donald r raab Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Duncan,
>
> I've mentioned this numerous times. The dispora
> of the Polynesians was a colonial dispora. It was
> planned and executed.

Yep. The 'diaspora' according to Kirch, was a way of secession, promulgated by an Ali'i class of royalty, which involved sending the second born son out to establish his own kingdom. In 'The Evolution of Polynesian Chiefdoms' Kirch affirms that island economies generally produced a surplus for the support and disposal of the kingly caste and so this expansion was the result of an 'ingrained ethic of exploration'. Throughout Oceana, knotted cord devices were used to trace geneologies and proximities to the ruling house for taxation purposes. In the Marquesas, Cook Islands, New Guinea and Hawaii these corded devices also served to trace the migrational paths of the tribe as well as mnemonic aids to the chants and the mele hulas. The earliest description of the Hawaiian device is found in the journal of two missionaries from London, Tyerman and Bennet, who in 1821 describe the Kipu'u in a chapter called 'The Tax Gatherers Memorandum Cord'. Kipu'u is a variant in Hawaiian meaning simply 'knot'. De la Vega would also remind us that the Quechua word 'Khipu', although it refers to the corded tax gatherers instrument, means simply 'knot'. What is also interesting is that the Andean civilizations response to most any engineering problem was textiles whether its bridges, carrying devices, language, or weapons.This isn't the case among the Middle Sepik of New Guinea, or the Marquesan islanders, or the fishermen of Ryukyu. Yet all used a form of the khipu and for very similar purposes. And so if we follow the khipu from the Andes, it leads us across the Pacific to archaic China where it is found in the eightieth chapter of the Tao Te Ching where Lao Tzu is giving advice to the ruler to let the people eschew written language and return to the use of the knotted cord.

They sailed over open water
> with a purpose. it is always possible that they
> stopped at the hawaiian islands or easter island.


They came and went to Hawaii and Easter Island. Read Ben Finneys 'Voyages of Discovery' wher he talks about the Polynesian navigators keeping the alpha star arcturus directly over the mast. We know the constellation as scorpio, but the called it Kawil, the fishhook.
I suppose it could be coincidental that the Mayans streamed down the sacbees to Tuluum once every 819 days to bring what they called 'kawil'or tribute for the gods' to the oceans edge.


> it sounds more like the orthodox approach has them
> stopping because we could not have contact other
> than the man from the west. As Kat has mentioned
> maany times even if they did the cultural effect
> was minimal. Unless. The cultural contacts were
> subtle but basic. Some of the items you mention
> suggest that the polynesian and locals are really
> one.
>
> In one of the other posts about the roman heads I
> went back to the sites mentioning it. That led me
> to Roman coins and lo and behold. A large group
> are not displayed publically because of state
> university policy that says outside contacts
> anamolies are not permitted to be viewed.
>
> hat says it all.