Spanning the Pacific Ocean are the islands and peoples of Polynesia, Melanesia,
Micronesia, and Australia. Throughout their long histories, islanders traveled
the seemingly boundless ocean, overcoming physical and cultural isolation. Long
before the compass was in use, Marshall Islanders used the stars, bird flight
routes, and stick charts to navigate hundreds of miles. The people of Yap in
Micronesia rafted giant stone disks across miles of ocean. The people of Easter
Island erected massive stone statues to honor their ancestors who had migrated
on sailing canoes from their Polynesian homeland.
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| Marshall Islands Stick Chart |
Yap valuable (rai) |
Easter Island Statue |
