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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BISHOP MUSEUM RECEIVES $250,000 GRANT FROM FREEMAN FOUNDATION TO DEVELOP EXHIBIT EXPLORING THE ORIGINS OF THE PACIFIC PEOPLES
HONOLULU - Bishop Museum has received a $250,000 grant over three years from the Freeman Foundation for the development of a new exhibit, called “Seafaring in Ancient China: Exploring the Origins of the Peoples of the Pacific.” Slated to open in January 2007, the 3,000-square-foot exhibit will feature newly celebrated archaeological discoveries by archaeologists from China and Hawai’i, including artifacts never before displayed outside of China.
“We are grateful to the Freeman Foundation for awarding Bishop Museum this grant, which will allow us to share the ancient connections between China and Oceania with Hawai‘i visitors and residents,” said Bishop Museum President Bill Brown. “Many may not realize that it was the ancient seafaring societies of Southeast China that led to the eventual colonization of the Pacific islands.”
Telling the fascinating story of the Pacific’s early settlement, the exhibit will present an engaging historical narrative of how seafaring developed in prehistoric China. Archaeological objects will be displayed along with maps, photographs and models of ancient watercraft such as canoes and bamboo rafts, including a full-size model of a 7,000-year-old canoe recently discovered near Shanghai. Visitors will also learn how archaeologists discovered the various artifacts through field photos, video images and commentary. Adding to the historical exhibit will be Hawaiian and Polynesian artifacts from Bishop Museum’s prized collections.
Scientists have determined that Southeast China is the original homeland of the Austronesians, a group that includes Polynesians, Melanesians, Micronesians and the indigenous people in Southeast Asian Archipelagos. The seafaring technology that allowed these ancient people to travel across the open seas of the vast Pacific—from China to Polynesia—around 1,000 to 1,200 years ago is considered one of the most extraordinary achievements in the history of humanity.
For the past four years, Dr. Tianlong Jiao of Bishop Museum and his colleagues have been conducting archaeological research in South China in an effort to learn more about the exploration of the Pacific by Austronesians. This research led to an historic agreement earlier this year between Bishop Museum and South China’s Fujian Provincial Museum, which is designed to ensure the development and exchange of programs and exhibits that explore Polynesian and Asian cultures, ethnology, archaeology, natural sciences and academic programs.
Hawai‘i ’s Bishop Museum was originally established to house an extensive collection of Hawaiian artifacts and royal family heirlooms of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, and has since expanded to include over 14 million artifacts, documents and photographs about Hawai‘i and Polynesia at large. Today, Bishop Museum is the largest museum in the state and the premier natural and cultural history institution in the Pacific, recognized throughout the world for its cultural collections, research projects, consulting services, the world’s largest natural history specimen collection and public educational programs. For information about Bishop Museum, call (808) 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org.