Ancient Hawaiʻi - wikipedia Ancient Hawaiʻi Part of a series on the History of Hawaii Timeline Ancient Kingdom of Hawaii Provisional Government Republic of Hawaii Modern - day Hawaii U.S. Territory State of Hawaii Hawaii portal Petroglyphs at Hawai ʻi Volcanoes National Park Ancient Hawai ʻi is the period of Hawaiian human history preceding the unification in 1810 of the Kingdom of Hawai ʻi by Kamehameha the Great. Researchers had based their estimates of first settlement by Polynesian long - distance navigators from French Polynesia, Tahiti, the Tuamotus and the Samoan Islands sporadically between 300 and 800. In 2010, a study was published based on radiocarbon dating of more reliable samples and it suggests that the islands were settled much later, within a short timeframe, in c. 1219 -- 1266. The islands in Eastern Polynesia have been characterized by the continuities among their cultures, and the short migration period would be an explanation of this result. Diversified agroforestry and aquaculture provided sustenance for Native Hawaiian cuisine. Tropical materials were adopted for housing. Elaborate temples ( called heiau ) were constructed from the lava rocks available. The rich natural resources supported a relatively dense population, organized by a ruling class and social system with religious leaders. Captain James Cook made the first known European contact with ancient Hawaiians in 1778. He was followed by many other Europeans and Americans. Contents 1 Voyage to the Hawaiian islands 2 Settlement 3 Village 4 Caste system 5 Education 6 Land tenure 7 Religion and the Kapu system 8 Chiefs 9 Subsistence economy 10 First recorded European contact 11 See also 12 Notes 13 References 13.1 Primary sources 13.2 Secondary sources 14 External links Voyage to the Hawaiian islands Main article : Polynesian navigation See also : Discovery and settlement of Hawaii Priests traveling across Kealakekua Bay for first contact rituals. Each helmet is a gourd, with foliage and tapa strip decoration. A feather - surrounded akua is in the arms of the priest at the center of the engraving. There have been changing views about initial Polynesian discovery and settlement of Hawai'i. Radiocarbon dating in Hawai'i initially indicated a possible settlement as early as 124. Patrick Vinton Kirch 's books on Hawaiian archeology, standard textbooks, date the first Polynesian settlements to about 300 with more recent suggestions by Kirch as late as 600. Other theories suggest dating as late as 700 to 800. In 2010 researchers announced new findings using revised, high - precision radiocarbon dating based on more reliable samples than were previously used in many dating studies. This new data indicates that the period of eastern and northern Polynesian colonization took place much later, in a shorter time frame of two waves : the `` earliest in the Society Islands c. 1025 -- 1120, four centuries later than previously assumed ; then after 70 -- 265 y, dispersal continued in one major pulse to all remaining islands c. 1190 -- 1290. '' According to this research, settlement of the Hawaiian Islands took place circa 1219 -- 1266. This rapid colonization is believed to account for the `` remarkable uniformity of East Polynesia culture, biology and language. '' According to Hawaiian mythology, there were other settlers in Hawai ʻi, peoples who were forced back into remote valleys by newer arrivals. They claim that stories about menehune, little people who built heiau and fishponds, prove the existence of ancient peoples who settled the islands before the Hawaiians. Settlement The colonists brought along with them clothing, plants ( called `` canoe plants '' ) and livestock and established settlements along the coasts and larger valleys. Upon their arrival, the settlers grew kalo ( taro ), mai ʻa ( banana ), niu ( coconut ), ulu ( breadfruit ), and raised pua ʻa ( pork ), moa ( chicken ), and ʻīlio ( poi dog ), although these meats were eaten less often than fruits, vegetables, and seafood. Popular condiments included pa'akai ( salt ), ground kukui nut, limu ( seaweed ), and ko ( sugarcane ) which was used as both a sweet and a medicine. In addition to the foods they brought, the settlers also acquired ʻuala ( sweet potato ), which has yet to be adequately explained, as the plant originates in South America. A few researchers have argued that the presence of the sweet potato in the ancient Hawaiian diet is mysterious. The Pacific rat accompanied humans on their journey to Hawaiʻi. David Burney argues that humans, along