It seems likely that there was more than one period of migration because different evidence points to migration from the Marquesas, 3,200 kilometers (2,000 miles) away and the Cook Islands. The Rapa Nui language, for example, appears more closely related to that of Cook Islands. Captain Cook had an islander crew member who was born in Bora Bora, Society Islands. He was able to communicate with the Rapa Nui.
Some of the early legends related to the “short ears” and “long ears”. The long ears were regarded as the people from the Marguesas. These people come from an island group to the west of Easter Island and are recognised as being on the migration path as the Melanesian culture expanded through the Pacific. The term relates to long ear lobes that result from decorations being inserted into the ear lobe. Many of the moai demonstrate these long ears. When Cook landed there after his visit to Easter Island, he recorded that his crew had found the local people to be very light skinned. Others reported both light and dark skinned inhabitants of Easter Island. These observations may add some support to the theory of the short ears verses the long ears and there being two periods of migration.
In the first 800 years, the island supported the population and society prospered. According to records made by the missionaries in the 1860s, a ruling hierarchy with it’s warriors class developed and the various sons of the founder assumed leadership roles. Gradually, the society became divided into mata (clans). Each clan could trace their heritage to the sons of Hotu Matuá, who legends say, was the paramount chief that colonised Rapa Nui. There were at least ten mata. Later each mata was divided into subgroups or family groups called Ure. The clans with the highest social status occupied the western side of the island.
As the power of the clans grew so the power of the once paramount chief or king - the ariki mau - declined. This is believed to be the start of the era of the statues, about 1000 AD. As much prestige and pride were attached to the construction of the moai, the clan chiefs ordered more of the statues to be produced. This meant that more and more labour became involved in the building and transportation of these statues and less producing food.
