382
21 A Consilience of Evidence
2,000–3,000 years ago is of a piece with evidence for the presence of a Lapita-age
rat haplotype in Palliser Bay which also appears to have undergone a unique mutation, apparently after its introduction to New Zealand. Additionally, the possibility
that four out of nine Maori haplotypes may have come into existence through independent mutation in New Zealand adds confirmation to our claim for a long human
history in New Zealand.
In writing a Polynesian prehistory with a Spice Island and an oceanographic
base, we have called on evidence from many domains to explore new possibilities.
The consilience of explicit and implicit evidence, obvious and subtle, that we have
sought to weave together in this book cannot all be expected to have the rigour of
scientific certainty, for history is as much an art as a science. Yet, as we have shown,
science can provide strong evidence bases for free and widely ranging analysis. An
oceanographic evidence base, for example, opens up possibilities never explored
before, though it possesses striking implications for understanding and dating events
in the earliest phase in the peopling of the Pacific. It possesses striking implications
too when it comes to defining trading and migration paths followed for 2,000 years
in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Traditional histories record events matching possibilities inherent in our central paradigm, which can sometimes be dated precisely
from climate proxy data. This supports our case for adopting a broader, more inclusive approach. We have indeed sought to create a tapestry woven of suggestion and
inference, to combine scientific evidence, the power of traditional narrative, mathematical certainties and imaginative speculation. One purpose of this book will be
achieved if the reader recognizes the compelling power of an oceanographic focus
for Polynesian prehistory linked to the West Pacific Warm Pool and its strong major
currents. Another if the reader acknowledges a powerful second focus in climate history. We hope we have encouraged open-mindedness, a willingness to look below
the surface for implicit evidence, to consider new contexts in which to understand
old evidence and to listen to what traditional histories can teach us.
21 A Consilience of Evidence
2,000–3,000 years ago is of a piece with evidence for the presence of a Lapita-age
rat haplotype in Palliser Bay which also appears to have undergone a unique mutation, apparently after its introduction to New Zealand. Additionally, the possibility
that four out of nine Maori haplotypes may have come into existence through independent mutation in New Zealand adds confirmation to our claim for a long human
history in New Zealand.
In writing a Polynesian prehistory with a Spice Island and an oceanographic
base, we have called on evidence from many domains to explore new possibilities.
The consilience of explicit and implicit evidence, obvious and subtle, that we have
sought to weave together in this book cannot all be expected to have the rigour of
scientific certainty, for history is as much an art as a science. Yet, as we have shown,
science can provide strong evidence bases for free and widely ranging analysis. An
oceanographic evidence base, for example, opens up possibilities never explored
before, though it possesses striking implications for understanding and dating events
in the earliest phase in the peopling of the Pacific. It possesses striking implications
too when it comes to defining trading and migration paths followed for 2,000 years
in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Traditional histories record events matching possibilities inherent in our central paradigm, which can sometimes be dated precisely
from climate proxy data. This supports our case for adopting a broader, more inclusive approach. We have indeed sought to create a tapestry woven of suggestion and
inference, to combine scientific evidence, the power of traditional narrative, mathematical certainties and imaginative speculation. One purpose of this book will be
achieved if the reader recognizes the compelling power of an oceanographic focus
for Polynesian prehistory linked to the West Pacific Warm Pool and its strong major
currents. Another if the reader acknowledges a powerful second focus in climate history. We hope we have encouraged open-mindedness, a willingness to look below
the surface for implicit evidence, to consider new contexts in which to understand
old evidence and to listen to what traditional histories can teach us.