with the vertebrate animals they brought with them ( pigs, dogs, chickens and rats ), caused many native species of birds, plants and large land snails to become extinct in the process of colonization. Estuaries and streams were adapted into fishponds by early Polynesian settlers, as long ago as 500 CE or earlier. Packed earth and cut stone were used to create habitat, making ancient Hawaiian aquaculture among the most advanced of the original peoples of the Pacific. A notable example is the Menehune Fishpond dating from at least 1,000 years ago, at Alekoko. At the time of Captain James Cook 's arrival, there were at least 360 fishponds producing 2,000,000 pounds ( 900,000 kg ) of fish per year. Over the course of the last millennium, Hawaiians undertook `` large - scale canal - fed pond field irrigation '' projects for kalo ( taro ) cultivation. As soon as they arrived, the new settlers built hale ( homes ) and heiau ( temples ). Archaeologists currently believe that the first settlements were on the southern end of the Big Island of Hawaiʻi and that they quickly extended northwards, along the seacoasts and the easily accessible river valleys. As the population increased, settlements were made further inland. At this time, with the islands being so small, the population was very dense. Before European contact, the population had reached somewhere in the range of 200,000 to 1,000,000 people. After contact with the Europeans, however, the population steeply dropped due to various diseases including smallpox. Village Hāpaiali ʻi and Ke ʻeku Heiau A traditional town of ancient Hawai ʻi included several structures. Listed in order of importance : Heiau, temple to the gods. There were two major types. The agricultural mapele type was dedicated to Lono, and could be built by the nobility, priests, and land division chiefs, and whose ceremonies were open to all. The second type, luakini, were large war temples, where animal and human sacrifices were made. They were built on high - rising stone terraces and adorned with wood and stone carved idols. A source of great mana or divine power, the luakini could only be entered by ali ʻi, the king, important chiefs and nobility, and kahuna who were members of the Kū priesthood. Hale ali ʻi, the house of the chief. It was used as a residence for the high chief and meeting house of the lesser chiefs. It was always built on a raised stone foundation to represent high social standing. Kāhili, or feather standards, were placed outside to signify royalty. Women and children were banned from entering. Hale pahu, the house of the sacred hula instruments. It held the pahu drums. It was treated as a religious space as hula was a religious activity in honor of the goddess Laka. Hale papa ʻa, the house of royal storage. It was built to store royal implements including fabrics, prized nets and lines, clubs, spears and other weapons. Hale ulana, the house of the weaver. It was the house where craftswomen would gather each day to manufacture the village baskets, fans, mats and other implements from dried pandanus leaves called lauhala. Hale mua, the men 's eating house. It was considered a sacred place because it was used to carve stone idols of ʻaumakua or ancestral gods. Men and women could not eat with each other for fear that men were vulnerable while eating to have their mana, or divine spirit, stolen by women. Women ate at their own separate eating house called the hale ʻaina. The design was meant for the men to be able to enter and exit quickly. Hale wa ʻa, the house of the canoe. It was built along the beaches as a shelter for their fishing vessels. Hawaiians also stored koa logs used to craft the canoes. Hale lawai ʻa, the house of fishing. It was built along the beaches as a shelter for their fishing nets and lines. Nets and lines were made by a tough rope fashioned from woven coconut husks. Fish hooks were made of human, pig or dog bone. Implements found in the hale lawai ʻa were some of the most prized possessions of the entire village. Hale noho, the living house. It was built as sleeping and living quarters for the Hawaiian family unit. Imu, the communal earth oven. Dug in the ground, it was used to cook the entire village 's food including pua ʻa or pork. Only men cooked using the imu. Caste system 18th century Hawaiian helmet and cloak, signs of royalty. Ancient Hawai ʻi was a caste society developed from Polynesians. The main classes were : Ali ʻi. This class consisted of the high and lesser chiefs of the realms. They governed with divine