VOYAGERS: The Settlement of the Pacific

Save £6.99. Compare at £12.99, our price £6.00.

Author: NICHOLAS THOMAS

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9781803284637

Thousands of islands, inhabited by a multitude of different peoples, are scattered across the vastness of the Pacific. Here is the extraordinary 60,000 year history of how the Pacific islands were settled. Chapters cover theories and myths, first crossings from Sunda to Sahul, Lapita and beyond, knowing the ocean and an epilogue on Tupaia Street. The first European explorers to visit Oceania, from the 16th century on, were astounded and perplexed to find populations thriving so many miles from the nearest continents. Who were these people and where did they come from? Distinguished anthropologist Nicholas Thomas charts the course of the seaborne migrations that populated the islands between Asia and the Americas. Drawing on the latest research, including insights gained from linguistics, archaeology, and the re-enactment of voyages, he provides a dazzling account of these long-distance migrations, the sea-going technologies that enabled them, and the societies that they left in their wake. 'Highlights a dizzying burst of new research that draws on advanced genetics, linguistics and, not least, a revival of voyaging itself by indigenous navigators.' - The Economist. Landmark Library Chapters in the History of Civilization heavy quality paperback, 228pp, very well illus and with colour plates and many maps.