Ko Aotearoa tētahi o ngā whenua nui whakamutunga i nohoia e te tangata. E ai ki ngā taunakitanga radiocarbon, ko ngā taunakitanga o te whakangaromanga o te ngahere me te rerekētanga o te DNA mitochondrial i roto i ngā iwi Māori, i noho tuatahi ai a Aotearoa e ngā tāngata o Polynesia ki te Rāwhiti i waenganui i te 1250 me te 1300, i te mutunga o tētahi raupapa roa o ngā haerenga mā ngā moutere o te tonga o te Moananui-a-Kiwa. I ngā rau tau i whai ake, ka whakawhanakehia e ēnei tangata noho he ahurea motuhake e mōhiotia ana ināianei ko Māori. I wehewehea te iwi ki ngā iwi iwi (iwi) me ngā hapū (iwi) e mahi tahi ana, i ētahi wā e whakataetae ana, i ētahi wā e whawhai ana hoki ki a rātou anō. I tētahi wā ka heke atu tētahi rōpū Māori ki Rēkohu, e mōhiotia ana ināianei ko ngā Moutere Chatham, i reira i whakawhanakehia ai e rātau tō rātau ahurea Moriori.
iwi (iwi) me te hapū (subtribes)