born on the island. Tu'u ko Iho is viewed as the leader who brought the statues and caused them to walk.

The Easter Islanders are considered Southeast Polynesians. Similar sacred zones with statuary (marae and ''ahu'') in East Polynesia demonstrate homology with most of Eastern Polynesia. At contact, populations were about 3,000-4,000.

By the 15th century, two confederations, hanau, of social groupings, mata, existed, based on lineage. The western and northern portion of the island belonged to the

1.Previous
3.Next