Stone Age Career Lessons

By an astonishing act of will, I've managed to tear myself away from the MJ trial coverage long enough to read two wonderful books: Michael King's History of New Zealand (the last country on earth settled by humankind) and Michael Cook's Brief History of the Human Race. So bear with me for a moment ...

The greatest explorers in history were the Austronesians. These people emerged from the mainland of south-east Asia around 5,000 - 6,000 years ago. (By this time, Australia had already been settled for maybe 30,000 years by a different people.) 

Some Austronesians travelled as far west as Madagascar. Others - whom we know today as Polynesians - journeyed into the uninhabited expanses of the Pacific, travelling in outrigger canoes as far north as Hawaii and as far east as South America. (They didn't settle in New Zealand until a mere 800 years ago.)

<