<P> The Austronesian Polynesians , who first settled the island , are likely to have arrived from the Marquesas Islands from the west . These settlers brought bananas , taro , sugarcane , and paper mulberry , as well as chickens and Polynesian rats . The island at one time supported a relatively advanced and complex civilization . </P>
where did the original inhabitants of easter island come from
the Marquesas Islands from the west