In the Pacific

Here in the Pacific, the situation for humans is a bit different.  Humans are currently believed to have entered Polynesia around 1,000 BCE.  They are believed to have reached Hawai'i around 300 CE.  Here there was no 5,000 year buildup of civilization as there was in Africa and the Middle East.  Nor were there the masses of neighboring peoples who could be enticed or conscripted to work. 

The Hawaiians built structures, too, just like other places we have seen.  Their major works were heiaus and fishponds.  The heiaus were the Hawaiian's temples and altars.  The fishponds were used to catch and store food.  The only carved stonework in Hawai‘i are the petroglyphs, figures and symbols scratched into stones in a few places. 

Part of the problems was that the Hawaiians had no metal tools to work stone.  There is no metal here at all.  These islands are volcanic, and do not have the metal resources that the continents have.  The same goes for Easter Island, New Zealand, Tahiti, Tonga, Pohnpei, and the Austral Islands.  The all have no metal and no metal tools.