Date of Award
1997
Document Type
Research Paper
First Advisor
Cheryl Swift
Second Advisor
Greg Woirol
Abstract
The study done is just a brief introduction of how examining the medicinal uses of plants would provide further evidence to the origin of migration patterns of early Polynesian settlers. Even in its preliminary form this medicinal plant study provides evidence of similar migration patterns to past studies which are based on archeological evidence such as the Lapita pottery. These results included included a west-to-east migrational pattern that mirrored the trend of the Lapita pottery. As cultural divergence increases evidence of cultural similarity decreases. The medicinal plant study reinforces past theories with new evidence. Further studies on the examination of medicinal use of plants may provide evidence suggesting new theories as seen in the proposed route of the Marquesas and Hawaii from Fiji, however, further investigations should be done to ensure accuracy of results and data. Such investigations would include comparing the total number of plants found on each island with the number of plant used medicinally, as well as an analysis of the similarity of the medicinal plants used to examine similarly in the specific ailment plants are used for. As illustrated in this study, the ethnomedicinal aspects of plants provide a new kind of evidence and further studies emphasizing on the use of medicinal plants before European contact could result in valuable information concerning the migrations of the early Polynesian people.
Recommended Citation
Regal-Factora, T. S. (1997). An Ethnobotanical Study of the Medical Plants in Polynesia During the Pre-European Era. Retrieved from https://poetcommons.whittier.edu/scholars/277