Hawaiian antiquity

Main articles: Ancient Hawaii, Hawaiian mythology, and Polynesian mythology

Anthropologists believe that Polynesians from the Marquesas and possibly the Society Islands first populated the Hawaiian Islands at some time between AD 300 and 1000. There is a great deal of dispute regarding these dates.

Archaeologists and historians also differ as to whether there were one or two waves of colonization. It is believed by some authors that there had been an early settlement from the Marquesas and a later wave of immigrants from Tahiti, circa 1300, who were said to have introduced a new line of high chiefs and the practice of human sacrifice. This later immigration is detailed in folk tales about Paao (Pāʻao). Other authors, however, have argued that there is no archaeological or linguistic evidence whatsoever for a later influx of Tahitian settlers and that Paʻao must be regarded as a myth. Since there are still many supporters of the Paʻao narrative, this topic is still hotly disputed.

Leaving aside the question of Paʻao, historians agree that the history of the islands was marked by a slow but steady growth in population and the size of chiefdoms, which grew to encompass whole islands. Local chiefs, called alii (aliʻi), ruled their settlements and fought to extend their sway and defend their communities from predatory rivals. This was conducted in a system of alii of various ranks somewhat similar to Feudalism.