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Addressing models of Maori interaction and regional variation in New Zealand: an analysis of stone adzes from the Auckland (Tamaki) region
Author(s) -
KNEEBONE BRENDAN,
MCALISTER ANDREW
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
archaeology in oceania
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1834-4453
pISSN - 0728-4896
DOI - 10.1002/arco.5193
Subject(s) - prehistory , archaeology , peninsula , geology , sequence (biology) , variation (astronomy) , physical geography , geography , genetics , physics , astrophysics , biology
This study examines evidence for change in adze form and raw materials in the Auckland (Tamaki) region using a sample of 144 adzes from 11 securely dated assemblages spanning the pre‐European Maori sequence. Non‐destructive portable X‐ray fluorescence geochemical analyses indicate that the assemblages were dominated by two stone sources throughout the sequence; locally available Motutapu greywacke, and Tahanga basalt from the Coromandel Peninsula some 100 km distant. Additional analyses, incorporating adze form and use‐life data, indicate that both materials were used in a similar manner. The results of this study suggest that, although patterns of change argued for in existing models of New Zealand's prehistory provide a broad overview of general trends, targeted studies also are required to identify regional variation.