power called mana. Kahuna. Priests conducted religious ceremonies, at the heiau and elsewhere. Professionals included master carpenters and boatbuilders, chanters, dancers, genealogists, physicians and healers. Maka ʻāinana. Commoners farmed, fished, and exercised the simpler crafts. They labored not only for themselves and their families, but to support the chiefs and kahuna. Kauwā. They are believed to have been war captives or the descendants of war captives. Marriage between higher castes and the kauwā was strictly forbidden. The kauwā worked for the chiefs and were often used as human sacrifices at the luakini heiau. ( They were not the only sacrifices ; law - breakers of all castes or defeated political opponents were also acceptable as victims. ). Education Hawaiian youth learned life skills and religion at home, often with grandparents. For `` bright '' children a system of apprenticeship existed in which very young students would begin learning a craft or profession by assisting an expert, or kahuna. As spiritual powers were perceived by Hawaiians to imbue all of nature, experts in many fields of work were known as kahuna, a term commonly understood to mean priest. The various types of kahuna passed on knowledge of their profession, be it in `` genealogies, or mele, or herb medicine, or canoe building, or land boundaries, '' etc. by involving and instructing apprentices in their work. More formal schools existed for the study of hula, and likely for the study of higher levels of sacred knowledge. The kahuna took the apprentice into his household as a member of the family, although often `` the tutor was a relative ''. During a religious `` graduation '' ceremony, `` the teacher consecrated the pupil, who thereafter was one with the teacher in psychic relationship as definite and obligatory as blood relationship. '' Like the children learning from their grandparents, children who were apprentices learned by watching and participating in daily life. Children were discouraged from asking questions in traditional Hawaiian culture. Land tenure In Hawaiian ideology, one does not `` own '' the land, but merely dwells on it. The belief was that both the land and the gods were immortal. This then informed the belief that land was also godly, and therefore above mortal and ungodly humans, and humans therefore could not own land. The Hawaiians thought that all land belonged to the gods ( akua ). The ali ʻi were believed to be `` managers '' of land. That is, they controlled those who worked on the land, the maka ʻāinana. On the death of one chief and the accession of another, lands were re-apportioned -- some of the previous `` managers '' would lose their lands, and others would gain them. Lands were also re-apportioned when one chief defeated another and re-distributed the conquered lands as rewards to his warriors. In practice, commoners had some security against capricious re-possession of their houses and farms. They were usually left in place, to pay tribute and supply labor to a new chief, under the supervision of a new konohiki, or overseer. This system of land tenure is similar to the feudal system prevalent in Europe during the Middle Ages. The ancient Hawaiians had the ahupua ʻa as their source of water management. Each ahupua ʻa had a sub-division of land from the mountain to the sea. The Hawaiians used the water from the rain that ran through the mountains as a form of irrigation. Hawaiians also settled around these parts of the land because of the farming that was done. Religion and the kapu system Main article : Kapu Religion held ancient Hawaiian society together, affecting habits, lifestyles, work methods, social policy and law. The legal system was based on religious kapu, or taboos. There was a correct way to live, to worship, and even to eat. Examples of kapu included the provision that men and women could not eat together ( ʻAikapu religion ). Fishing was limited to specified seasons of the year. The shadow of the ali ʻi must not be touched as it was stealing his mana. The rigidity of the kapu system might have come from a second wave of migrations in 1000 -- 1300 from which different religions and systems were shared between Hawai ʻi and the Society Islands. Hawai ʻi would have been influenced by the Tahitian chiefs, the kapu system would have become stricter, and the social structure would have changed. Human sacrifice would have become a part of their new religious observance, and the ali ʻi would have gained more power over the counsel of experts on the