On New Zealand’s Chatham Islands, the complete remains of a wooden boat used by the islands’ indigenous Polynesians—perhaps even to arrive there, have been found.

This monumental and unprecedented discovery will yield fascinating insights about the settlement of the island, the dates it would have occurred, and maybe even about other islands in the Pacific.

Starting 3,000 years ago, but particularly in the 13th century CE, Polynesians struck out across the Pacific and settled a huge number of the islands in the vast ocean. They sailed by the stars and other open ocean indicators like birds on large boats called ‘wakas.’