Māori reach New Zealand
1,300 CE
The last major landmass on Earth to be settled by humans.
Read more — Māori peopleImage source (unverified) auto-matchedArchive › Austronesians
The greatest maritime expansion in human history, out of Taiwan.
Open Austronesians in the interactive timeline →1,300 CE
The last major landmass on Earth to be settled by humans.
Read more — Māori peopleImage source (unverified) auto-matched1,250 CE – 1,500 CE
Nearly a thousand stone figures carved and moved across the island.
Read more — Easter IslandImage source (unverified) auto-matched900 CE – 1,200 CE
Navigators cross thousands of kilometres of open ocean using stars, swells and birds.
Read more — PolynesiaImage source (unverified) auto-matched500 CE – 1,000 CE
Sailors from Borneo cross the Indian Ocean and settle an island off the coast of Africa.
Read more — MadagascarImage source (unverified) auto-matched1,500 BCE – 500 BCE
A distinctive stamped pottery marks the push into Melanesia and out to Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.
Read more — Lapita cultureImage source (unverified) auto-matched2,000 BCE – 1,000 BCE
Austronesian speakers spread through Borneo, Sulawesi, Java and beyond.
Read more — BorneoImage source (unverified) auto-matched2,200 BCE
The first leg south, reaching Batanes and Luzon by boat.
Read more — PhilippinesImage source (unverified) auto-matched3,000 BCE
Austronesians develop the sail and begin expanding out of Taiwan — the start of the greatest maritime expansion in human history.
Read more — Austronesian languagesImage source (unverified) auto-matched