South Polynesia (4,365 – 2,638 BCE): Late…

South Polynesia (4,365 – 2,638 BCE): Late Holocene — Predictable Wind Regimes and Navigation Windows (No Human Presence)

Geographic & Environmental Context

South Polynesia includes New Zealand’s North Island (Aotearoa; excluding its southern coast), the Chatham Islands (Rēkohu), Norfolk Island, and the Kermadec Islands (Raoul and associated islets).

• Anchors: Hauraki–Coromandel channels; Bay of Plenty; Taranaki bight; Kermadec passes; Norfolk lagoons; Chatham shelf edges.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Trades/westerlies predictable; seasonal swell windows regularized; ENSO modest but detectable.

Biota & Baseline Ecology

• High-diversity reef–lagoon systems and intact forests; streams delivered clean gravels for future eel and whitebait fisheries.

Long-Term Significance

A stable ocean–island climate with consistent star-path windows and channel winds formed the meteorological grammar later used by Polynesian navigators to reach these high-latitude islands.