Moriori

The Moriori are the first settlers of the Chatham Islands ( in Moriori; in Māori). They are Polynesians who came from the New Zealand mainland by at least about 1500 AD, and possibly around the mid-15th century. The settlers' culture diverged from mainland Māori, and they developed a distinct Moriori language, mythology, artistic expression and way of life. The population of Moriori was recorded as being 1,806 in 2023, most of whom did not live on the Chatham Islands. During the late 19th century some prominent anthropologists proposed that Moriori were pre-Māori settlers of mainland New