Charting the Unknown: Star Navigation and the Age of Discovery
From the Polynesians to the Greeks, many ancient cultures used the stars to navigate.
Polynesian Wayfinding
Pacific Islanders, particularly the Polynesians, were expert navigators who used the stars, along with other natural indicators such as ocean currents and the behavior of birds, to navigate vast distances across the Pacific Ocean. Polynesian navigation was an ancient form of navigation that was passed down from generation to generation through oral tradition, without the use of written maps or instruments.
Polynesian navigators used a system of wayfinding known as “star lines,” which are imaginary lines that connect stars of similar brightness and are used to determine a vessel’s position in relation to known islands. They also used other celestial bodies, such as the moon and planets, to determine their position.
One of the most important stars in Polynesian navigation was the Southern Cross, which is visible in the southern hemisphere and was used to determine the direction of south. Polynesian navigators also used a group of stars known as the Pleiades to help them navigate, and they referred to this group of stars as “Matariki.”
