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Only very recently has their language been traced back to Taiwan, |
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and their pottery to the Philippines |
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Combined with DNA analysis, |
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evidence now points to the Lapita, a seafaring people from Southeast Asia |
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Back in the Solomons, on the tiny island of Taumako, |
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descendants of the Lapita still build and sail traditional voyaging canoes |
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These canoes may look basic, |
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but their relative sophistication enabled the Lapita to travel further into |
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the Pacific than anyone had ever dared before |
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They were nolonger reliant on paddles alone - they had wind power |
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Sails, perhaps similar to this crab-claw design, |
[00:41.370] |
enabled the Lapita to cover huge distances |
[00:44.640] |
But with heavy sails, |
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the canoes needed extra stability |
[00:48.660] |
The Lapita added a second hull |
[00:50.990] |
and the long-distance outrigger canoe was finally born |