Polynesian Settlement of Hawaii

Timeline

1. c. 1000–1200Coast of the Hawaiian Islands · Hawaiian IslandsPolynesian navigators used knowledge of stars, ocean currents, and bird migration to voyage from the direction of the Marquesas or Society Islands, establishing the first camps and temporary fishing-and-hunting outposts in the Hawaiian Islands.
2. c. 1200–1210River valleys of Oahu and the Big Island of Hawaii · Hawaiian IslandsMigrants introduced taro, breadfruit, pigs, and chickens, developing irrigated agriculture in river valleys and forming permanent villages; clans (ohana) and a priestly class gradually took shape, and religious ritual became increasingly institutionalized.
3. c. 1210–1300Across the Hawaiian Islands · Hawaiian IslandsPopulation spread to Maui, Kauai, and other islands, each developing local chiefly territories; language, mythology, and seafaring skills tended toward integration across the archipelago, and a Hawaiian cultural identity began to form.