when did humans first arrived in new zealand
History of New Zealand New Zealand was originally settled by Polynesians from Eastern Polynesia. Genetic and archaeological evidence suggests that humans emigrated from Taiwan to Melanesia and then travelled east through to the Society Islands; after a pause of 70 to 265 years, a new wave of exploration led to the discovery and settlement of New Zealand.[4] The most current reliable evidence strongly indicates that initial settlement of New Zealand occurred around 1280 CE.[4] Previous dating of some Kiore (Polynesian rat) bones at 50 â€“ 150 CE has now been shown to have been unreliable; new samples of bone (and now also of unequivocally rat-gnawed woody seed cases) match the 1280 CE date of the earliest archaeological sites and the beginning of sustained, anthropogenic deforestation.[5]
History of New Zealand From the 1790s, the waters around New Zealand were visited by British, French and American whaling, sealing and trading ships. Their crews traded European goods, including guns and metal tools, for Māori food, water, wood, flax and sex.[14] Māori were reputed to be enthusiastic and canny traders, even though the levels of technology, institutions and property rights differed greatly from the standards in European societies.[15] Although there were some conflicts, such as the killing of French explorer Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne in 1772 and the destruction of the Boyd in 1809, most contact between Māori and European was peaceful.