Polynesia is part of what is more broadly classified as Oceania. Oceania includes all the islands in the central and south Pacific Ocean. Polynesia includes all the islands within what is generally called the Polynesian Triangle. The three corners of the triangle are Hawaii in the north, Easter Island (also called Papa Nui) in the east and New Zealand in the south. Samoa, Tuvalu and Tonga mark the triangle's western edge. Read more...
Polynesia means "many islands" in Greek. The cultures of the region share many traits with each other. Their differences are often subtle and not readily perceived by outsiders. Read more ...
There are many different natural environments in Polynesia - from tiny islands with tropical climates to the heavily forested South Island of New Zealand with its snow-capped peaks. There is no much vegetation on the hundreds of coral reefs that have formed islands (which are called 'atolls')...Hawaii, New Zealand and remote Easter Island are volcanic islands, not coral islands. Read more...
In the Pacific region, there is an important distinction between "high" islands and "low" islands. Tahiti, a typical high island, is relatively large with steep slopes, rich plant life, and many waterfalls and rushing streams. Coastal plains are absent or extremely limited on high islands. Atolls (ring-shaped islands made of coral) are the most common low islands in Polynesia. These are typically "desert islands" that are low-lying, narrow, and sandy with few, if any, surface streams. Low islands have less biodiversity (variety of plant and animal species) than do high islands. Read more ...
The term Lapita refers to an ancient Pacific culture that archaeologists believe to be the common ancestor of the contemporary cultures of Polynesia, Micronesia, and some areas of Melanesia. The culture takes its name from the site of Lapita in New Caledonia, one of the first places in which its distinctive pottery was discovered. While archaeologists debate the precise region where Lapita culture itself developed, the ancestors of the Lapita people came originally from Southeast Asia. Beginning around 1500 B.C., Lapita peoples began to spread eastward through the islands of Melanesia and into the remote archipelagos of the central and eastern Pacific, reaching Tonga and Samoa by roughly 1000 B.C. The Lapita were a seafaring people who settled primarily on the coast rather than inland and their skilled navigators traversed the ocean with ease. Read more...