![]() ![]() It also should be rigged to allow it to align and adjust itself in the ways that it actually does at sea. If a model of Te Laa o Lata is to be tested in a wind tunnel it must be shape-shifting and proportionally correct. Historical, cultural, technical and operational information about the proportions and the built-in flexibility and plasticity of the design, materials and rig of real Te Laa o Lata suggest that there is much more to learn about their performance. But one researcher noticed that a more flexibly tipped model performed better than a rigid model. The shapes they used, which appear similar to what Taumakoans call Te Laa o Lata, demonstrated outstanding efficiency compared to others. Recent researchers have tested models of bifurcate tipped sail shapes in wind tunnels. This account of Taumako (Duff Islands) voyaging technology draws on 20 years of collaborative research initiated by Koloso Kaveia, the late paramount chief of Taumako, during which a new generation learned to build and sail voyaging canoes using only ancient materials, methods, designs and tool types. However, we know little about the ocean-going performance of those vessels. Voyaging canoes were the vehicles of ancient Pacific exploration, settlement and interactions. Key words: Oceania, Polynesia, Hawaiian kite-flying, ho’olele lupe, experimental archaeology " It also has the social merit of reevaluating useful anthropological information regarding general Pacific history, Oceanic migration, Polynesian religion, and the cultural identity of Hawaiians. This research is valuable in an archaeological context because it considers material issues of Polynesian prehistory that oral traditions and ethnography alone cannot resolve. After drawing upon archival research, simple shape analyses, and field observations, a range of functional replica Hawaiian kites were constructed and then tested in comparative flight scenarios that were performed to “…enhance analogies for archaeological interpretation” (Mathieu 2002:2-12). Unfortunately, in the Pacific Island archaeological record, there is a dearth of material evidence related to kite-flying and consequently the subsequent analysis of this enigmatic technology required alternative research methods which primarily focused on experimental techniques. ![]() In Hawai'i, these practices included chiefly competition, fishing, meteorology, navigation, spiritual meditation and as one heroic chant dedicated to the demi-god Maui states, for pulling canoes at great speed. Oral traditions and ethnographic accounts on a pan-Pacific scale speak of ancient kites that exploited the wind in creative and practical ways. "Kite use in prehistoric and early historic Oceania was wide spread and practiced for a variety of reasons. ![]()
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