It is undeniable that humans had and continue to have a strong influence on both ecosystems and biodiversity. However, how did early humans impact vegetation and associated evolutionary processes? The remote Hawaiian Islands provide an ideal setting to answer this question as they were comparably only recently (~1000 years ago) inhabited by Polynesians. Colonization led to extensive deforestation, primarily for the cultivation of introduced crops and weeds. Native palms, particularly the genus Pritchardia, were once highly abundant but experienced severe declines after human arrival. This project aims to investigate how the genetic diversity of Pritchardia shifted through time and space by combining genomic data from both extant populations and ancient DNA (aDNA) recovered from sediments and macrofossils. Population genomic structures of contemporary populations will be analysed using short-read sequencing and supported by a reference genome for Pritchardia martii. Based on statistical models we will infer the demographic history and uncover genetic differences between and within populations. Moreover, the exploration of aDNA in this tropical island system displays a major novelty and will allow us to reconstruct ancient plant composition. Combining the contemporary dataset with the fossil data will allow us to cross-validate our results and test e.g. the accuracy of statistical models. Our dataset can then further be used to answer a variety of questions such as species delimitations and dispersal patterns and also inform conservation strategies by identifying populations with the highest genetic diversity and establish baselines for restoration and management.