Polynesian Ancestors of the Māori Settle Aotearoa New Zealand

Between approximately 1250 and 1300 CE, East Polynesian voyagers from the Society Islands and southern Cook Islands settled Aotearoa New Zealand using double-hulled waka hourua canoes. Radiocarbon dating from over 500 archaeological sites supports this chronology. These settlers, ancestors of the Māori, encountered a temperate forested environment with diverse wildlife including moa birds. Māori oral tradition credits navigator Kupe as the first discoverer. Evidence suggests the settlement occurred as rapid mass migration rather than gradual drift, with distinct Māori culture developing within several generations.