20.4 Computing First Settlement Dates for the Chatham Islands and for New Zealand
351
from New Zealand or perhaps more probably of an attempted migration from the
east coast of the South Island to the warmer North Island in which the migrants’
canoe was blown off course and carried to the Chathams. (Flotsam and jetsam from
the east coast of the North Island are regularly carried there by currents.) Michael
King reached a similar conclusion of accidental migration [4].
Such is the mana attaching to the founder of a new settlement, the leader or
member of a major migration, that it is usual for a genealogy to begin with his name
and the tribe to trace its descent from him in the new land. This widespread practice
gives us the confidence to assume that Tokoroa, the first man listed in this genealogy
(as opposed to the 30 heaven-born ancestors that precede him) was either the leader
of the first migration to New Zealand or one of the original first-wave Spice Island
Lapita-age migrants from whom the Chatham Islanders trace their descent.
This being the case, the genealogy yields the information that the first settlement of New Zealand by Moriori ancestors occurred 27 generations before the time
of Rongomaiwhenua. This gives a date for the first settlement of New Zealand of
about 1378 BC, assuming an average generation length of 21.21 years. If it is argued
that a longer generation length could be expected in New Zealand as opposed to
the less well resourced Chatham Islands, this would give a correspondingly earlier
date. The near-extinction event in New Zealand discussed in the next section may,
however, have been associated with lower life expectancies, as a result, for example, of the loss of technical knowledge which formerly had increased chances of
survival.
The Lake Huguang Maar climate proxy data suggests a correction of the
genealogically based estimate of 1378 BC for the first settlement of New Zealand.
A major climate spike at 3,307 BP corresponds to a date of 1358 BC, 20 years later
than the generational estimate. This climate spike represents a rare event. It is the
only major climate spike in 450 years. It is 300 years before a later climate spike
and 150 years after an earlier one. The pattern, observed in the preceding chapter in
which major oceanic migrations are linked to rare intense climate events, suggests
the likely correlation of such an event with the arrival in New Zealand of a migration
fleet carrying the first New Zealand colonists.
For reference in the following sections, we provide a copy of the last 4,500
years of the Lake Huguang Maar palaeoclimate records, indicating the correlations
(A to L) that we suggest between major spikes in the data and major migrations and
significant voyages recorded in tradition. A list of BC/AD dates, corresponding to
the BP calendar dates utilized in presenting the climate records, is given in Fig. 20.1
for the traditional events we tabulate.
Suggested correlations of major climate spikes with genealogical estimates for
events recorded in Polynesian tradition:
A 720 BP (AD 1230, Level 5 El Niño, Kahukura’s migrations)
B 750 BP (AD 1200, Level 5 + El Niño, Hoaki and Taukata’s voyage to
New Zealand)
C 854 BP (AD 1096, Level 5 El Niño, Southern migrations to Hawaii)
D 983 BP (AD 967, Level 5+ El Niño, Ui-te-Rangiora’s Antarctic voyage)
351
from New Zealand or perhaps more probably of an attempted migration from the
east coast of the South Island to the warmer North Island in which the migrants’
canoe was blown off course and carried to the Chathams. (Flotsam and jetsam from
the east coast of the North Island are regularly carried there by currents.) Michael
King reached a similar conclusion of accidental migration [4].
Such is the mana attaching to the founder of a new settlement, the leader or
member of a major migration, that it is usual for a genealogy to begin with his name
and the tribe to trace its descent from him in the new land. This widespread practice
gives us the confidence to assume that Tokoroa, the first man listed in this genealogy
(as opposed to the 30 heaven-born ancestors that precede him) was either the leader
of the first migration to New Zealand or one of the original first-wave Spice Island
Lapita-age migrants from whom the Chatham Islanders trace their descent.
This being the case, the genealogy yields the information that the first settlement of New Zealand by Moriori ancestors occurred 27 generations before the time
of Rongomaiwhenua. This gives a date for the first settlement of New Zealand of
about 1378 BC, assuming an average generation length of 21.21 years. If it is argued
that a longer generation length could be expected in New Zealand as opposed to
the less well resourced Chatham Islands, this would give a correspondingly earlier
date. The near-extinction event in New Zealand discussed in the next section may,
however, have been associated with lower life expectancies, as a result, for example, of the loss of technical knowledge which formerly had increased chances of
survival.
The Lake Huguang Maar climate proxy data suggests a correction of the
genealogically based estimate of 1378 BC for the first settlement of New Zealand.
A major climate spike at 3,307 BP corresponds to a date of 1358 BC, 20 years later
than the generational estimate. This climate spike represents a rare event. It is the
only major climate spike in 450 years. It is 300 years before a later climate spike
and 150 years after an earlier one. The pattern, observed in the preceding chapter in
which major oceanic migrations are linked to rare intense climate events, suggests
the likely correlation of such an event with the arrival in New Zealand of a migration
fleet carrying the first New Zealand colonists.
For reference in the following sections, we provide a copy of the last 4,500
years of the Lake Huguang Maar palaeoclimate records, indicating the correlations
(A to L) that we suggest between major spikes in the data and major migrations and
significant voyages recorded in tradition. A list of BC/AD dates, corresponding to
the BP calendar dates utilized in presenting the climate records, is given in Fig. 20.1
for the traditional events we tabulate.
Suggested correlations of major climate spikes with genealogical estimates for
events recorded in Polynesian tradition:
A 720 BP (AD 1230, Level 5 El Niño, Kahukura’s migrations)
B 750 BP (AD 1200, Level 5 + El Niño, Hoaki and Taukata’s voyage to
New Zealand)
C 854 BP (AD 1096, Level 5 El Niño, Southern migrations to Hawaii)
D 983 BP (AD 967, Level 5+ El Niño, Ui-te-Rangiora’s Antarctic voyage)