[00:01.20]The Lapita's first voyages into the unknown must have appeared suicidal
[00:07.28]Although many were lost at sea,
[00:09.79]some Lapita did reach new islands,
[00:13.0]thanks to their extraordinary navigation skills
[00:16.53]This man can interpret the direction of land by reading wave and swell patterns
[00:23.01]Like his ancestors,
[00:24.89]he carries in his head a complex wind map detailing the various seasonal winds
[00:28.87]that serve as a compass
[00:31.21]And at night, he can navigate by the stars
[00:34.22]In craft like these,
[00:36.0]the Lapita reached the islands of Tonga,2,000 miles east of New Guinea,
[00:42.10]in the heart of the South Pacific
[00:44.22]Further east,
[00:45.37]the odds of a castaway making land drop steeply as the islands become fewer and even more isolated