Sam Low To Speak On Polynesian Starpaths As Rebuttal To Jim Richardson Talk

This past June, Vineyard writer and filmmaker Sam Low sat in the Museum Library listening to Jim Richardson, Curator Emeritus of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, speak about his theory for early Polynesian contact and the Kon-Tiki raft as part of the Museum’s Shipwrecks Lecture Series. Richardson cited Thor Heyerdahl's belief that South Americans settled Polynesia after drifting aboard primitive rafts into the Pacific with prevailing winds and currents. Sam Low respectfully disagrees and will present his evidence at the Museum with Richardson in the audience.

Low has a different theory. Seafaring people settled Polynesia who voyaged against the winds from the islands of Southeast Asia aboard powerful sailing vessels. They navigated accurately without charts, compasses, or instruments of any kind.

Low sailed aboard Hokule’a, a replica of an ancient Polynesian double-hull voyaging canoe. He will explore Hokule’a’s 35-year, 120,000-mile sailing history throughout the Pacific and reveal how ancient canoe navigators found their direction and determined their latitude by the stars. Low will also share how these journeys are inspiring a cultural renaissance among Pacific peoples.

Writer, filmmaker, photographer, and explorer all describe Islander Sam Low. He received his PhD in anthropology from Harvard, and has been a part of many expeditions to such places as Tahiti, Hawaii, Peru, China, and Turkey. Low has produced, directed, and written a variety of pieces for movies, television, and radio for which he has won many awards. Currently he is authoring two books about Polynesian and Hawaiian navigation. Low also has a keen eye for photography showcasing his work at the Dragonfly Gallery in Oak Bluffs.

Sam Low will speak on Thursday, October 25^th in the Museum Library, 59 School Street Edgartown, beginning at 5:30 pm. Admission is $8 for Museum members, $12 for non-members.