Austronesian peoples

High school (ages 12+)
People & Society

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/austronesian-peoples

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the estimated origin point?Taiwan, approximately 5,000-6,000 years ago
2. What is the primary linguistic family?Austronesian, comprising over 1,200 distinct languages
3. Where did the Austronesian people start their journey?They began in Taiwan, about 5,000 to 6,000 years ago.
4. How did they travel across oceans?They sailed in sturdy outrigger canoes, using wind, waves, stars, birds, and clouds to guide them.

Proto-Austronesian: The hypothetical reconstructed ancestral language from which all Austronesian languages are believed to have descended.
Transoceanic voyages: Journeys that cross vast expanses of open ocean, often covering thousands of kilometers.
Cultural diffusion: The spread of cultural beliefs, social activities, and ideas from one group of people to another.