Polynesian societies have long been noted for encoding their histories in the form of oral narratives. While some narratives are clearly cosmogonic or mythological in nature, others purportedly recount the affairs of real persons, chronologically indexed to chiefly and family genealogies. Late 19th- and early 20th-century scholars such as Abraham Fornander and Te Rangi Hiroa relied upon such oral narratives to write the pre-European histories of various Polynesian societies. In the second half of the 20th century, however, archaeologists and cultural anthropologists alike have tended to dismiss the historical validity of oral narratives. Based on four case studies from Futuna, Tikopia, Niuatoputapu and Hawai'i, I reassess the linkages between oral narratives and the archaeological record, finding that in all cases there is strong evidence to support the view that the traditional narratives relate to real persons and events. Such traditional narratives typically do not extend farther back in time than three to four centuries, but for these later time periods they offer an invaluable resource - an indigenous perspective on island histories that complements and augments the empirical archaeological record.

中文翻译：

---

风声，大地痕迹：玻利尼西亚历史上的口头叙事和考古学的融合

长期以来，玻利尼西亚社会以口头叙述的形式编码其历史而闻名。虽然有些叙述显然具有世界性或神话色彩，但据称其他叙述叙述的是真实人物的事，按时间顺序编入主要家谱。19世纪末和20世纪初的学者，例如亚伯拉罕·佛南德（Abraham Fornander）和蒂朗伊·希罗亚（Te Rangi Hiroa），都依靠这种口头叙述来撰写波利尼西亚各个社会在欧洲之前的历史。然而，在20世纪下半叶，考古学家和文化人类学家都倾向于否认口述叙事的历史有效性。根据来自富图纳群岛，提科比亚，纽瓦托普图普和夏威夷的四个案例研究，我重新评估了口头叙事与考古记录之间的联系，发现在所有情况下都有强有力的证据支持传统叙事与真实人物和事件有关的观点。这样的传统叙事通常不会回溯到三到四个世纪的时间，但是在后来的这些时期中，它们提供了宝贵的资源-一种关于岛屿历史的土著观点，可以补充和增强经验考古记录。