The second half of Chapter 2 continues discussing the area of Polynesia. It begins by
talking about how the population of seabirds, an important part of islander’s diets, slowly
became extinct, as they were so easy to hunt down. Moving on, Polynesians domesticated 3
significant animals: the pig, the dog, and the chicken. Isolated islands had trouble keeping all 3
animals since most would die on the canoe rides between islands. Although these new animals
were significant, they were solemnly used for meals. But rather most of the food came from
agriculture, which was especially difficult in areas like Chatham. So, Chatham and the Southern
island of New Zealand were forced back to revert back to hunting and gathering. Otherwise,
most of the other islands were able to successfully produce crops like taro, yams, and sweet
potatoes, breadfruit, bananas, and coconuts. Dry land crops became especially popular especially
since there was poor soil and limited amounts of fresh water. These wide-ranging conditions for
farming meant that population densities were diverse. Some figures include 5 people per square
mile in Chatham, while places like Hawaii surpassed 300. Next, unification within an island
itself was never really seen in larger islands for various reasons, but on smaller islands it
definitely proved to be easier. Within these islands, most people were farmers. The people who
did else wise were chiefs, priests, bureaucrats, and warriors. Because of the immense population
densities, large amounts of labor forces were readily available on islands like Tonga, Samoa, and
the Societies. These places were home to fertile soil. Next, economy was kept simple on smaller
islands with each home making what was necessary. On the other hand, more specialized jobs
became more and more prevalent in larger islands. RESUME PAGE 63, 3rd Paragraph!