Archeological records show evidence of a migration known as “Out of Taiwan” having occurred between 3000 and 1000 BC. Polynesian people, a subset of the Austronesian people, began migrating from Taiwan into Southwest Asia, Indonesia, East Malaysia, and the Philippines. By 1400 BC, the islands of Melanesia had been settled and within four centuries the distant islands of Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa had been reached and established as thriving communities. The entire Pacific Ocean lay open for colonization by the Polynesian people and they managed to reach the limit when they arrived on Rapa Nui, Easter Island, by the 13th century. Polynesian ability to migrate and settle the Pacific islands was not based on a stroke of good luck. Their vessels and navigational equipment must have been as exceptional as their knowledge and skills in being able to sail the vast Pacific Ocean.
