been far more cross-cultural interaction between
the “Old World” and the “New World” than ever imagined. For example: 10-13,000
year old Caucasian and African genes have been found in America. 6-8,000 year
old Taiwanese genes have been found in America. 3-4,000 year old Mayan genes
have even been found in Greece and Greek genes have been found in Peru (James
L. Guthrie, 1998). It has now been determined that 6-8,000 year old Southern and
East Asian genes, rather than Siberian genes form the basis of populations in
Canada, California, Central America, South America and Polynesia. In fact the
Bering land bridge hypothesis appears to have no scientific backing whatsoever.
Scientists are beginning to admit there was no ice free corridor during the height of
the last Ice Age. The only people to use this route were the Pan Polar cultures,
people that were already adapted to living in a cold climate, and chose to stay there.
Instead the entry of Asians into America appears to have been by sea, utilizing the
Kuroshio current and westerly winds of the North Pacific.
Linguists have now shown that the Austronesian language spoken in the Solomon
islands is the most ancient form of this language, estimated to be over 15,000 years
old. The Polynesian version of Austronesian is from Taiwan only 6,000 years ago,
showing a direction of dispersal opposite to what has previously been believed.
Furthermore, Austronesian words are common in both Central America (Maya,
Lenca) and amongst Quechua tribes along the West Coast of South America,
helping to confirm cultural influence from East Asia 6-8,000 years ago.
Contrary to popular belief, genetic evidence indicates that Polynesia was not
populated via Melanesia, but was populated by people who have ancient
connections to the Tibetans and Thais. Specific genetic markers and bottlenecks
indicate they left East Asia 6000 years ago, but did not spend any time in
Micronesia nor Melanesia, but instead spent ~4,000 years in Alaska and Canada
and arrived in Hawaii 2,200 years ago. Many genetic, cultural and artifact
similarities with the Haida and Kwakuitl of Canada confirm this connection. Other
groups from Central and South America appear to have influenced cultures of the
Pacific after this initial period of colonisation.
The possibility that America has played a big part in the populating of the Pacific
has been a taboo subject for many years, despite the fact that wind and ocean
currents prevail from that direction. Fortunately a new generation of free thinking
scientists are examining the genetic evidence and are reexamining all the American
connections that have for so long been swept under the carpet. As a result, ancient
legends that have been ignored and misunderstood, can now be given back their
'mana' and the 'American Isolationists' will soon be seen as branch members of the
'Flat Earth Society'.
This map depicts what recent genetic studies indicate. Global sea trade and sea migrations
precipitated by rising sea levels appear to be much more important in the distribution of man
than previously believed.
Polynesia is bounded by the yellow triangle. Polynesian gene movement is denoted by the
orange, showing an arrival in Hawaii 2,200 years ago (period of genetic isolation and rapid
population expansion). Micronesian (S.E. Asian sea trade) gene movement is denoted by the
pink, Melanesian gene movement by the brown, African gene movement by the dark brown
and Caucasian gene movement is denoted by the buff brown.
Caucasian gene input into the Gulf of Mexico(Haplotype X) was from Spain,18-12,000 years
ago and formed the beginnings of many Amerindian tribes (Clovis hunters). 6,000 years ago,
Celts(Ireland and Wales), Armoricans(France), Berbers(Morocco) and Basques(Spain)
returned from America as accomplished seafarers, ending their genetic isolation away from
Europe. African gene input into Melanesia was 100,000 years ago (period of Pygmy
globalisation) and again 10,000 years ago (bringing Malaria direct from Africa). East Asian
gene input into America started 8,000 years ago from the megalithic civilization of East Asia,
of which remnants are still visible underwater between Taiwan and Japan).
The hypothesis put forward in this website is not a new one, many scholars in the
19th Century, with their intuition and innocence, expressed similar beliefs to what
is in this article. Even Captain Cook believed there to be a connection between the
Maori and the Kwakuitl (of Vancouver Is). Little did they know that genetics over
one hundred years later would prove them to have been much closer to the truth
than most modern scientists. More recent scholars/writers such as Thor Heyerdahl,
Charles Hapgood, Graham Hancock, Andrew Collins and Barry Fell did not go far
enough in their assertions, as new found genetic evidence, also proves them right in
many aspects of their work.
When reading the following pages, one must remember that; as there have been
repeated genetic inputs into populations around the world far more regularly than
previously thought, the face of man has been continually changing through time. It
is all too easy and sometimes convenient for one to believe that everything stays the
same, but we know that not to be the case.
