A Dive Into Culture When you think of culture, what comes to mind? Some may say they think of evolution, families, differences, similarities, the list goes on. One thing that they all have in common is that it’s all about people. Whether it’s genetics, or language, it all revolves around us. In the book “The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World” by Wade Davis, he talks about genetics and how they are important to all of human society. Genetics laid out the foundation for all of humankind (Davis 10). Yet throughout history, the world has grown less interested in where it came from, and more to where it’s going. We all know that extinction is unavoidable whether it be life or language. Before explaining the main themes …show more content…
Wayfinding is a way to travel across the sea, but without any fancy technology or tools. The only tools used would be your mind, and the canoe. One special canoe was the Hokule’a, which was meant to travel around the islands and regather the history that was lost to it’s people. A lot of people wondered why Polynesians would take the risks of traveling the open ocean, and a lot of it had to do with pride and family status. Another reason was purely curiosity. The teachings of wayfinding were hard to accomplish though, because it was all orally taught, as stated, “ Theirs were oral traditions, with all knowledge stored in memory, transmitted from generation to generation” (Davis 51).The fundamental aspect of wayfinding was evident while looking at these people, and to understand them, you need to understand certain aspects of their culture. These aspects include the wind, waves, clouds, stars, sun, moon, birds, fish, and the water. These all make up Polynesian culture and their world. Wayfinding uses all of these aspects in the steps taught. The first step is to picture all of the islands you know of in your mind, and set sight in your imagination the destination you will find. The second step is to look to the clouds, which will help determine if you will have smooth sailing or storms. The third step is to observe wildlife and seamarks, which will notify how close land is. Another step, which is normally considered the most difficult, would be to memorize constellations and stars, mapping them out in your mind. A true navigator will always know where they are due to the stars and their placement. Discovery isn’t always about traveling to new islands, or conquering new worlds. Yet it is about learning of new cultures and developing a better sense of cultural relativity for people around you. Davis shows this through his own discovery of
Magellan had clever navigational skills to guide the fleet as expressed in Document C, “Magellan even relied on the taste of seawater to guide his fleet. As the water became fresher, he knew he was traveling inland, and once it turned salty, he realize he was approaching the Pacific on the western side of the strait.” As far as Magellan's voyage to discover a western sea route to Spice Islands, he was shrewd to be able to develop such navigational skills to determine which direction the fleet was flowing. As stated in Document C, “In addition, he regularly sent small scouting parties in long boats.” Sending out small leagues in long boats and small boats were beneficial because the process of getting through straits was quicker.
The first goal was to draw accurate maps of the land and to find a water route that led into the Pacific ocean. Lewis and Clark began their expedition at St. Louis and travelled through the Missouri River. Clark was a map maker and he drew accurate maps of the land. Document 1 demonstrates an example of Clark’s detailed and accurate map of the Missouri River. The map showed where the Missouri was located.
Prior to Prince Henry, voyages only covered small areas because of primitive navigation technology. There were no charted route to Asia by sea. Prince Henry, known as “the Navigator” was a skilled and experienced navigator, he came up with new ways to navigate the ocean. Henry was successful in mapping the west-African coast. Initially, Prince Henry was more concern about exploring and mapping new territories.
During the 15th and 16th century, countries such as Portugal set out to find out more about the world in an era called the “Age of Exploration.” The explorers set out on voyages mainly to find sea trade routes to Asia. Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus, and Ferdinand Magellan were the explorers that made the most important breakthroughs. They used different boats, tools, and maps to help them explore.
You can come by wagon or come by foot. By wagon, oxen and mules, you have to cross deserts, mountains, and valleys. The advantage is that you can carry your clothes, food for long journey, tools for mining and farming, and items for cooking. You You will have a great adventure! Coming by foot is long but if you need fitness then this is your call!
Polynesia was a massive country forming a triangle that stretched between New Zealand in the west, Rapa Nui in the east, and Hawaii in the north. This triangle covered 10 million square miles. It was discovered by these amazing people who were like the astronauts of the time, because of their amazing exploration skills. Remarkably, these Polynesians arrived in Hawaii 1,000 years before Columbus sailed to the Americas. They were considered some of the greatest explorers in all of history. These explorers were able to discover every livable land mass and island in the Pacific, without the use of modern technology. All they had were canoes that were very similar to the Hokulea. Polynesian explorers relied heavily on the stars, winds, waves, and other signs from nature to navigate the ocean.
How did the Polynesians find their way to Hawaii, over two thousand miles from any other land? Was it over population at home, or political turmoil? Whatever reason for leaving these people used amazing knowledge and skill of the ocean and of the sky to navigate them to this new land. They faced the unknown and braved into the wide-open ocean for long periods of time. The real focus in this paper is on the navigation techniques that they used in these voyages throughout the Pacific.
They would probably say that it was great and the crew was trying to move the sail boat it was hard work but we got thru it.The Polynesian voyaging canoe, named Hklea, had sailed more than 40,000 nautical miles (74,000 kilometers). It went to many countries.During the trip, it spread a message of mlama honua. That means "caring for Earth." Crew members navigated the old way. They looked for signs from nature. They looked to the stars and felt the wind. They watched the birds. These ways of navigating were used by the Polynesians who first sailed to
Journeys on boats are usually long and fraught with dangers that are overcome. Boats are also related to islands, since crew is isolated from the regular rules of society.
In the early 1600's monarchs and merchants in search of ways to expand their riches, funded marine expeditions with the hopes of extending trade relations with other nations across the open seas. Little did these explores know how treacherous their voyage would be and exactly what they might find. Approximately three thousand nautical miles from Europe they traveled, landing on an unknown continent that appeared untouched by civilized man. Gold and silver was nowhere to be found, but the vast continent was filled with the most glorious natural resources. The first being the mighty green forest that blanketed the land as far as the eye could see, rivers, brooks, and ponds that contained fresh water, an enormous amount of fish inland and along
According to the article, “the ocean-going canoe was the vehicle that Austronesian speakers employed to expand across the South Pacific” (p. 278). Thousands of miles were traveled in these canoes, boats that lacked an auxiliary motor and navigational equipment. Voyagers had to rely solely on natural forces to propel
and, ?Let him who sails round Malea first make his will? (Barclay 1).? The best alterative for sea faring merchants and travelers, if their ship was small enough, was to set their boat on a platform and drag it across the four mile isthmus to the other side; or, if their ship was too large, disembark the cargo and carry it to the other side to be loaded onto another ship.? This short land trek saved mariners the journey of two hundred and two miles around Cape Malea (Barclay 2).?
Prior to the Age of Discovery, Europeans have enhanced their technology and increased their geographical knowledge. In the past, European navigated through the seas by observing their environment or by using portolan charts to guide them through them the Mediterranean sea. However, because of Prince Henry the Navigator, Europeans were able to travel farther with much more accuracy. Henry designed a nautical map which helped explorers travel away from shore without the possibility of being lost. This gave them the opportunity to discover more land, past their usual limits seen in the portolan charts. Not only was he able to create an efficient map, he also taught others the knowledge
They traveled down the mangrove coast. Here, they encountered more balsa rafts. The Indians continued to sail the coast until they recognized there home town, Tumbes. When the indigenous people saw the ship on the sea they were amazed. They prepared foods for the Spaniards and sailed out to the ship to greet them.
Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects, and behavior. It includes ideas, values, and artifacts of groups of people (Schaefer, 2006). Understanding culture can be tricky, ever ask “why do people act the way they do?”, “what made me do that”, “what was I thinking?” Physical abilities, educational background, and social background of how I was raised are important aspects of my life. The environment in which I was raised is very important aspect of my life.