Analysis based principally on "Manuscript E", written by Easter Islanders in the early 20th century and made public in 1955. Refutes Heyerdahl's contention that aboriginals from the Americas settled Easter Island, asserting instead discovery and settlement by central Polynesians. Reliance on ethnoscientific data on place names, ethnobotany, ethnozoology, calendrical divisions, etc. Includes the complete Rapanui (Polynesian) text of Manuscript E.