king, to the fourth century . According to archaeological research, the origin of this ethnic group would come fromPolynesia , possibly from the Marquesas Islands . Recent theories postulate that the island of Rapa Iti would be the legendary Hiva , of which have come from the ancestors of the natives of Easter Island, according to mythology pascuense .
Rapanui society, governed by the ariki, who claimed direct descent from the gods, was divided into tribes and highly stratified classes.Each tribe occupied an area provided with coastline. Most of the population lived inland, with growing areas. In the coastal centers established religious, political and ceremonial (as in Anakena and Akahanga) and worshiped almost deified ancestors represented by themoai . It is still unknown how the construction was done and displacement of those sculptures, of which there are about a thousand.
The Inca influence Hypothesis
Contrary to the accepted history of the settlement of Easter Island, others, especially the Norwegian archaeologist Thor Heyerdahl , have postulated a South American origin of cultures preincaicas .
On expeditions to the island, Easter Island archaeologist Sergio Rapu posits a relationship between the cultures of northern Peru with Easter Island, specifically the Mochica culturesimilarities and supported by results of DNA studies of ancient islanders made by Jean Dausset . 11 There is also the hypothesis Peruvian historian Jos� Antonio del Busto who argues that the Inca Tupac Yupanqui would have made an expedition to Oceania visiting the region's natural. The hypothesis of the narration of the chroniclers Spanish and Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa who collects the stories of an expedition by Prince Inca Tupac Yupanqui some islands called Auachumbi and Ninachumbi .
According to the thesis of the year 2010 of Jean Herv� Daude, the supposed uniqueness of the culture of Easter Islanders against the rest of Polynesia
