Wairau Bar

Map showing location of Wairau River

The Wairau Bar, or Te Pokohiwi, is a 19 ha gravel bar formed where the Wairau River meets the sea in Cloudy Bay, Marlborough, north-eastern South Island, New Zealand. It is an important archaeological site, apparently settled within one or two generations of the arrival of Polynesians in New Zealand. It is the earliest known human settlement in New Zealand. At the time of the occupation it is believed to have been a low island 2–3 m high, 1.1 km long and 0.4 km wide.

History

The site was discovered by a schoolboy in 1939 and, later in 1942, the 16-year-old discovered more artefacts while digging. Early investigations with Roger Duff found a burial site.Bones were found scattered around the site close to the surface. This was originally believed to have been due to ploughing of the site but work by Bruce Mc Fadgen shows that at some stage,probably between the two periods of occupation, the site was subject to either large storm surge waves or a tsunami which probably contributed to the scattering. Using the techniques of the time about 2000 artefacts and 44 human skeletons were removed and examined in detail.The record seems to show that the partial skeletons of several children were found in shallow graves but these were in such poor condition and scattered that Duff was either unable or unwilling to keep the fragments using the methods of those days. The examination showed that the people were using the same cultural methods as those in eastern Polynesia, particularly the Marquesas Islands.

Skeletal analysis

In 2009 a more modern analysis by Buckley et al found the skeletons had a wide range of estimated ages. Twelve of the 35 adults with assigned ages were over 50. There was only one child's skeleton. The 21 skeletons with teeth all exhibited some developmental enamel disorders, showing they had suffered long stressful periods during childhood but survived to heathy adulthood. Tooth decay was rare, especially amongst males (a similar trait to neolithic North American Indians). Tooth wear was substantial among older individuals, with teeth worn to the roots, but this did not seem to be due to bracken fern root chewing. All the adults showed healed bone fractures, indicating a well-balanced diet and a supportive community structure. The skeletons were all found in shallow graves, with the heads pointing towards the east and the feet to the west, as was the practice in eastern Polynesia. The archaeological layers were shallow.

Site use

The later 2009–2010 study, using more precise modern methods, resulted in the site being more accurately dated by the radiocarbon method to 1288–1300 CE. The site appeared to be occupied twice over a period of about 20 years, which is consistent with information from other early Polynesian colonisation sites in New Zealand. Accurate dates were obtained fron moa egg fragments found in grave and midden sites. Buried with the skeletons were moa bone reel necklaces, whole moa eggs (used as water carriers), argillite adze heads, carved serpentine that looked like shark and whale teeth, harpoon heads and tattoo chisels. Few nephrite (jade or greenstone) artefacts were found. It is believed the site was primarily a factory for making stone adze heads. It has been estimated from the adze heads found and the large area of stone flakes that about 12,000 adze heads were made here or about 400-500 per year. Such large numbers have implications about trade in the early archaic period.

An investigation by a team from Otago University found a huge stone-lined umu or hangi pit (earth oven) 1.5 m deep by 4 m across – estimated to be big enough to feed 1000 people by a local Maori familiar with modern hangi. However these large hangi or umu pits were identified in 1968 (in the Kermadecs) by Roger Duff, as being typical Polynesian Umu Ti. The purpose of the large pit was to cook the tap root of the Ti plant. This was a common method of reducing the tuberous root to a sugary pulp. The Ti can be cultivated easily but is slow growing. The root is about 900 mm long by 90 mm wide, to a point. It is cooked very slowly in an umu for 12–24 hours. The plant is usually associated with the far north of New Zealand but may have been grown further south during the warmer climatic period associated with early Polynesian settlement. A geophysics study showed that it was only one of six such pits in a rough horseshoe shape located on the edge of a lagoon. The study also showed the site to be much bigger than previously thought – at least 11 ha and possibly larger as two boundaries have not been accurately plotted. At least 50% of the area was intact.

By 2007 only 2% of the site had been scientifically investigated. "Intact" skeletons (many minus the head) were found in four groups, with the oldest (1-7) being closer to the sea and at the western end of the site. The largest group of skeletons (15-43) were in an area to the east which covered an oval area 30 m x 50 m. The main habitation area was central,about 25–50 m from the southern lagoon edge. There were three zones of cooking and surface midden debris, all about 100 m x 30 m approximately. The earliest zone was alongside the lagoon and the latter on the ocean side of the island. At the time of the second occupation of the island, the second site was protected from the ocean by a long and narrow boulder bank. There are two tool-making sites - one adjacent to the early occupation zone and the second adjacent to the later burial site. It is apparent that bodies were commonly buried about 60 m from the cooking and working zones.

Exploitation of fauna

After being used for cooking, each umu had subsequently been used as a midden. The bottom layer of the midden showed that at the very earliest occupation time shellfish, such as mussels, were much larger, averaging 250 mm long. The lower layers of the midden also showed that early moa bones were not smashed to get at the marrow as was common in the upper layers. Whale bones were found in the lower layer. Mainly moa leg bones were found indicating that moa were hunted inland and brought to the site for cooking. Bones from all five moa species located in the upper South Island were found. As well as the remains of numerous butchered moa, seals, porpoises, the extinct Haast's Eagle, Eyles' Harrier, New Zealand Swan and New Zealand Raven, Kurī (Maori dogs), Tuatara, Kiore, shellfish such as Pipi, Paua, cockles, and marine bones from eels, skate, sunfish and sharks were found there. Anderson and Smith in their 1996 study stated that the first colonists enjoyed a sustained assault on the local megafauna.

At the time of the latest investigation the local Rangitāne Iwi reburied 60 skeletons claimed to be their forebears in a formal ceremony at the lagoon site.

References

5. McFadgen,B.Hostile Shores.Auckland University Press.2007. ISBN 978 1 86940 390 4

Further reading

• Antiquity. June 1999.T Higham,A Anderson,C Jacomb :Dating the first New Zealanders.
• Wild Tomato Story.Steve Austin .Marlborough Museum. 2008