Disappointment Islands High Sea

The waters around the Disappointment Islands open onto the long axis of the Tuamotu archipelago. Archaeological traces points to settlement of the western islands from the Society Islands between about 900 and 1200 CE, while DNA traces suggests a date around 1110 CE. Communities then spread among atolls that were separated by large distances of water.

Their common language and inherited culture did not depend on a compact territory; they were carried through repeated crossings and maintained between scattered island homes. The best surviving ceremonial markers are the flat marae of coral blocks on Rangiroa, Manihi and Mataiva. Their precise dates remain unknown, but they show that the sea did not isolate every community from wider religious and social traditions. Climate is warm and lacks sharply divided seasons, with an annual average near 26°C and about 1,400 millimetres of rain.

Fresh water must be captured from those rains because no lakes or rivers exist on the coral islands. Fishing, subsistence crops and voyages across open water shaped a maritime culture long before European visits began. Coral soil supports little vegetation, making coconut palms especially valuable, while fish and other marine foods supplement what the islands can produce.