Micronesia
Before Europeans entered Micronesia, the known world of
Carolinian navigators extended from Palau and Yap in the west to Ponape
in the east and from Saipan and Guam in the north to Nuquoro and Kapingamarangi
in the south. Their sailing directions also included places beyond
this region in the west, south, and east, but these lay outside the
limits of intentional voyaging and were mostly mythical rather than
real places. Knowledge of such distant places met no practical need
but served to show off one's learning.
Within Micronesia, the low islands of the coral atolls are where
navigation and seafaring have been known and practiced. People living
on the high islands of this region - Palau, Yap, Truk, Ponape, and Kosrae
- did not maintain seafaring traditions and depended on the atoll dwellers
for trade and ocean travel. Puluwat, Pulap, and Satawal, all west of
Truk, were where Carolinian navigation was most highly developed, and
where it continues to be in active use today.
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