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Gardening at the edge: Documenting the limits of tropical Polynesian kumara horticulture in southern New Zealand
Author(s) -
Bassett Kari N.,
Gordon Hamish W.,
Nobes David C.,
Jacomb Chris
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/gea.10116
Subject(s) - geography , context (archaeology) , phytolith , ecology , archaeology , biology , pollen
An Erratum has been published for this article in Geoarchaeology 19(6) 2004, 613. Kumara ( Ipomoea batatus ), a major food source for Maori, was brought to New Zealand from tropical Eastern Polynesia ∼700 years ago. Maori successfully adapted their cultivation techniques to grow kumara in New Zealand's cooler, seasonal climate, although most kumara cultivation was limited to the warmer North Island, with cultivation becoming more marginal southward. Banks Peninsula area is considered to be the southernmost limit for kumara gardening. The Okuora Farm archeological site on the southern side of Banks Peninsula has five pits that appear to be of the raised‐rim type used for over winter storage of kumara tubers. We conducted a preliminary investigation into the nature of the pits and surrounding 1 km 2 area using nondestructive techniques in accordance with Maori designation of food storage sites as tapu . Ground penetrating radar (GPR) investigation of two of the pits revealed subsurface disturbances consistent with postholes and drains, typical of raised rim kumara storage pits. Soil modification typical of kumara gardening was identified on a 1 ha area on a warm north‐northwest facing hillside. Several large borrow pits were identified as the likely source of the gravel added to the modified soil, possibly to retain heat and moisture. A plant phytolith study of soil samples identified several that appear to be from kumara. The combination of results strongly suggests this site was one of the southernmost Maori kumara gardening sites yet identified in New Zealand. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.