Oceania 1215 CE

What is happening in Oceania in 1215CE

Discovery of New Zealand

By about this time Polynesian colonists from Tahiti discover New Zealand. It is possible that the new arrivals have come on a single ship; however, the numbers of these ancestral Maoris will soon multiply.

Island Monuments

This period also sees the early stages of the construction of the great statues on Easter Island. These are the product of a culture which gives high value to competitive building between chiefs, with each chief seeking higher status by building larger statues. In future centuries these statues will reach truly massive dimensions. Other Polynesian societies, Tonga and Hawaii for example, also engage in large-scale monumental building in stone, but on a less dramatic scale.

Next map, Oceania in 1453