article_snippet: Scientists at the University of Auckland studied the development of religion and cultures on Pacific islands that make up Austronesia.
article_snippet: Scientists at the University of Auckland examined 96 ancient Austronesian cultures - including those on Fiji, Tonga, Hawaii and Samoa - that had not had contact with Abrahamic religions like Christianity and Islam.
article_snippet: Dr Joseph Watts, an expert in cultural evolution at the University of Auckland in new Zealand, said: 'Dr Joseph Watts, an expert in cultural evolution at the University of Auckland in new Zealand found 22 instances of high political complexity through out historically and geographically distant regions of Austronesia. '
highlights_snippet: Scientists at the University of Auckland studied 97 Pacific island cultures .
  