Polynesian outliers are a number of culturally Polynesian societies that geographically lie outside the main region of Polynesian influence, known as the Polynesian Triangle; instead, Polynesian outliers are scattered in the two other Pacific subregions, Melanesia and Micronesia. Based on archaeological and linguistic analysis, these islands are considered to have been colonized by seafaring Polynesians, mostly from the area of Tonga, Samoa and Tuvalu.
The closest Polynesian outliers, Anuta and Tikopia in Solomon Islands, were settled some time between the 10th and 13th centuries and subsequently received multiple waves of Polynesian immigration,[1] while the farthest outlier, Nukuoro in the Federated States of Micronesia, was only settled in the 18th century.[2]
- ^ Kennedy, Donald G. (1929). "Field Notes on the Culture of Vaitupu, Ellice Islands". Journal of the Polynesian Society. 38: 2–5.
- ^ Matagi Tokelau, History and Traditions of Tokelau, USP Suva pp. 82-83