QuoteReplyTopic: Nan Madol and Polynesia Posted: 28-Jan-2019 at 02:04
A while back I had a conversation with a fellow forumer and he scoffed at the notion that the Polynesians could have possible have had any notable civilization of their own. That reminded me of a documentary on the islands of Nan Madol, which are part of Micronesia, in the middle of the Pacific.
It is a group of 92 man-made islands, which are made of stone probably transported by sea, and on which there are massive megalithic structures dating to the 12th century AD. Archeologists believe that the structures had a religious purpose, and that they show a high degree of organization.
The islands were abandoned by the time of the European conquest. Later on, they inspired H.P. Lovecraft to create his mythical land of Chtulhu.
These islands together with the much better known Easter Island and the Polynesians' remarkable nautical skills, are in my opinion, proof that the Polynesians are underrated in world history.
What is history but a fable agreed upon? Napoleon Bonaparte
Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth.- Mohandas Gandhi
I'm not meaning any taking of sides against or for Malayo-Polynesians as civilized/cultured here (below) but there would need to be alot more research/study and evidences before one can be sure of who the builders of Nan Madol were. Just from the wiki articles and other sources i compiled these reference lists:
1. Timeline of Ponape/Nanmadol history: Ice Age(s) Megalithic culture "built by Greek soldiers c 300 bc" thermoluminescence dated Ponape pottery shards are at least 2000 yrs old "this pushes back the date by more than 1000 yrs" "earliest settlement probably ca 1 ad" "scene of human activity as early as the 1st or 2nd century ad" "human activity starting ca 80-200 ad" (carbon dating) "islet construction had started by the 8th or 9th century" "Ponape fire pit ashes carbon dated to only 900 yrs old (1000 ad)" Pre-Colonial from before 1100 to 1885 Kawa "building" / Aramas "peopling" before 1100 "megalithic construction dating to 12th cent ad" Nahnisohn Sahpw god of agriculture (1100) Olisihpa/Olo-sipa & Olo-so(h)pa the 1st Saudeleur (& flying dragon, & local woman) (1100) 12/several generations 8/16/17 SauDeleur "lord of the Deleur" rulers/chiefs/dynasty/ruins / Dipwilap "great" clan of foreign origin (& Pohnpeians) 500 yrs 1100-1500s/1628 (legends/archaeologists) "construction began ca 1180 ad" (carbon dating) "megalithic construction beginning 1180-1200 ad" Spanish navigator Saavedra 1st European 1529 visited by Portuguese navigator Queiros 1595 Isokelekel/Icho-kalakal another foreigner, at NanMadol (1628) Nahnmwarki(s) at NanMadol 1628-1885 Native period before 1825 Australian sailor Rowe arrived 1825 Pre-Spanish "before the Spaniards" 1825-1886 1st lengthly description of island by Russian explorer Litke (& Kittlitz) 1828 Capt JH Eagleston sighted island 1832 RC priest Maigret 1st missionary 1837-1838 group of Protestant missionaries 1852 drastic population decline occured after 1854 Confederate ship surpised Yankee merchant ships at Ponape 1865 1st detailed description 1874 (Kubary) Spanish 1886-1899 Spanish-American war 1898 German 1899/1905-1910/1914 (Sokehs rebelion) feudal system gradually replaced beginning in 1907 census 1911 Japanese 1914-1945 Merritt 1918 Churchward 1926 bypassed by US navy 1943-1945 US/UN 1945/1947-1986 census 1947 Price's adventure series books 1952 photo ca 1960 population nearly 10000 by 1963 Riesenberg 1968 Von Daniken 1973 US National Register of Historic Places 1974 Vesala 1974 Ballinger 1978 ruins declared a national historical landmark 1985 David Hatcher-Childress 1986 Independence since 1986 Ashby 1987 Hanlon 1988 Endura band album song 1996 Bell & Strieber 1999 Rollins 2001 population 34000 in 2010 song 2014 World Heritage Site 2016.
2. Geographical location (large/wide to small/narrow/local) : UN/World/Global/International/Earth/Olympics Asia & Pacific ; South Seas Oceania West Pacific ; Australasia; (Polynesian/Melanesian;) (Eastern) Micronesia ; Spanish East Indies Caroline Islands Senyavin islands / LosPintaos "the painted ones" / NanTauach islands Pohn-pei/Ponape "upon a stone altar" / Ascension / SanBartolome (Sokehs Ridge, Mt Nanlaud, Kolonia/Santiago town) 5 tribes: Sokehs, Nett, U(h), Kitti, Madolenihm(w) district Temuen/Temwen island NanMadol/Matal "spaces between" / SounNangLeng "reef of heaven" / "Venice of the Pacific" Pah & (Madol) Powe Dapahu, Peinering, Peinkitel, Karian, Lemenkou, Nandauwas, Peiniot, Usennamw.
3. Peoples / Castes structure: (5 tribes:) god/deities king / 2 principal chiefs, dynasty chiefs/nobility, priests Pohnpeians/subjects/commoners, prisoners foreign/outsiders.
4. Possible names/numbers matches candidates:
Pohnpei/Ponape : Pompey? Punt/Pwene? Punic/Phoenician? Puno (Peru)? Punjab?
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