US EditionHōkūleʻa, Hikianalia Make Landfall in French Polynesia
- A group of five paddlers journeyed approximately 140 miles over more than 45 hours, navigating a 25-foot dugout canoe from Taiwan’s eastern coast to Yonaguni Island, part of Japan’s Ryukyu archipelago in the south.
- The project began in 2013 to explore how Paleolithic people reached remote islands like Okinawa and whether they used strategic tools and navigation methods.
- The team found rafts were too slow and fragile to cross the strong Kuroshio Current, but dugout canoes were durable and fast enough for the journey despite the lack of maps or metal tools.
- Lead anthropologist Kaifu explained that Paleolithic humans were capable of navigating across ocean waters despite powerful currents, provided they utilized dugout canoes and possessed the necessary expertise in paddling and navigation.
- These findings indicate that early humans possessed advanced seafaring abilities and confronted considerable dangers, demonstrating their determination to overcome complex obstacles in their journeys around 30,000 years ago.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Hōkūleʻa, Hikianalia make landfall in French Polynesia
HONOLULU (KHON2) -- Polynesian Voyaging Society's traditional voyaging canoe duo Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia, accompanied by Tahiti's canoe Faʻafaite, made landfall at Taputapuātea in French Polynesia on the morning of June 24. Taputapuātea is located on the island of Raʻiātea and is seen as the ancestral homeland and spiritual center of Polynesia voyaging. Hōkūleʻa, Hikianalia continue trek to Tahiti Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia departed from Hilo…
Scientists attempted an experimental voyage, crossing the East China Sea, rowing from Ushibi, in eastern Taiwan, to Yonaguni Island, Japan, in a makeshift canoe, to show that this was possible about 30,000 years ago.
The Straits Times
Times LiveWith a primitive canoe, scientists replicate prehistoric seafaring
Our species arose in Africa roughly 300,000 years ago and later trekked worldwide, eventually reaching some of Earth's most remote places. In doing so, our ancestors surmounted geographic barriers including treacherous ocean expanses. But how did they do that with only rudimentary technology available to them? Read more at straitstimes.com.
Archaeology: People must have made voyages on the sea in prehistoric times. But how? Japanese and Taiwanese archaeologists tried it. They succeeded,…
Ancient canoe replica tests Paleolithic migration theory
When and where the earliest modern human populations migrated and settled in East Asia is relatively well known. However, how these populations moved between islands on treacherous stretches of sea is still shrouded in mystery.
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