islands. Kapu was derived from traditions and beliefs from Hawaiian worship of gods, demigods and ancestral mana. The forces of nature were personified as the main gods of Kū ( God of War ), Kāne ( God of Light and Life ), Kanaloa ( God of Death ), and Lono ( God of peace and growth ). Well - known lesser gods include Pele ( Goddess of Fire ) and her sister Hi ʻiaka ( Goddess of Dance ). In a famous creation story, the demigod Māui fished the islands of Hawai ʻi from the sea after a little mistake he made on a fishing trip. From Haleakalā, Māui ensnared the sun in another story, forcing him to slow down so there were equal periods of darkness and light each day. The Hawaiian mystical worldview allows for different gods and spirits to imbue any aspect of the natural world. From this mystical perspective, in addition to his presence in lightning and rainbows, the God of Light and Life, Kāne, can be present in rain and clouds and a peaceful breeze ( typically the `` home '' of Lono ). Although all food and drink had religious significance to the ancient Hawaiians, special cultural emphasis was placed on ʻawa ( kava ) due to its narcotic properties. This root - based beverage, a psychoactive and a relaxant, was used to consecrate meals and commemorate ceremonies. It is often referred to in Hawaiian chant. Different varieties of the root were used by different castes, and the brew served as an `` introduction to mysticism ''. Chiefs Main article : Ruling chiefs of Hawaii The four biggest islands, the island of Hawaiʻi, Maui, Kauaʻi and Oʻahu were generally ruled by their own aliʻi nui ( supreme ruler ) with lower ranking subordinate chiefs called aliʻi ʻaimoku, ruling individual districts with land agents called konohiki. All these dynasties were interrelated and regarded all the Hawaiian people ( and possibly all humans ) as descendants of legendary parents, Wākea ( symbolizing the air ) and his wife Papa ( symbolizing the earth ). Up to the late eighteenth century, the island of Hawaiʻi had been ruled by one line descended from Umi - a-Liloa. At the death of Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku, a lower ranking chief, Alapainui, overthrew the two sons of the former ruler who were next in line as the island 's aliʻi nui. Assuming five to ten generations per century, the Ali ʻi ʻAimoku dynasties were around three to six centuries old at 1800 CE. The Tahitian settlement of the Hawaiian islands is believed to have taken place in the thirteenth century. The ali ʻi and other social castes were presumably established during this period. Subsistence economy The ancient Hawaiian economy became complex over time. People began to specialize in specific skills. Generations of families became committed to certain careers : roof thatchers, house builders, stone grinders, bird catchers who would make the feather cloaks of the ali ʻi, canoe builders. Soon, entire islands began to specialize in certain skilled trades. Oʻahu became the chief kapa ( tapa bark cloth ) manufacturer. Maui became the chief canoe manufacturer. The island of Hawai ʻi exchanged bales of dried fish. First recorded European contact European contact with the Hawaiian islands marked the beginning of the end of the ancient Hawai ʻi period. In 1778, British Captain James Cook landed first on Kaua ʻi, then sailed southwards to observe and explore the other islands in the chain. When he first arrived at Kealakekua Bay in 1779, some of the natives believed Cook was their god Lono. Cook 's mast and sails coincidentally resembled the emblem ( a mast and sheet of white kapa ) that symbolized Lono in their religious rituals ; the ships arrived during the Makahiki season dedicated to Lono. Captain Cook was eventually killed during a violent confrontation and left behind on the beach by his retreating sailors. The British demanded that his body be returned, but the Hawaiians had already performed funerary rituals of their tradition. Within a few decades Kamehameha I used European warfare tactics and some firearms and cannon to unite the islands into the Kingdom of Hawai ʻi. See also Māori culture Mary Kawena Pukui, scholar of ancient Hawaiian culture Polynesian culture List of monarchs ( Aliʻi ʻAimoku ) of Hawaii List of monarchs ( Aliʻi ʻAimoku ) of Kauai List of monarchs ( Aliʻi ʻAimoku ) of Oahu List of monarchs ( Aliʻi ʻAimoku ) of Maui List of monarchs ( Aliʻi ʻAimoku ) of Molokaʻi Notes ^ Jump up to : Janet M. Wilmshurst, Terry L. Hunt, Carl P. Lipo, and Atholl J. Anderson. `` High - precision radiocarbon dating shows recent and rapid initial human colonization of East Polynesia '', PNAS, vol. 108 no. 5, doi : 10.1073 / pnas. 1015876108, accessed 26 October 2015 ^ Jump up to : Charles E.M. Pearce ; F.M. Pearce ( 17 June 2010 ). Oceanic Migration : Paths, Sequence, Timing and Range of Prehistoric Migration in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 167. ISBN 978 - 90 - 481 - 3826 - 5. Jump up ^ Emory, K.P., W.J. Bonk and Y.H. Sinoto. 