Middle AgesExploration Polynesians reach New Zealand c. 1250Major Māori ancestors complete the last major human settlement of a large habitable landmass. ▲ MattersSaveShareTrace roots Longest chain: The Big Bang → First stars ignite → Supernovae seed heavy elements → The Sun forms → Earth forms → First oceans → First life → Photosynthesis evolves → Great Oxidation Event → Complex cells (eukaryotes) → Multicellular life → First animals → Cambrian Explosion → First vertebrates → Jawed fish → Fish walk onto land → The amniotic egg → The Great Dying → Dinosaurs appear → Asteroid ends the dinosaurs → Early primates → Apes split from monkeys → Human line splits from chimpanzees → Walking upright → First stone tools → Genus Homo appears → Homo erectus → Control of fire → Habitual fire and cooking → Homo sapiens appears → First seagoing watercraft → Sailing boats → Austronesian expansion from Taiwan → Lapita voyagers enter the Pacific → Polynesians reach New Zealand Community notesLoading notes… Learn more ranked by votesDocumentteara.govt.nzMaori arrival and settlement (Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand) ↗Editor's pickBookMichael KingThe Penguin History of New Zealand ↗Editor's pickVideoSearch on YouTubePolynesian settlement of New Zealand history ↗Editor's pick