re: How did Polynesian wayfinders navigate the Pacific Ocean?

When Moana tells Maui that her people are going to need a master wayfinder, and Maui responds "they already have one."

Birds and stars

quote:

---

Imagine setting sail from Hawaii in a canoe.

---

Vs

quote:

---

Meanwhile Columbus lands at America...."India!!!"

---

I think you can do this. One group lives on a tiny island. The other on a big continent.

Shouldn’t we expect the islanders to develop better navigation skills across the ocean than the culture living on a gigantic land mass?

Here’s my take…lots set out, and the ones that lived to tell the tale were the ones that found islands.

The rest died and are forgotten.

quote:

---

Yeah, you have to assume there was quite a bit of fish food in the trial & error process.

---

Reminds me a little of this

I think I read that they read the waves. Waves of water work just like sonar. When a wave of water hits something solid it sends back a reflection wave they learned how to look for those and when they found them they knew land was in that direction.

quote:

---

The pillars of Thor Heyerdahl's career were trying to show that trade routes could've existed from Egypt to South America to Polynesia. That's what KonTiki is about.

---

And before the Great Flood the ocean was ~350ft lower.

The moon and the stars like any proper sailor.

I do believe Maui taught them how