Polynesian voyagers from the Marquesas Islands or Tahiti. The date of their first arrival is uncertain. Early archaeological studies suggested they may have arrived as early as the 3rd century CE, while more recent analyses suggest that they did not arrive until around 900-1200 CE. The islands were governed as independent chiefdoms.

In ancient Hawai?i, society was divided into multiple classes. Rulers came from the ali?i class with each island ruled by a separate