[00:00.650]Only very recently has their language been traced back to Taiwan,
[00:04.720]and their pottery to the Philippines
[00:07.400]Combined with DNA analysis,
[00:09.400]evidence now points to the Lapita, a seafaring people from Southeast Asia
[00:14.410]Back in the Solomons, on the tiny island of Taumako,
[00:18.200]descendants of the Lapita still build and sail traditional voyaging canoes
[00:22.510]These canoes may look basic,
[00:25.400]but their relative sophistication enabled the Lapita to travel further into
[00:29.200]the Pacific than anyone had ever dared before
[00:32.520]They were nolonger reliant on paddles alone - they had wind power
[00:37.980]Sails, perhaps similar to this crab-claw design,
[00:41.370]enabled the Lapita to cover huge distances
[00:44.640]But with heavy sails,
[00:46.310]the canoes needed extra stability
[00:48.660]The Lapita added a second hull
[00:50.990]and the long-distance outrigger canoe was finally born