Polynesian Expansion Between 2830 to 2840 BP

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Pining this down is good newsand it appears independent of Radio carbon methods.  Dating this has always been controversial andthis should end it.
It also confirms that it cameabout shortly after the collapse of the global maritime empire centered in the Atlantic about which we have posted much.  Thus it also coincides with the extensivecultural upheaval that took place elsewhere and may even have been acontributing factor.
Do note that I suspect maritimeactivity continued on a more local basis everywhere for well into the Romanperiod and possibly never ended in quite the same way it did with the rise ofIslam in European waters.
This was the last great expansionand came up with scant rewards.
Coral files reveal time of first Polynesian settlements
by Staff Writers
Burnaby, Canada (SPX) Nov 09, 2012
This shows pristine (upper) and used (lower) surfaces of an Acroporacoral file used to sculpt and smooth wood and shell surfaces. Credit: Burley D,Weisler MI, Zhao.
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Coral_files_reveal_time_of_first_Polynesian_settlements_999.html

Polynesia was one of the last places on Earth to be settled byhumans, and new techniques reveal that this settlement first occurred withina 16 year window nearly 3000 years ago.
The research, published in the open access journal PLOS ONE by DavidBurley and colleagues from Simon Fraser University, Canada, reveals that thefirst human settlers lived in a founder colony on the islands of Tonga between2830 to 2846 years ago.
To arrive at this precise figure, the researchers used a high-precisiontechnique to estimate the age of coral files that early settlers used to sculptand smooth wood and shell surfaces.
As Dr. Burley states, "This degree of precision is impossibleusing radiocarbon and other dating techniques.
It provides significant new opportunities for our understanding of theexploration and settlement of the far distant islands spread across the SouthPacific."
Citation: Burley D, Weisler MI, Zhao J-x (2012) High Precision U/ThDating of First Polynesian Settlement. PLoS ONE 7(11): e48769. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0048769