Pacific Islanders Likely Found Antarctica First: Study
New Zealand researchers scoured so-called "grey literature"-including oral records, historic indigenous artworks and non-academic sources-looking for links between Maori people and Antarctica.
"When you put it together, it's really clear, there's a very long history of connection to Antarctica," said project leader Priscilla Wehi from New Zealand's government research institute Manaaki Whenua.
[...] The research, published last week in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, found they reached Antarctica long before the first Westerners in the 1820s.
The researchers believe the first voyage to Antarctica waters even pre-dates Maori arrival in New Zealand in the 14th century.
"We find Polynesian narratives of voyaging between the islands include voyaging into Antarctic waters by Hui Te Rangiora and his crew on the vessel Te Ivi O Atea, likely in the early seventh century," Wehi said.
[...] Oral histories of the voyage include reference to "a foggy, misty and dark place not seen by the sun" and iceberg-like summits "piercing the sky with no vegetation".
The study said that Maori carving and weaving also supported accounts of early Antarctic exploration.
Wehi said collating traditional Maori accounts helped give a broader view of Antarctic history, beyond the accounts of European male explorers that usually predominate.
At last, a study that makes sense!
Journal Reference:
Priscilla M. Wehi, Nigel J. Scott, Jacinta Beckwith, et al. A short scan of Mori journeys to Antarctica, Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand (DOI: 10.1080/03036758.2021.1917633)
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