Feature Stories
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Courtesy of Dr. Lawrence J. Cunningham. National Resource Center for Micronesian Studies Title VI Funding University of Guam, UOG Station Mangilao, Guam 96923. From the collection of the Richard Flores Taitano Micronesian Area Research Center. All material is Copyrighted© All rights reserved. No material may be copied in part or in whole without Dr. Cunningham's written permission. Send your emails to "Lawrence J. Cunningham" Lcunning@uog9.uog.edu. Thank You. Perhaps lateen sails were not used by the original settlers of the Marianas and the rest of Micronesia. The question of whether or not a "non-literate, pre-mathematical, non-metallurgical
people made deliberate, two-way voyages" in prehistoric times is no longer
an issue. The evidence shows that people deliberately settled the
islands of the Pacific. Pacific Islanders did not settle their islands
by accident. They transferred complete cultures to islands in the
Pacific. Indigenous sailing canoe technology and navigation skills
demonstrate that such voyages are still possible (Campbell, 1989, 36-37).
Reference Campbell, I. C. A History of the Pacific Islands. Berkeley
and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1989.
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