Word: polynesian
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...raft Kon-Tiki, which drifted across the Pacific from Peru to the Raroia Reef near Tahiti, may have been traveling a two-way highway. This is the theory of Dr. Thomas Davis of New Zealand, who believes that Polynesians made the roundtrip passage in great sailing canoes. If they stayed far enough south, they were helped by the prevailing winds and currents that cross that part of the Pacific from west to east. On the return trip, they were able to use the same winds and currents that favored the Kon-Tiki on its crossing near the equator. In fact...
Last week, after an 85-day voyage, Dr. Davis' 45-ft. ketch Miru (which he named after the legendary mother of the Polynesian race) was lying in harbor at Callao, Peru. To illustrate his theory, he had sailed her 7,700 miles from New Zealand across the storm-lashed South Pacific. TIME, SEPTEMBER...
Field Work. Born in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, Dr. Davis, 34, got his M.D. in New Zealand, where he specialized in tropical medicine. His hobby is Polynesian anthropology, so when he headed for Harvard for a post-graduate course in public health, he decided to combine the trip with some anthropological field work...
Comb Land. The rest of the voyage to Callao was easy. As Dr. Davis neared the Peruvian coast, he recalled an old tale of the islands. A Polynesian expedition under Chief Maui Marumamao, says the legend, sailed east from Easter Island and came to "a land with ridges like a comb." The Peruvian coast is like that, with steep, barren ridges running down to the sea. There the Polynesians built a temple, but they did not stay long because they did not find what they needed: fertile land near the sea. This description also matches Peru, for most...
During their stay, according to Davis' theory, the ancient Polynesian voyagers learned many things from the highly civilized Peruvians: sun worship, a complex system of government by subchiefs, and such artistic techniques as making feather mantles. They learned how to grow sweet potatoes and taro. Then, with their new knowledge, they went back to their distant islands by the Kon-Tiki route. In the Lima archeological museum, Dr. Davis found many articles that reminded him of his ancestors...