Traditionally, archaeologists have estimated that the earliest settlers arrived in successive waves in outrigger canoes from the Sunda islands (Malay Archipelago) possibly throughout the period between 350 BC and 550 AD, while others are cautious about dates earlier than 250 AD. In either case, these dates make Madagascar the last major landmass on Earth to be settled by humans, except for Iceland and New Zealand. It is proposed that Ma'anyan people were brought as laborers and slaves by Malay and Javanese people in their trading fleets to Madagascar.