The Origins of Voyage

There is virtually no evidence to suggest any of these theories are correct and are generally rejected by the academic community. Evidence from islands around New Zealand also support the 1200 CE dating. As the centuries progressed into the 1400s and 1500s, evidence of voyaging reduces. This could have been due to climate change, creating rougher seas and windier weather or some other cultural or social change. In saying that, voyaging was never fully lost, as it is reported that a navigator and priest of the rioter in the society islands, told Captain Cook in 1769 of trading voyages still occurring between Tahiti and Tonga. The 5450km round trip. For us though,