Hawaiki Ancestral Polynesia

In this innovative book Kirch and Green develop the theory and method of an anthropological approach to long-term history. Combining archaeology comparative ethnography and historical linguistics they advance a phylogenetic model for cultural diversification and apply a triangulation method for historical reconstruction. Through an analysis of the history of Polynesian cultures they present a first-time detailed reconstruction of Hawaiki the Ancestral Polynesian culture that flourished some 2500 years ago. This book will be essential reading for any anthropologist prehistorian linguist or cultural historian concerned with the study of long-term history.