ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Austronesian navigation

Austronesian navigation is how people from a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean called Austronesia traveled by boat from place to place.

Austronesians were really good at traveling long distances by boat without maps or compasses. They used their knowledge of the stars, winds, waves, and marine life to help them navigate.

They would memorize the patterns of the stars and use them to figure out which direction they were going. They also noticed how the winds and waves changed in different parts of the ocean, and would use that to predict where they were and where they were going. They even observed marine life, such as which direction schools of fish were swimming, to help them navigate.

To keep track of their journey, they also used knots on a string, which they would move along as they traveled, creating a rough map of their journey.

So basically, Austronesian navigation is how people from a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean were able to travel long distances without maps or compasses, by using their observation skills and knowledge of nature to navigate.