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The Pacific Ocean covers one-third of the earth's surface and encompasses many thousands of islands that are home to numerous human societies and cultures. Among these indigenous Oceanic cultures are the intrepid Polynesian double-hulled canoe navigators, the atoll dwellers of Micronesia, the statue carvers of remote Easter Island, and the famed traders of Melanesia. Decades of archaeological excavations-combined with allied research in historical linguistics, biological anthropology, and comparative ethnography-have revealed much new information about the long-term history of these societies and cultures. On the Road of the Winds synthesizes the grand sweep of human history in the Pacific Islands, beginning with the movement of early people out from Asia more than 40,000 years ago and tracing the development of myriad indigenous cultures up to the time of European contact in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. This updated edition, enhanced with many new illustrations and an extensive bibliography, synthesizes the latest archaeological, linguistic, and biological discoveries that reveal the vastness of ancient history in the Pacific Islands.

Prehistoric peoples --- Oceania --- Antiquities. --- 16th to 18th century. --- allied research. --- archaeological excavations. --- asia. --- atoll dwellers. --- biological anthropology. --- canoe navigators. --- comparative ethnography. --- cultures. --- easter island. --- european contact. --- historical linguistics. --- human cultures. --- human history. --- human societies. --- learning about the past. --- melanesia. --- micronesia. --- myriad indigenous cultures. --- oceanic cultures. --- pacific islands. --- pacific ocean. --- polynesian. --- societies. --- statue carvers. --- traders.