224
The Context of Field Archaeology
The sequence of fortifications adopted probably varied from pa to pa. Perhaps
first adding a scarp (a steep downwards incline outside the outer palisade) would
have made it harder to attack the outer defences. Adding a terrace within the
pa would have enabled the defenders to throw projectiles over the palisade.
Constructing transverse ditches, creating a deep ditch on the outside of the outermost palisade in place of a scarp, then coupling further palisades with further ditches
and finally building fighting stages for defending the higher outer palisade would be
likely later stages in the fortification sequence.
13.4 Maori Pa in the Context of Falling Populations
In Little Ice Age New Zealand, pa, according to size, can be seen as citadels, fortified
towns or villages. Oral traditions in New Zealand suggest that in some areas permanent occupation of pa may not even represent a recent change in use. For example,
in the story of Hoaki and Taukata and the coming of kumara to New Zealand (which
in Chapter 19 we date to about AD 1200) it is clear that the tribe, led by Tama-kiHikurangi, which the Tahitian brothers visit, are living in their pa rather than using
it as an occasional refuge. Over 200 years earlier, Toi built his famous pa, Kupu-terangi, which Percy Smith tells us, was “situated on a peak of the range lying about
half-a-mile to the east of the modern township of Whakatane” [11]. Traditional evidence establishes that this pa was built by Toi to protect his newly arrived men from
the indigenous peoples already occupying the district. Toi’s need seems to prescribe
continuous rather than occasional use, and this may well have been true for the
many pa built by migrants arriving in New Zealand from Eastern Polynesia in the
Medieval Climatic Optimum. Even though, for safety, Polynesian migrants would
have had little option but to marry into indigenous tribes, their permanent occupation of pa, an additional safety measure, could have become commonplace in the
better districts from the beginning of the Medieval Climatic Optimum. Canoe histories relating to the last migration from Eastern Polynesia make it clear that building
a fortified settlement was the first task for these migrants. If, as Davidson suggests,
the earliest pa were simply defended by palisades and scarps, they would not be as
archaeologically visible as the later Little Ice Age forts, with their massive terracing
and ditches, to say nothing of post holes for 30-ft-high palisades.
13.5 Indonesian Origins for New Zealand Pa?
Neolithic hilltop forts worldwide share engineering features, most notably ramparts,
ditches and palisades. There is no doubt that building pa in New Zealand was an
indigenous practice. There are, however, details of fortified villages from Sumatra
and Borneo that suggest the possibility of a long-remembered tradition lying behind
the detailed construction of the Maori pa, a tradition perhaps going back to Lapita
times. Elsdon Best quotes Nicholas on the similarity of Maori customs with those
The Context of Field Archaeology
The sequence of fortifications adopted probably varied from pa to pa. Perhaps
first adding a scarp (a steep downwards incline outside the outer palisade) would
have made it harder to attack the outer defences. Adding a terrace within the
pa would have enabled the defenders to throw projectiles over the palisade.
Constructing transverse ditches, creating a deep ditch on the outside of the outermost palisade in place of a scarp, then coupling further palisades with further ditches
and finally building fighting stages for defending the higher outer palisade would be
likely later stages in the fortification sequence.
13.4 Maori Pa in the Context of Falling Populations
In Little Ice Age New Zealand, pa, according to size, can be seen as citadels, fortified
towns or villages. Oral traditions in New Zealand suggest that in some areas permanent occupation of pa may not even represent a recent change in use. For example,
in the story of Hoaki and Taukata and the coming of kumara to New Zealand (which
in Chapter 19 we date to about AD 1200) it is clear that the tribe, led by Tama-kiHikurangi, which the Tahitian brothers visit, are living in their pa rather than using
it as an occasional refuge. Over 200 years earlier, Toi built his famous pa, Kupu-terangi, which Percy Smith tells us, was “situated on a peak of the range lying about
half-a-mile to the east of the modern township of Whakatane” [11]. Traditional evidence establishes that this pa was built by Toi to protect his newly arrived men from
the indigenous peoples already occupying the district. Toi’s need seems to prescribe
continuous rather than occasional use, and this may well have been true for the
many pa built by migrants arriving in New Zealand from Eastern Polynesia in the
Medieval Climatic Optimum. Even though, for safety, Polynesian migrants would
have had little option but to marry into indigenous tribes, their permanent occupation of pa, an additional safety measure, could have become commonplace in the
better districts from the beginning of the Medieval Climatic Optimum. Canoe histories relating to the last migration from Eastern Polynesia make it clear that building
a fortified settlement was the first task for these migrants. If, as Davidson suggests,
the earliest pa were simply defended by palisades and scarps, they would not be as
archaeologically visible as the later Little Ice Age forts, with their massive terracing
and ditches, to say nothing of post holes for 30-ft-high palisades.
13.5 Indonesian Origins for New Zealand Pa?
Neolithic hilltop forts worldwide share engineering features, most notably ramparts,
ditches and palisades. There is no doubt that building pa in New Zealand was an
indigenous practice. There are, however, details of fortified villages from Sumatra
and Borneo that suggest the possibility of a long-remembered tradition lying behind
the detailed construction of the Maori pa, a tradition perhaps going back to Lapita
times. Elsdon Best quotes Nicholas on the similarity of Maori customs with those