Polynesian settlement of Aotearoa New Zealand
- Date
- c. 1280-1320 CE
- Category
- Exploration & colonisation
- Region
- Aotearoa New Zealand / South Pacific
- Era
- Post-Classical / Medieval
- Significance
East Polynesian voyagers in double-hulled ocean canoes settled Aotearoa New Zealand around the late thirteenth to early fourteenth century, the last major landmass on Earth to be reached by humans.
Converging lines of evidence, radiocarbon dates from the earliest archaeological sites, the bones and gnaw-marks of the Pacific rat (kiore) introduced by the settlers, pollen and charcoal records of rapid forest clearance, and the precise dating of the Kaharoa volcanic eruption, point to permanent settlement concentrated around 1280-1320 CE, with some estimates beginning slightly earlier near 1250. The migrants, ancestors of the Maori, had made one of the most remarkable feats of open-ocean navigation in human history, sailing thousands of kilometres across the Pacific without instruments by reading stars, swells, winds and birds. They adapted East Polynesian horticulture and fishing to a large temperate land, hunting the flightless moa to extinction within roughly two centuries and developing the distinctive Maori culture. Their arrival completed the Austronesian settlement of the Pacific and the global dispersal of humanity.
One piece of history in your inbox, weekly
New empires, events and features as they land — one good email a week. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Empires active in c. 1280-1320 CE
- Mongol Empire1206 CE – 1368 CE
- Kanem-Bornu Empire700 CE – 1900 CE
- Song Dynasty960 CE – 1279 CE
- Abbasid Caliphate750 CE – 1258 CE
- Byzantine Empire330 CE – 1453 CE
- Kilwa Sultanate957 CE – 1505 CE
Related exploration & colonisation events
- Rapid Dispersal Pulse Settling East Polynesiac. 1190-1290 CE
- Marco Polo's journey across the Mongol Eurasia1271–1295 CE
- Polynesian-Native American Transoceanic Contact and the Sweet Potato Transferc. 1150-1230 CE
- Columbus's first voyage reaches the Americas12 October 1492
- Vasco da Gama opens the sea route to India20 May 1498
- The Ming treasure voyages of Zheng He1405–1433 CE
Further reading
The wider story
A History of the Pacific Islands
Accessible overview of Oceania, including the Tongan maritime empire.
Get it on Amazon →As an Amazon Associate, Human Saga earns from qualifying purchases.