And yes, I mean Polynesian and not Austronesian as a whole. It really irritates me when people say
"Polynesians" reached Madagascar. Anyways, just a reminder of how vast the Polynesians settled from their homeland of Hawaiki in the first millennium AD:
So how plausible are the following?
"Polynesians" reached Madagascar. Anyways, just a reminder of how vast the Polynesians settled from their homeland of Hawaiki in the first millennium AD:
- To the east, the Polynesians almost certainly reached South America. The most direct evidence of this is the sweet potato, an American crop which has been found throughout Polynesia since long before European arrival. Also, Polynesians call the sweet potato kumara or some variant thereof and the Quechua word for sweet potato is kumar. There are also some controversial chicken bones in Chile which may or may not be from Polynesians.
- To the south, Polynesians arrived in Aotearoa/New Zealand and were soon making small settlements as far south as Rakiura/Stewart Island to catch muttonbirds. Rakiura, it is worth noting, was the southernmost populated place outside South America.
- To the north, the Polynesians settled Hawai'i (which they named after their ancient homeland) and created a state society there out of literally nothing, complete with monumental architecture, divine kings, and armies with a dozen thousand men.
So how plausible are the following?
- South America: A lasting society in coastal South America with identifiable Polynesian attributes, such as an Austronesian language, a belief in mana, ranked hierarchies, etc.
- Galapagos and other uninhabited islands off South America: Well, why not? But any Polynesian societies here would be pretty underdeveloped due to lack of easy sources of water.
- Australia: The Maori settle southeastern Australia/Tasmania, or alternatively some voyagers from Hawaiki settle in Queensland early on.
- North America: The Hawaiians get bored and try their luck (before the 1400s when the Hawaiians forgot how to make long-distance voyages to Tahiti). Eventually they end up on the pacific coast of North America.
- The Atlantic: The Polynesians reach the southern tip of South America and sail northeast. Alternately, the Polynesians colonize Central America and enter the Caribbean.
- The Poles: The Polynesians go nuts and decide to go to either the Arctic or Antarctica. The former is probably more likely even if both are extremely long shots; the Polynesians discovered Hawai'i because they saw the golden plover migrate from the north to Tahiti and back again, and knew that there had to be some sort of land up north. Well, the golden plover actually lives in the Arctic during the summer, so the Hawaiians decide to follow the plover once more and ends up bumping into an Inuit kayak.
- Back to Asia: The Polynesians, for some reason I can't think of right now (there were Japanese castaways in precolonial Hawaii, maybe one convinces the islanders that a voyage to the west is worthwhile?), decide to sail west and eventually make a settlement in some underdeveloped part of coastal Asia. Bonus points if the Polynesians ultimately return to Taiwan.
- Other: Any other ideas?