Chapter 13
The Context of Field Archaeology: The Maori Pa
Abstract Evidence is gathered from early European accounts and from modern
field archaeology to illustrate the numbers, density and population capacity of Maori
pa (hill-forts). This evidence reveals the scale of pa-building in horticultural areas,
the density of pa in the landscape, the very considerable population capacity of
both large pa and of pa large enough to be described as citadels and the importance
of pa in defending horticultural land, stored harvests and access to harbours and
rivers and so to marine and estuarine resources. Both early European and Maori
accounts report pa capacity greatly in excess of Maori populations at the time of
European contact and link this to population decline. The material presented in
this chapter provides a necessary and enriching background to the archaeological
and demographic evidence we consider in the following chapters. That evidence
and its interpretation are central to our demographic argument for a very early first
settlement of New Zealand.
Keywords New Zealand field archaeology · Pa capacity · Indonesian origins of
pa · Prehistoric populations
13.1 Introduction
In Chapter 11, challenging the claim for a late first settlement of New Zealand,
we demonstrated the excess of pa capacity when viewed in the accepted frame of
an increasing population, an assumption basic to a theory of late first settlement.
We showed that estimates of Maori population in New Zealand at the end of the
18th century, when viewed as peak or near-peak populations, are incompatible with
evidence for pa capacity. In this chapter we consider evidence from early European
accounts of Maori pa and from modern field archaeology as to the numbers, density
and population capacity of pa. These accounts support our argument for drastic
population loss during the Little Ice Age. The material presented in this chapter
provides a necessary and enriching background to the archaeological evidence we
consider in the next chapters. That evidence and its interpretation are central to our
demographic argument for a very early first settlement of New Zealand.
217
C.E.M. Pearce, F.M. Pearce, Oceanic Migration,
DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-3826-5_13, C
Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010
The Context of Field Archaeology: The Maori Pa
Abstract Evidence is gathered from early European accounts and from modern
field archaeology to illustrate the numbers, density and population capacity of Maori
pa (hill-forts). This evidence reveals the scale of pa-building in horticultural areas,
the density of pa in the landscape, the very considerable population capacity of
both large pa and of pa large enough to be described as citadels and the importance
of pa in defending horticultural land, stored harvests and access to harbours and
rivers and so to marine and estuarine resources. Both early European and Maori
accounts report pa capacity greatly in excess of Maori populations at the time of
European contact and link this to population decline. The material presented in
this chapter provides a necessary and enriching background to the archaeological
and demographic evidence we consider in the following chapters. That evidence
and its interpretation are central to our demographic argument for a very early first
settlement of New Zealand.
Keywords New Zealand field archaeology · Pa capacity · Indonesian origins of
pa · Prehistoric populations
13.1 Introduction
In Chapter 11, challenging the claim for a late first settlement of New Zealand,
we demonstrated the excess of pa capacity when viewed in the accepted frame of
an increasing population, an assumption basic to a theory of late first settlement.
We showed that estimates of Maori population in New Zealand at the end of the
18th century, when viewed as peak or near-peak populations, are incompatible with
evidence for pa capacity. In this chapter we consider evidence from early European
accounts of Maori pa and from modern field archaeology as to the numbers, density
and population capacity of pa. These accounts support our argument for drastic
population loss during the Little Ice Age. The material presented in this chapter
provides a necessary and enriching background to the archaeological evidence we
consider in the next chapters. That evidence and its interpretation are central to our
demographic argument for a very early first settlement of New Zealand.
217
C.E.M. Pearce, F.M. Pearce, Oceanic Migration,
DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-3826-5_13, C
Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010