Book 2 Post 2

        Although I didn’t finish the entire book, I highly recommend Wade Davis's The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World. If you’re wondering, I wasn’t able to finish reading The Wayfinders because its tricky academic language was challenging for me to read. I also read this book digitally via desktop which I now realize was not an optimal choice for my comfort–paperback would’ve been a much better choice to reduce the eye strain from rereading the same passage multiple times. Nonetheless, I found this book deeply interesting and an amazing choice for anyone with an interest in anthropology and global civilization.

        The introduction to The Wayfinders touches on the history of anthropology, evolutionary theory, language, and other common themes. I deeply appreciated this introduction for its thoroughness in explaining and arguing against troubling beliefs like eugenics and old notions of different races having varying intellectual capabilities. “The Victorian notion of the savage and the civilized, with European industrial society sitting proudly at the apex of a pyramid of advancement that widens at the base to the so-called primitives of the world, has been thoroughly discredited — indeed, scientifically ridiculed for the racial and colonial conceit that it was,” Davis wrote. “The brilliance of scientific research and the revelations of modern genetics have affirmed in an astonishing way the essential connectedness of humanity. We share a sacred endowment, a common history written in our bones…the myriad of cultures of the world are not failed attempts at modernity…they are unique expressions of the human imagination and heart.” This passage was so poetic and powerful to me and immediately set the stage for the rest of the book. From this point forward, I knew that what I was about to read would be introspective, thoughtfully researched, and a warm embrace of diverse cultures.

        My favorite, most anticipated chapter was Chapter 2: The Wayfinders–the namesake of the entire book. I loved the history lesson on the discovery of the Marquesas and the following Polynesian, Micronesian, and Melanesian islands spanning the Pacific Ocean. I enjoyed how Davis explored this timeline of exploration, highlighting the overlapping cultures, languages, and mannerisms of each group. It was also quite humorous to me to read about how the Europeans refused to believe that the Polynesian wayfinders and sea voyagers could navigate the ocean without any “proper tools,” insisting that they stumbled upon each island in their diaspora by chance. I was at a loss for words but not surprised whatsoever–very typical and narrow-minded thinking that was common at the time. Moreover, I was so intrigued to learn about the intense training and knowledge involved with traditional Polynesian navigation. The fact that navigators were able to utilize the stars, moonlight, ocean temperatures, swell patterns, and sea life behavior to find their way to new land is, for lack of a better word, incredible. I sincerely encourage you to read this chapter and learn more because I was so awestruck by the talent and perseverance of these navigators. Although I couldn’t finish this book on my own time, I can say without a doubt that this book has been one of the best I’ve read, regardless of the difficulty. If you ever get a chance to read The Wayfinders, please do!