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Anomalous Westerlies, El Niño, and the Colonization of Polynesia
Author(s) -
Finney Ben R.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1985.87.1.02a00030
Subject(s) - westerlies , polynesians , tacking , colonization , climatology , oceanography , pacific ocean , trade wind , indian ocean , geography , geology , demography , archaeology , population , sociology , political science , law
The west to east migration of the Polynesians and their Lapita predecessors was not accomplished by tacking against the prevailing southeast trade winds, but by using periodic westerly wind reversals to sail eastward. Data on equatorial westerlies and associated ocean current effects, including those gathered during recent El Niño events, are presented to indicate how these canoe voyagers were able to migrate so far into the Pacific.