Eastern Polynesian: The Linguistic Evidence Revisited

Abstract

For the past forty years, historical linguistics and archaeology have provided seemingly mutually corroboratory evidence for the settlement of east Polynesia. However, recent findings in archaeology have shifted this relationship out of balance, calling previous conclusions into question.1 This paper first reviews the generally accepted archaeological and linguistic theories of east Polynesia's settlement, then describes the new archaeological findings, highlighting the areas where the evidence from the two disciplines is discordant. In sections four and five, I analyze the linguistic data from Eastern Polynesian languages that show lack of support for the Tahitic and Marquesic subgroups, and propose a new, contact-based model for the region. The new linguistic model, in conjunction with archaeology, ultimately demonstrates that the settlement of east Polynesia and the development of Eastern Polynesian languages occurred in one major dispersal and subsequent spheres of contact, producing the pattern of cultural and linguistic traits we see today.