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Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Micronesia. Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian Triangle.
The prehistory of Oceania is divided into the prehistory of each of its major areas: Australia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia, and these vary greatly as to when they were first inhabited by humans — from 70,000 years ago (Near Oceania) to 3,000 years ago (Remote Oceania).
The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Oceania (2018) defined Oceania as only covering Austronesian-speaking islands in Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia, with this definition including New Guinea and New Zealand. Other Austronesian areas such as Indonesia and the Philippines were not included, due to their closer cultural proximity to mainland Asia.
Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Micronesia and Polynesia. Outline of sovereign (orange) and dependent islands (yellow) Melanesia (UK: / ˌ m ɛ l ə ˈ n iː z i ə / ⓘ, US: / ˌ m ɛ l ə ˈ n iː ʒ ə /) is a subregion of Oceania ...
Location of Oceania. The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to Oceania.. Oceania is a geographical, and geopolitical, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity.
Micronesia is a region in Oceania that includes approximately 2100 islands, with a total land area of 2,700 km 2 (1,000 sq mi), the largest of which is Guam, which covers 582 km 2 (225 sq mi).
It has historically been included in definitions of Oceania, ever since the term was first coined in the early 1810s. In the 19th century, many geographers divided up Oceania into mostly racially-based subdivisions; Australasia, Malaysia (encompassing the Malay Archipelago), Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. [56]
The divisions reflect the various major migration waves from the Philippines into the Mariana Islands and Palau in 3,500 BP; a Lapita culture back-migration from Island Melanesia into central and eastern Micronesia around 2,200 BP; and finally, a back-migration from western Polynesia into eastern Micronesia around 1,000 BP. [199]