German archaeologist Karl von den Steinen was the first European visitor to observe evidence of ancient dogs in the Marquesas in 1897–98.
In his excavation of meʻae Iʻipona, a temple complex near the village of Puamaʻu on the northeastern coast of the island of Hiva Oa, he uncovered several stone tiki including two with zoomorphic (animal shaped) quadruped figures carved on them.
During this period, the property and temple site was owned by Reverend James Kekela, a Hawaiian Protestant missionary, who von den Steinen befriended.
He also relied on an elderly Marquesan named Pihua, who was the only living person who knew the names of the tiki at the site.

Measuring 82 centimetres (32 in) high, and 90 centimetres (35 in) in diameter, the first tiki was a megalithic stone head representing an unknown ʻupoko heʻaka "sacrificial victim".
Von den Steinen named it Opferkopf Manuiotaa ("Sacrificial Head Manuiotaa"), after the famous 18th-century Marquesan sculptor Manuiotaʻa from the Nakiʻi tribe, who is believed to have carved both statues and many other tikis on the site.
The head bore totem motifs of quadrupeds and little stick figures representing the Marquesans etua (gods) tattooed on each side of its mouth.
He was informed that the quadrupeds could  depict either dogs, rats or pigs.
However, he concluded they were rats since at the time, dogs were believed to have been introduced by Europeans.
He transported the head back to Germany where it is now displayed at the Ethnological Museum of Berlin.

The second statue was named Tiki Makiʻi Tauʻa Pepe after Manuiotaʻa's wife, known as Tauʻa Pepe (the "Butterfly Priestess"); she reportedly died in childbirth with Makiʻi meaning "writhing in agony".
There are disagreements if the statue should be set in the reclining position as it was discovered or the prone position as it is currently displayed.
It is believed to represent a female in a prone position, head and arms reaching skyward, giving birth, although it has also been interpreted as a female deity bearing the Marquesan people on its back.
Images of quadrupeds were carved as bas-reliefs on each side of the square base of this statue.
This tiki remained in its original spot and is visible today at the site of Iʻipona.
Only one of the dog carving is discernible now; the other one has weathered away.

In 1956, Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl later claimed the reliefs on Tiki Makiʻi Tauʻa Pepe were llamas or pumas instead to bolster his theory that Polynesia was settled from South America.
Later unidentified writers and rumors have insinuated that Heyerdahl deliberately altered and defaced the images in his process of restoring them.

The modern consensus is that the carvings represent the extinct dog; they do not represent llamas, pumas or rats.
German archaeologist Karl von den Steinen was the first European visitor to observe evidence of ancient dogs in the Marquesas in 1897–98. In his excavation of meʻae Iʻipona, a temple complex near the village of Puamaʻu on the northeastern coast of the island of Hiva Oa, he uncovered several stone tiki including two with zoomorphic (animal shaped) quadruped figures carved on them. During this period, the property and temple site was owned by Reverend James Kekela, a Hawaiian Protestant missionary, who von den Steinen befriended. He also relied on an elderly Marquesan named Pihua, who was the only living person who knew the names of the tiki at the site.
Measuring 82 centimetres (32 in) high, and 90 centimetres (35 in) in diameter, the first tiki was a megalithic stone head representing an unknown ʻupoko heʻaka "sacrificial victim". Von den Steinen named it Opferkopf Manuiotaa ("Sacrificial Head Manuiotaa"), after the famous 18th-century Marquesan sculptor Manuiotaʻa from the Nakiʻi tribe, who is believed to have carved both statues and many other tikis on the site. The head bore totem motifs of quadrupeds and little stick figures representing the Marquesans etua (gods) tattooed on each side of its mouth. He was informed that the quadrupeds could  depict either dogs, rats or pigs. However, he concluded they were rats since at the time, dogs were believed to have been introduced by Europeans. He transported the head back to Germany where it is now displayed at the Ethnological Museum of Berlin.
The second statue was named Tiki Makiʻi Tauʻa Pepe after Manuiotaʻa's wife, known as Tauʻa Pepe (the "Butterfly Priestess"); she reportedly died in childbirth with Makiʻi meaning "writhing in agony". There are disagreements if the statue should be set in the reclining position as it was discovered or the prone position as it is currently displayed. It is believed to represent a female in a prone position, head and arms reaching skyward, giving birth, although it has also been interpreted as a female deity bearing the Marquesan people on its back. Images of quadrupeds were carved as bas-reliefs on each side of the square base of this statue. This tiki remained in its original spot and is visible today at the site of Iʻipona. Only one of the dog carving is discernible now; the other one has weathered away.
In 1956, Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl later claimed the reliefs on Tiki Makiʻi Tauʻa Pepe were llamas or pumas instead to bolster his theory that Polynesia was settled from South America. Later unidentified writers and rumors have insinuated that Heyerdahl deliberately altered and defaced the images in his process of restoring them.
The modern consensus is that the carvings represent the extinct dog; they do not represent llamas, pumas or rats.
Marquesan Dog