Explain the development of human civilization in the Pacific Islands.

Question

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Answer 1

Humans reached the PacificIslands later than any other inhabitableplace on Earth; the easternmost island, Rapa Nui(Easter Island), was settled about 900 CE. Polynesiansailors may have managed to reach the western coast ofSouth America, not regularly, but enough to bring back toPolynesia the cultivation of sweet potatoes. (Chicken bonesfrom Polynesia found in Chile have now been dated between1304 and 1424 CE, proving that Polynesians reachedSouth America before the Europeans.) Sweet potatoesproved especially important to the people who sailed about1200 CE to New Zealand, the last large inhabitable regionto receive humans. These migrants found that, of the staplecrops of the tropical Pacific (taro, bananas, coconut, breadfruit,sweet potatoes), only sweet potatoes could survive inthe cooler climate of New Zealand, forcing them to remainprimarily foragers.

By the twelfth and thirteenth centuries CE, the PacificIslands were experiencing rapid population growth as theirpeople learned to exploit the ecosystems of their islands.Rapa Nui experienced dramatic problems from overpopulationthat its people could not solve. By 1500 CE theyhad divided into hostile, warring camps as their society descended into cannibalism.

Other Pacific islands fared better, organizing their societiesin the same patterns that have been seen to emerge elsewhere.Specialized workers developed, along with ruling elitesand commoners, plus a strong ruling chief. The chiefs ofTonga and Hawaii mobilized labor, organized militaryforces, worked closely with priests, and tried to add additionalislands by force, usually unsuccessfully.

Islands, by virtue of their small size, scarce resources,and isolation, simply did not have the range of resourcesthat people could build up to create full-scale agrariancivilizations. Even so, their inhabitants created productiveagricultural economies and well-organized societies withthe same basic features that were present in other statesaround the world. Whenever the environment and human ingenuity produce sufficient surplus food to support a growingpopulation, the amazing fact is that similar patterns oforganization have emerged everywhere on the planet.