Direct evidence of the environmental impact of human colonization and subsequent human adaptational responses to new environments is extremely rare anywhere in the world. New Zealand was the last Polynesian island group to be settled by humans, who arrived around the end of the 13th century AD. Little is known about the nature of human adaptation and mobility during the initial phase of colonization. We report the results of the isotopic analysis (carbon, nitrogen and strontium) of the oldest prehistoric skeletons discovered in New Zealand to assess diet and migration patterns. The isotope data show that the culturally distinctive burials, Group 1, had similar diets and childhood origins, supporting the assertion that this group was distinct from Group 2/3 and may have been part of the initial colonizing population at the site. The Group 2/3 individuals displayed highly variable diets and likely lived in different regions of the country before their burial at Wairau Bar, supporting the archaeological evidence that people were highly mobile in New Zealand since the initial phase of human settlement.
High-precision dating and ancient DNA profiling of moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) eggshell documents a complex feature at Wairau Bar and refines the chronology of New Zealand settlement by Polynesians, Journal of Archaeological Science (2014), doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2014 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. chris.jacomb@otago.ac.nz -ph. +64 3 479 8739 ABSTRACT Wairau Bar, New Zealand, is one of the few prehistoric sites in the world that could lay claim to being a site of first human intrusion into a pristine environment. It is certainly one of the best places to study human impact on a hitherto unoccupied land. Its potential status as a colonization phase settlement for New Zealand's Maori population raises questions that require fine-grained chronological resolution. Unfortunately, the simple stratigraphy of the Wairau Bar site has offered little opportunity for the development of high-resolution chronologies. This situation changed recently when new excavations exposed a complex, midden-rich feature which contained a wide range of dateable material, including hundreds of fragments of eggshell of the extinct megaherbivorous moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes). The thick eggshell, with its minimal inbuilt age and high resistance to contamination, is an ideal M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 2 material for radiocarbon dating. Its refractory properties also allow high-quality preservation of DNA. The moa eggshell yielded radiocarbon that facilitated reconstruction of the chronology of deposition at a fine resolution. Ancient DNA profiling of eggshell fragments was used to ensure that dated fragments were from different individuals.Bayesian analysis of the dated fragments showed that the midden was laid down over a brief period in the early decades of the 14th century CE. This improved chronology provides a benchmark for understanding the duration of site occupation and revises current interpretations of the timing of Polynesian settlement of New Zealand. and 1964 by teams from the Canterbury Museum as well as by Eyles and others (Brooks et al. 2011). Most of this work focused on the many burials discovered at the site and their associated grave goods although, later, the stratigraphy and other aspects of the site were also investigated (Trotter 1977). This work was conducted either before the invention of radiocarbon dating or during its infancy.The importance of understanding the chronology of the site has long been recognized (Duff 1956, Trotter 1977, Anderson 1989Challis 1991;Higham et al. 1999); indeed, the first radiocarbon determinations from a New Zealand archaeological site w...
Whale bone was used by Māori throughout New Zealand prehistory as an industrial resource for the manufacture of a range of artefacts. However, the selection of bone and the methods used to process it are poorly understood. This paper details the analysis of a southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) bone working floor that was excavated from a fifteenth-century coastal fishing camp at Kahukura, on the southeast coast of New Zealand. The whale bone working floor assemblage, comprising a large quantity of debitage fragments, was used to reconstruct reduction methods and to determine the products being made at the site. Rib bones were the main element being worked, and were reduced longitudinally using a chipping technique. The intensive bone working assemblage at Kahukura represents the by-products from primary processing. This stage focused on reducing the bones into workable portions so that they could be easily transported to another location, where they were likely further reduced into artefacts.
Direct evidence of the environmental impact of human colonization and subsequent human adaptational responses to new environments is extremely rare anywhere in the world. New Zealand was the last Polynesian island group to be settled by humans, who arrived around the end of the 13th century AD. Little is known about the nature of human adaptation and mobility during the initial phase of colonization. We report the results of the isotopic analysis (carbon, nitrogen and strontium) of the oldest prehistoric skeletons discovered in New Zealand to assess diet and migration patterns. The isotope data show that the culturally distinctive burials, Group 1, had similar diets and childhood origins, supporting the assertion that this group was distinct from Group 2/3 and may have been part of the initial colonizing population at the site. The Group 2/3 individuals displayed highly variable diets and likely lived in different regions of the country before their burial at Wairau Bar, supporting the archaeological evidence that people were highly mobile in New Zealand since the initial phase of human settlement.
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