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It was the last region of the world to become
settled by humans; populations speaking languages
from the Austronesian language family
moved into the region 60,000 years ago, traveling
eastward from the islands of Southeast Asia to
settle in present-day New Guinea. Some 30,000
years later a generation of seafarers pushed the
known limits of the world further, sailing across
the straits to settle Melanesian archipelagos off
the coast of New Guinea. Remarkably, the final
exploration north and eastward into Micronesia
and Polynesia began just over three millennia
ago. Technological refinements and navigational
expertise led to increasingly bold voyages that
took double-hulled outrigger canoes across vast
distances. The outer limits of these migrations
delineate the boundaries of present-day Polynesia,
with Hawaii and Easter Island to the north
and east respectively, and New Zealand—the
final destination where Maori established themselves
as recently as 1200 CE—to the south.
The astounding mobility of Oceanic peoples
was a catalyst for the flourishing of an almost
kaleidoscopic range of cultures and art tradi-
FIG. 2 (above): Feather cloak,
‘ahu ‘ula, belonging to Liholiho,
Kamehameha II. Hawaii. Early
19th century.
Feathers, fiber, painted barkcloth. W: 207 cm.
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology,
University of Cambridge. Photo: Royal
Academy of Arts & University of Cambridge.
FIG. 3 (below): John Pule (b.
1962), Kehe tau hauaga foou (to
all new arrivals), 2007.
Enamel, oil, pencil, pastel, oil stick, and ink on
canvas. 1000 x 270 cm.
Auckland Art Gallery, Toi o Tamaki, gift of the
Patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery, 2007, inv.
2007/6.1–5.