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A reassessment of settlement patterns and subsistence at P oint D urham, C hatham I sland
Author(s) -
Maxwell Justin J.,
Smith Ian W.G.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
archaeology in oceania
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1834-4453
pISSN - 0728-4896
DOI - 10.1002/arco.5062
Subject(s) - subsistence agriculture , midden , settlement (finance) , archaeology , period (music) , geography , ecology , biology , art , agriculture , world wide web , computer science , payment , aesthetics
Abstract Orthodox reconstructions of subsistence and settlement patterns on C hatham I sland proposed that throughout the pre‐contact period, M oriori lived within small home ranges and relied for food predominantly on fur seals, with plant foods being of little importance. Reassessment of the P oint D urham sites on which these reconstructions were based demonstrates that they were not contemporary, which undermines the orthodox model. Chronological evidence indicates two phases of pre‐contact occupation and that the largest fur seal midden probably derives from the early historical period. During both pre‐contact phases, settlement patterns involved residential mobility between sites of different function along with the transporting of resources over wider territories than the orthodox model allowed. Subsistence evidence shows a shift from initial reliance on fur seals to a broader spectrum of smaller marine animals. Furthermore, new palaeobotanical data indicate that plants, in particular kōpi ( C orynocarpus laevigatus ), were an important component of diet.