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9 Exploration Strategies, Settlement Sequence and the Evolution of Canoe Design
and supply stations en route. The distance from Halmahera to southern Japan is only
about 3,600 km and from Halmahera to New Caledonia about 5,200 km. Southern
Japan lies close to (above) the northern boundary of the WPWP in summer and
New Caledonia lies close to (below) the southern boundary in winter. They shared
the advantage that the greater portion of a voyage to either would in the appropriate
season be largely through the warm waters of the WPWP. Although New Caledonia
was probably uninhabited, an advantage Japan lacked, the impetus of spice trading
with Japan as well as its closeness to Halmahera made it likely that an earlier colony
would have been established in Japan.
Similarly the distance to New Zealand from Halmahera (about 7,600 km) is considerably less than the distance from Halmahera to Madagascar (about 9,600 km).
Reaching both involved following fast warm currents flowing out from the WPWP
through colder oceans. As large uninhabited islands, both were prime colonizing
targets. But although the distance to Madagascar was greater than that to New
Zealand, again one could predict that the impetus of spice trading for colonizing
Madagascar, as a needed rest stop on the spice-trading route to Rhapta, would probably have led to an earlier colonization there. It is interesting that the demographic
evidence we offer in Part II and the genealogical and genetic evidence in Part III
all suggest that the first settlement of New Zealand may have taken place only a
hundred years later than that of Madagascar. With Madagascar and New Zealand
as the largest uninhabited islands in two oceans, early settlement of both was
predictable.
With southern Japan so close to the Spice Islands (less than a third of the distance to Rhapta) and with most of this distance lying within the warm waters of the
WPWP, it is hardly surprising that, as the mitochondrial evidence suggests, the earliest significant Pacific colony was probably established in southern Japan close to
6,000 years ago, two and a half thousand years before the settlements of Madagascar
and New Zealand.
The distance from Halmahera to Madagascar at about 9,500 km is close to that
from Halmahera to Hawaii (about 9,600 km) and the distance from Halmahera to
Rhapta at about 11,200 km is close to the distance from Halmahera to the southern coast of California at about 11,600 km. As we have seen, there is historical
evidence that Spice Island mariners traded spices from the Spice Islands to Rhapta
probably over a time span of 2,000 years, though of course they could not have done
so during the global cold period between 1000 BC and 400 BC. Given the historical
certainty that Spice Island mariners repeatedly sailed the Cinnamon Route, it would
not be surprising to find that, as the combined botanical and archaeological evidence discussed in Chapter 8 suggests, Spice Island mariners may have repeatedly
traversed similar distances following another fast current flowing out of the WPWP.
It is clear that Spice Island mariners were as capable of reaching Hawaii and southern California as of reaching Madagascar and Rhapta. That they may have done
so over such a long period (2,600 years) is perhaps more surprising. We can only
conjecture that such voyaging ventures to America – if Spice Island traders were
indeed responsible for the introduction of American plants to India – were economically motivated and assume that the horticultural trading of indigenous American
9 Exploration Strategies, Settlement Sequence and the Evolution of Canoe Design
and supply stations en route. The distance from Halmahera to southern Japan is only
about 3,600 km and from Halmahera to New Caledonia about 5,200 km. Southern
Japan lies close to (above) the northern boundary of the WPWP in summer and
New Caledonia lies close to (below) the southern boundary in winter. They shared
the advantage that the greater portion of a voyage to either would in the appropriate
season be largely through the warm waters of the WPWP. Although New Caledonia
was probably uninhabited, an advantage Japan lacked, the impetus of spice trading
with Japan as well as its closeness to Halmahera made it likely that an earlier colony
would have been established in Japan.
Similarly the distance to New Zealand from Halmahera (about 7,600 km) is considerably less than the distance from Halmahera to Madagascar (about 9,600 km).
Reaching both involved following fast warm currents flowing out from the WPWP
through colder oceans. As large uninhabited islands, both were prime colonizing
targets. But although the distance to Madagascar was greater than that to New
Zealand, again one could predict that the impetus of spice trading for colonizing
Madagascar, as a needed rest stop on the spice-trading route to Rhapta, would probably have led to an earlier colonization there. It is interesting that the demographic
evidence we offer in Part II and the genealogical and genetic evidence in Part III
all suggest that the first settlement of New Zealand may have taken place only a
hundred years later than that of Madagascar. With Madagascar and New Zealand
as the largest uninhabited islands in two oceans, early settlement of both was
predictable.
With southern Japan so close to the Spice Islands (less than a third of the distance to Rhapta) and with most of this distance lying within the warm waters of the
WPWP, it is hardly surprising that, as the mitochondrial evidence suggests, the earliest significant Pacific colony was probably established in southern Japan close to
6,000 years ago, two and a half thousand years before the settlements of Madagascar
and New Zealand.
The distance from Halmahera to Madagascar at about 9,500 km is close to that
from Halmahera to Hawaii (about 9,600 km) and the distance from Halmahera to
Rhapta at about 11,200 km is close to the distance from Halmahera to the southern coast of California at about 11,600 km. As we have seen, there is historical
evidence that Spice Island mariners traded spices from the Spice Islands to Rhapta
probably over a time span of 2,000 years, though of course they could not have done
so during the global cold period between 1000 BC and 400 BC. Given the historical
certainty that Spice Island mariners repeatedly sailed the Cinnamon Route, it would
not be surprising to find that, as the combined botanical and archaeological evidence discussed in Chapter 8 suggests, Spice Island mariners may have repeatedly
traversed similar distances following another fast current flowing out of the WPWP.
It is clear that Spice Island mariners were as capable of reaching Hawaii and southern California as of reaching Madagascar and Rhapta. That they may have done
so over such a long period (2,600 years) is perhaps more surprising. We can only
conjecture that such voyaging ventures to America – if Spice Island traders were
indeed responsible for the introduction of American plants to India – were economically motivated and assume that the horticultural trading of indigenous American