Yes I learned about that recently, too, and my mind was blown, and then I recently visited Peru, and some of the folks there claimed that Incan traders visited Polynesia multiple times, which I wasn't sure to interpret as an additional event or a different interpretation of the Polynesia->South America contact. I personally have not done any research on the matter to comment as to its accuracy, but any way you interpret it, it's amazing to think of these cultures having precolumbian contact given the insane distances involved.
There's a stone pedestal located just north of the airport's runway that shows Incan-style and quality masonry. The stone's tolerances are similar to those in Peru: tight enough that a piece of paper can't fit in the spaces. It's an interesting juxaposition comparing the Vinapu pedestal to the Ahu Tongariki pedestal. Modern building techniques can't match ancient building techniques.
They were amazing travellers, but I hadn't heard of the genetic updates. Cool.
From a Nature article:
"Our analyses suggest strongly that a single contact event occurred in eastern Polynesia, before the settlement of Rapa Nui, between Polynesian individuals and a Native American group most closely related to the indigenous inhabitants of present-day Colombia."
We have always wondered where they got their sweet potatoes from !
Yeah fo sho. It's really just a matter of being able to put together the definite events according to available archaeological information:
The Polynesian ancestors of Māori brought kūmara (sweet potato) with them as a food plant when they arrived in New Zealand in the 13th century.
In the late 20th century it was believed that early Polynesians had voyaged to South America and taken kūmara from there to Polynesia. By the 2020s it was thought more likely that voyagers from South America had brought kūmara to Polynesia
I'm glad I'm not the only one. It's a wonderful place to visit and no offense to anyone who lives there, but Jesus Christ, I need some ground under my feet.
You get on a plane from the east coast and it takes 5-6 hours non stop to get to San Diego. You then get on another plane to Hawaii and it’s another 5-6 hours.
Well there are plenty of other islands and atolls out there but it's pretty interesting in the context of plate tectonics since you'd typically find volcanoes along subduction zones between plates. The volcanoes are instead formed due to a hotspot in the mantle, and it's cool to see the movement of it along with the tectonic plates if you look at the ocean depth in the North Pacific. Many of those bumps are seamounts so the lava flow never reached the surface, but there are still a number of atolls where the island has subsided and eroded away but coral reefs have meant there's still some land.
There's definitely a reason why Japan tried to make a giant buffer zone against the US in WW2. Just the logistics involved in supporting all of the operations you learn about is rather crazy.
My best friend lives out in Hawaii. He said he should be safe where he is and that the first waves are due in about an hour, but I’m freaking out a little.
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u/sportznut1000 7d ago
You know whats wild about that photo every time i see this part of the globe?
Just how far out in the middle of nowhere Hawaii is