The first human settlement on rapa nui was around 300-400 AD. The first king was hoto-matua whose ship landed on Anakena, one of the beaches. The main proof that these people existed is the 900 giant stone statues all over the island averaging 4 meters high and weighing 13 tons each. these enormous stone statues were carved out of tuff and then placed on stone platform. It is still unknown exactly why these statues were constructed in such numbers and on such a scale, or how they were moved around the island.

The first known European visitor to Easter Island was the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who arrived in 1722. They named the island Paaseiland that translates to easter island to mark the day they arrived. In 1770 Peru sent an expedition