Integrating Oral Narrative and Archaeology in Polynesian History with Professor Patrick Kirch
WED 23 MAY, 6PM
AUDITORIUM, FREE, BOOKINGS REQUIRED
In this talk Professor Kirch (Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus University of California, Berkeley) will recount his personal engagement – over the course of a career now approaching a half century – with Polynesian oral histories, and his efforts to integrate indigenous traditions with the material evidence of archaeology.
He begins with his early fieldwork on the Tongan island of Niuatoputapu where oral narratives and the archaeological landscape both speak to the influence of the Tongan “maritime empire”. Professor Kirch will then address the rich traditions of Tikopia, first set down by Sir Raymond Firth, and how these resonate in the archaeological record of that Polynesian Outlier. Finally, he will discuss his recent efforts to build connections between the mo’olelo of Hawai’i and the complex archaeological record of the extensive archipelago.
Book your place by emailing membership@aucklandmuseum.com.
Image Credit: Tongan Canoes – Hodges, William, 1777. Alexander Turnbull Library Ref. No.B-054-047.