Study Finds
Editor's note (5 February 2023): The veracity of the study discussed below came into question after its original publication, with a subsequent analysis suggesting the study had likely misinterpreted aspects of the historical evidence available, including oral narratives, and asserting that "Antarctic voyaging by pre-European Polynesians seems most unlikely".
Some further discussion of the issue is reported here. ScienceAlert regrets re-publishing the article without drawing attention to this new information and the broader context of debate in this area of research. The original text of our story from June 2021 is presented below:
When we think of Antarctic exploration, the narrative is overwhelmingly white. The first confirmed sighting of mainland Antarctica was attributed to a Russian expedition in 1820, while the first landing on the mainland is attributed to an American explorer in 1821.
But investigations by New Zealander researchers suggest the indigenous people of mainland New Zealand – Māori – have a significantly longer history with Earth's southernmost continent.
Link to article: Māori Voyaged to Antarctica at Least 1,000 Years Before Europeans, Study Finds : ScienceAlert
