Polynesia explorers created worldwide web of scientific knowledge
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Scientific travelers of the 18th and 19th centuries led waves of daring expeditions into Polynesia, netting oceans of discoveries about its geography, flora and fauna and people.... But they were more than simply courageous collectors of artifacts and statistics, says the author of a new book. ...These seafaring naturalists were the producers and mediators of a new "global net...Genetic link confirmed between Polynesians and indigenous Taiwanese
According to folklore, Polynesians originated from a mythical homeland called Hawaiki. Their origins and the existence of such a place, however, have been the subject of much speculation. In a new study in the premier open access journal PLoS Biology, Jean Trejaut and colleagues now provide the first direct evidence for the common ancestry of Polynesians and indigenous Taiwanese.... ...Genetic t...