Genetics describes a very different story to what we have been taught in school
about the prehistory of man. We need to listen to this new story and stop trying to
make it fit into all the old hypotheses by ignoring these new crucial pieces of
genetic evidence that connects cultures on opposite sides of ocean. Many of these
cultural similarities were put down to 'parallel evolution', but with common
ancestry visible in the genes, this whole field needs to be reexamined.
It seems that many scientists and authors of articles that disagree with mainstream
ideas on prehistory have been repeatedly ridiculed and condemned for their work.
Archaeological sites and genetic studies that have had the potential to upend
mainstream views have been refused funding repeatedly. Conversely, graduates are
given copious amounts of funding for doing research on subjects that stroke the ego
of the professor in control of the program, creating an end result that is far from the
truth. The longer these professors sit in their ivory towers ignoring the truth the
more foolish they will become. Bizarre and obscure theories such as the 'fast train',
'slow train' and 'entangled bank' have confused the issue even more, driving people
away from subject in a cloud technical jargon and misinformation. Unfortunately,
as time moves on, legends, culture and language is lost and it becomes
progressively harder to find the truth and easier for so called authorities on the
subject to distort the facts, hide the truth and ignore areas of study which might
debunk their own fragile hypothesis.
Although this website's main objective is to explore the genetic and geographical
origins of the Polynesian people, in so doing, it has led me far back in history,
leading me to realise that it is not merely Pacific prehistory that has been
misinterpreted. Unexplained parallels between civilized societies around the world
have perplexed researchers ever since the study of world cultures began.
Supernatural or cosmic intervention has often been the only way such parallels
could be explained, but it seems the answer is much simpler - sea trade.
Cultural and technological traits common to cultures on opposite sides of the planet
are clearly shadows of past maritime civilizations that have been and gone in our
distant past. Rising sea levels at the end of the last Ice Age have all but obliterated
any solid evidence of these civilizations prior to 6,000 years ago, making it very
difficult to piece together the ancient history of man. Slowly, with modern science
at our fingertips, and an unbiassed mind, this picture of a much more complex past
is beginning to take shape. Genetics is showing quite clearly that the Pacific, Indian
and Atlantic Oceans were crossed many times in the past, especially from 12,000
years ago through to the Bronze Age. This trans oceanic contact has contributed
significantly to the gene pool found in America. New archaeological finds are
confirming trans oceanic contact did occur. With this new information, old legends
as well as cultural and technological similarities are finally making sense as these
periods of globalization through sea trade are identified.
Natural catastrophic events have also heavily influenced the history of man.
Geologists have found numerous examples of major catastrophic events, (meteor
strikes) that have ended the reign of specific plants and animals in the distant past.
Similarly, the history of man has also been punctuated by many lesser catastrophes
involving meteor strikes which have caused volcanic eruptions (Ice core samples
often show Iridium in volcanic ash layers), earthquakes, tsunamis, earth dimming
events, drought and ice ages. These events have been identified in Antarctic and
Greenland ice cores as well as in tree ring analysis and appear to coincide with
major upheavals in human prehistory seen as genetic bottlenecks and the 'End of
Ages' in native folklore. These events have ended periods of globalisation, leaving
isolated pockets of people to reinvent society as they see fit. It seems that history
does repeat itself, therefore, by looking into our past we have an insight into
predicting the future.
I trust with the broad coverage of this article, you will see the importance of
bringing together such a diverse range of very specialized disciplines which has
enabled us to see the big picture of human prehistory. The Polynesians are a
product of this ancient and complicated past. May you find the following pages
both stimulating and educational.
This website was created a few months after the death of Thor
Heyerdahl (April 2002) when I realized that despite the truths he
spoke, most people had failed to understand the implications of
the discoveries he had made during numerous quests of research
and discovery. Hopefully in future years with the assistance of this
website, people will eventually come to understand Thor
Heyerdahl and Pacific prehistory a little better.

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Created: October 2002,

Catastrophes and Ancient America pages revised May 2004,
Genetics pages revised May 2005
Lapita page revised April 2008

peterpanther08@hotmail.com
peterpanther08@yahoo.com.au