Peopling of Polynesia

From Taiwan to Easter Island

Retail Price: $34.95

The migration of humans across the globe has long been studied by various scientists, and the settlement of islands across the South Pacific was our species’ last great diaspora. Who were these people? Where did they come from? How did they get here? When did they get here? What drove these people, through different islands over many millennia, to embark across thousands of miles of open ocean toward unknown, uninhabited lands? Was it because of limited resources, conflicts with other cultures, accidental drifting, or simply curiosity? Berra explores these questions using evidence from linguistics, archaeology, and biology.

In The Peopling of Polynesia: From Taiwan to Easter Island, Dr. Tim Berra presents the compelling story of how Polynesians reached the most isolated islands on earth, scattered throughout the vast Pacific Ocean, where they first lived, and how they arrived. In addition, he presents a focused look at these islands, their geography, flora and fauna, and how language and culture were shaped over time.

This is the perfect book for anyone interested in the people of Polynesia and the last major period of human expansion, from Taiwan to Hawaii, Easter Island and New Zealand.

About The Author

Dr. Tim M. Berra received a PhD in biology from Tulane University in 1969 and is Academy Professor and Professor Emeritus of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology at The Ohio State University, his academic home since 1972. He is a three-time recipient of Fulbright Fellowships to Australia (in 1969, 1979, and 2009) and is the author of 10 books and 100 scientific papers. He holds concurrent positions as a University Professorial Fellow at Charles Darwin University in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, and a research associate at the Learn More about Dr. Tim M. Berra

“The Peopling of Polynesia brings us along an epic journey of how people came to live in the Polynesian islands, in a tale spanning thousands of years and touring across one-third of the world. Tim Berra debunks the fringe pseudoscience, while clarifying the findings in archaeology, language histories, ancient DNA, and more, toward a compelling narrative that everyone can enjoy reading. The Peopling of Polynesia belongs in the hands of anyone wanting to learn about the Polynesian past, about one of humanity’s greatest ocean-crossing migrations, or about scientific history in general.”

-—Michael T. Carson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Archaeology, University of Guam, Micronesian Area Research Center Author of Archaeology of Pacific Oceania: Inhabiting a Sea of Islands, 2nd Ed.

“Training his scientific mind and insatiable curiosity on a diverse array of published sources, biologist Tim Berra scours the scholarly and popular literature to synthesize an engaging answer to the intriguing question of how, with courage and creativity, the Polynesians populated the Pacific Islands. In the process, readers learn much about the region and its people, culture, history, geology, and geography. The Peopling of Polynesia is a readable, relatable, and reliable introduction to the South Pacific for tourists and general readers alike.”

-—Edward J. Larson, Ph.D., Pulitzer Prize winning author of Evolution’s Workshop: God and Science on the Galapagos Islands

“The human settlement of the Pacific, and ultimately, Polynesia, is truly one of the greatest feats in human history. In this well researched volume, Tim Berra will appeal to the general reader, interested in learning more about how the peoples, histories and cultures of the Pacific region are related. Those who want a bit more of the scientific background, debates, and detail describing the expansion of modern humans out of Africa, through mainland and island Southeast Asia and, eventually, across the Pacific to the extremes of the Polynesian Triangle will also be rewarded.”

-—Elizabeth (Lisa) Matisoo-Smith, Ph.D., Professor of Biological Anthropology and Dean, University of Otago, New Zealand