stylistic:tone, structural:reformatting, information:filtering
First human settlement – Ancient Hawai ʻ i (1000–1778)

Based on archaeological evidence, the earliest habitation of the Hawaiian Islands appears to date between 1000 and 1200 CE. The first wave was probably by Polynesian settlers from the Marquesas Islands, and a second wave of migration from Raiatea and Bora Bora took place in the 11th century. The date of the human discovery and habitation of the Hawaiian Islands is the subject of academic debate. Some archaeologists and historians think it was a later wave of immigrants from Tahiti around 1000 CE who introduced a new line of high chiefs, the kapu system, the practice of human sacrifice, and the building of heiau. This later immigration is detailed in Hawaiian mythology (mo ʻ olelo) about Pa ʻ ao. Other authors say there is no archaeological or linguistic evidence of a later influx of Tahitian settlers and that Pa ʻ ao must be regarded as a myth.

The islands' history is marked by a slow, steady growth in population and the size of the chiefdoms, which grew to encompass whole islands. Local chiefs, called ali ʻ i, ruled their settlements, and launched wars to extend their influence and defend their communities from predatory rivals. Ancient Hawai ʻ i was a caste -based society, much like that of Hindus in India. Population growth was facilitated by ecological and agricultural practices that combined upland agriculture (manuka), ocean fishing (makai), fishponds and gardening systems. These systems were upheld by spiritual and religious beliefs, like the lokahi, that linked cultural continuity with the health of the natural world. According to Hawaiian scholar Mililani Trask, the lokahi symbolizes the "greatest of the traditions, values, and practices of our people... There are three points in the triangle—the Creator, Akua; the peoples of the earth, Kanaka Maoli; and the land, the ʻ aina. These three things all have a reciprocal relationship."