Post #80309 by christiki295 on Wed, Mar 10, 2004 7:41 PM

On 2004-02-17 23:24, bigbrotiki wrote:
As to the first Tiki, it all comes down to Polynesian migration theories. . . . SO it would make sense that the first Tiki came from the Marquesas. . . .The oldest sacred sites were found in the Austral Islands, (part of Tahiti), like Raivivae.

I contacted Dr. Jo Anne Van Tilburg of the Easter Island Statute Project at UCLA and she states:

"the original homeland of the settlement party is not known, but it is strongly indicated that the Marquesas [was the place of origin]" and "to date, the earliest known dates for stone statutes are there and on Rapa Nui."

It appears the first tiki originates from either the Marquesas or the Austral Islands, although there is a (hair splitting?)conflict as to which of these 2 areas.

It seems the migration pattern answer also raises a question. As these (expert) polynesian voyagers originated from the Melanesian area, and as there is Papa New Guinea tiki, I wonder if there is any historic tiki there which would predate the Marquesas/Austral Islands?

[ Edited by: christiki295 on 2004-03-10 19:47 ]