1959. Hawaiian Archaeology : Fishhooks. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Special Publication 47. Honolulu Jump up ^ Elvi W. Whittaker ( January 1986 ). The Mainland Haole : The White Experience in Hawaii. Columbia University Press. p. 3. ISBN 978 - 0 - 231 - 05316 - 7. Jump up ^ Maclay, Kathleen ( July 8, 2010 ). `` Coral tests show fast construction pace for Polynesian temples ''. UC Berkeley. Berkeley News. Retrieved 2 April 2016. Jump up ^ The best survey of these stories, all collected in the latter part of the 19th century, is found in Beckwith 's Hawaiian mythology, pp. 321 -- 336. Jump up ^ Adams, 2006, pp. 90 -- 92 Jump up ^ Burney, Back to the Future in the Caves of Kaua'i. pp. 83 ^ Jump up to : Costa - Pierce, B.A. ( 1987 ). `` Aquaculture in ancient Hawaii '' ( PDF ). BioScience. 37 ( 5 ) : 320 -- 331. doi : 10.2307 / 1310688. JSTOR 1310688. Jump up ^ Burney, Back to the Future in the Caves of Kaua'i. pp. 60 - 62 Jump up ^ Kirch, Hawaiki, Ancestral Polynesia. pp. 130 - 131 Jump up ^ Dye, Tom. `` Population Trends in Hawai'i Before 1778. '' The Hawaiian Journal of History, vol. 28 Jump up ^ Linda W. Greene ( 1993 ). `` Chapter 1, E. 6. d ''. A Cultural History of Three Traditional Hawaiian Sites on the West Coast of Hawai'i Island. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Denver Service Center. Retrieved 18 March 2018. ^ Jump up to : Handy and Pukui, The Polynesian Family System in Ka - ' U, Hawai'i pp. 90 Jump up ^ Dudley, M.K. Man, Gods, and Nature. pp. 95 Jump up ^ Handy, E.S.C. Ancient Hawaiian Civilization pp. 55 - 57 Jump up ^ Rosenfeld, Alan. `` Ancient Polynesia. '' 19 Nov. 2013. p. 13. Lecture. Jump up ^ Polynesian Migrations. Hawaii History. 14 November 2010 Archived July 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. ^ Jump up to : Dudley, Man, Gods, and Nature. pp. 77 Jump up ^ Handy, Ancient Hawaiian Civilization. pp. 63 Jump up ^ Kamakau 1961, pp. 103 -- 104 References Primary sources Kamakau, Samuel ( 1992 ) ( 1961 ). Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii ( Revised ed. ). Honolulu : Kamehameha Schools Press. ISBN 0 - 87336 - 014 - 1. Secondary sources Adams, Wanda A. ( 2006 ). `` The Island Plate : 150 Years of Recipes and Food Lore from the Honolulu Advertiser ''. Waipahu, Hawaiʻi : Island Heritage Publishing. Finney, Ben R. ( 1994 ). Voyage of Rediscovery : A Cultural Odyssey Through Polynesia. University of California Press. ISBN 0 - 520 - 08002 - 5. Kane, Herb Kawainui ( 1998 ). Ancient Hawaii. Kawainui Press. ISBN 0 - 943357 - 03 - 9. Kirch, Patrick Vinton ( 2001 ). On the Road of the Winds : An Archaeological History of the Pacific Islands Before European Contact. University of California Press. ISBN 0 - 520 - 23461 - 8. Kirch, Patrick ( 2001 ). Hawaiki. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 521 - 78309 - 5. Luomala, Katherine ( 1951 ). The Menehune of Polynesia and Other Mythical Little People of Oceania. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin Vol. 203. External links `` Hawaiian Historical Society ''. official web site. Retrieved May 12, 2010. `` Hawaii History Community Learning Center ''. Archived from the original on April 12, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2010. `` European Influence in Ancient Hawaii ''. Archived from the original on 2011 - 07 - 08. Retrieved February 18, 2015. `` Significant Dates in the History of Hawaiʻi ''. Hawaiian Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2010 - 01 - 24. Retrieved February 18, 2015. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ancient_Hawaii&oldid=855069789 '' Categories : Ancient peoples Ancient Hawaii Polynesian culture Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2018 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Deutsch Español Bahasa Indonesia 日本 語 Edit links This page was last edited on 15 August 2018, at 18 : 38 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. 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Question: where did the first settlers of hawaii come from
Answer: Polynesian long-distance navigators from French Polynesia