reply to each of the discussion post. each post response should be a minimum of 150-250 words each.

Please respond to each discussion post. Each response should be 150-250-word count.

2 days ago

Benjamin Omey 

RE: Week Four Discussion Topic 3 - Polynesian Navigation and Migration

COLLAPSE

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            Stick charts show us that Pacific Islanders had a great understanding of the oceans. Although they appear to be simple creations, stick charts are actually complicated inventions which record even more complicated ideas such as wave patterns. Although the Pacific Island cultures had not yet invented more modern tools, such as compasses, the stick charts show that they were proficient without them. Without the aid of other navigational inventions, the Pacific Island cultures had to rely on their own knowledge of the ocean, stars, and marine navigation.

            How proficient Pacific Islanders were and the knowledge they obtained without the use of certain aids, shows me they were devoted explorers. Although there is some debate as to why voyages between islands occurred, I believe a large part of it was pride in being proficient navigators. Exploration brought resources and wealth but I believe exploring the unknown was also a major factor. Ocean navigation was a trade which required a great deal of studying and preparation as an apprentice. To become a proficient navigator was probably a great honor. The pride the descendants of these navigators show in the craft of their ancestors is an example of this honor and was probably more intense when it was first occurring.

Stick charts are similar to maps because they indicate how to get from a starting point to a destination. However, since the stick charts were based off of wave directions, they could only indicate one way for a journey. In other words they were uni-directional (Spennemann). In order for stick charts to be used as a map for an entire round trip journey, multiple would be required to show the different wave patterns in different directions.

Spennemann, D. (2005, October 09). Dirk H.R. Spennemann, Essays on the Marshallese Past. Retrieved from http://marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/html/essays/es-tmc-2.html

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18 hours ago

Suzoni Camp 

RE: Week Four Discussion Topic 3 - Polynesian Navigation and Migration 

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HIS 233 Discussion Board Week Four

The Meddo, Rebbelib as we are calling them stick charts are made of sticks and shells and were made as mental maps or memory aid and it included things such as the currents and swells that linked the islands, one thing it tells me is that the Indigenous People in the Pacific Island knew how to use all of the things in nature and that probably means they did not waste much.  It also tells of a deep respect for the water as the connection to the land and shows the relationship between the water and the islands as well, I also think it demonstrates that the Pacific Islanders included the water and the islands and themselves as one, that they were in tuned with nature understood all things are connected. The maps and how they were made as well as the history of the Pacific Islanders Wayfinders being the greatest mariners the world has ever seen gives witness to the fact that the Islanders knew their environment and how to respect it while knowing it deeply.  One of the ways that these navigation or stick charts are like maps is how it shows where the islands are in relation to each other. They unlike maps because they tell of the actual currents how the water itself flows and reacts. The maps were also not typical or easily used or read by others because they would be from one vantage point they would be from the view of a certain island.

 

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