Polynesians were a maritime
people, who populated and explored the central and south
Pacific for around 5,000 years,
up to about 1280 when they discovered New
Zealand. The key invention to their exploration was the outrigger
canoe, which provided a swift and stable platform for carrying goods and
people. Based on limited evidence, it is thought that the voyage to New Zealand
was deliberate. It is unknown if one or more boats went to New Zealand, or the
type of boat, or the names of those who migrated. 2011 studies at Wairau
Bar in New Zealand show a high
probability that one origin was Ruahine Island in the Society
Islands. Polynesians may have used the prevailing north easterly trade
winds to reach New Zealand in
about three weeks. The Cook Islands are in direct line along the migration path
and may have been an intermediate stopping point. There are cultural and
language similarities between Cook
Islanders and New Zealand Maori.
Early Maori had different legends of their origins, but the stories were
misunderstood and reinterpreted in confused written accounts by early European
historians in New Zealand trying to present a coherent pattern of Maori
settlement in New Zealand.
Mathematical modelling based on DNA genome
studies, using state-of-the-art techniques,
have shown that a large number of Polynesian migrants (100-200), including
women, arrived in New Zealand around the same time, in about 1280. Otago
University studies have tried to
link distinctive DNA teeth patterns, which show special dietary influence, with
places in or nearby the Society
Islands.[4]
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