Early Polynesians may have maintained a thriving trade network between Hawaii and Tahiti as early as a thousand years ago, a new study shows.

The research reinforces stories in Hawaiian oral tradition that recount long canoe journeys over the vast southeastern Pacific—the last region on Earth colonized by humans.

"This 4,000-kilometer [2,500-mile] journey now stands as the longest uninterrupted maritime voyage in human prehistory," said study author Collerson.

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