Voices on the Wind, Traces in the Earth: Polynesian History

Voices on the Wind,Traces in the Earth: Integrating Oral Narrative and Archaeology in Polynesian History

For generations Polynesians recorded their history through chant and song, intrinsically related to the genealogies of great chiefs and clans. In the nineteenth century these oral narratives were collected and written down by indigenous and foreign scholars, and in the first half of the twentieth century anthropologists like the famed Māori scholar Te Rangi Hiroa also drew upon these narratives to construct their histories of the Polynesians. However, with the arrival of researchers who came with a western more empirical based approach to archaeology following WWII, the tradition of oral narratives being a source of historical evidence dwindled. 

In this free public talk Chancellor's Professor Emeritus Patrick Vinton Kirch from the University of California, Berkeley, discusses his long-spanning career engaging with Polynesian oral histories and how he has integrated indigenous traditions with material evidence in archaeology. 

Professor Kirch's research interests include the evolution of complex societies, early agricultural practices and development, and the dynamic interactions between people and the ecosystems they live in. 

The 2018 Nayacakalou Medal Lecture is presented by The Polynesian Society with support from the Auckland Museum.