356
20 Dating the First Migration to New Zealand
On comparison of the spike with that recording the later Taupo eruption, usually
dated to AD 186 and precisely recorded at that date in the Lake Huguang Maar proxy
data (1,764 BP), it is clear that the well-known later eruption was much weaker. It
may nevertheless have caused survival problems for exposed groups, from tsunami,
earthquake and ashfalls.
The loss of fire recorded in Moriori tradition is probably representative of a more
general loss of technologies vital to survival, such as Flannery describes for the
isolated Tasmanians. But in 1027 BC, the loss of fire-making, at a time when cold,
drought and possibly tsunami inundation were impacting on biota, would have made
life difficult for survivors. Loss of biota would probably not have directly affected
survival for a small population but it may have made food-gathering more arduous. As inadequate nutrition and strenuous physical activity are known to increase
age at menarche, to reduce female fertility and to increase the level of infant mortality [6], a reduction in population growth rates after a near-extinction event may
have occurred, slowing demographic recovery. Given the traumatic nature of a nearextinction event, it is hardly surprising that it was remembered in tradition, the
information passed down over a span of 1,800 years.
20.6 The Moriori Law of Non-violence
Ten generations and just over 200 years after the possible near-extinction event
recorded in connection with the Tamahiwaki genealogy, the first settlers arrived in
the Chatham Islands (805 BC). A deliberate colonization of the Chathams seems
improbable. Descendants of first-wave colonists in New Zealand would hardly
choose to go to a harsher and more isolated location during an extreme cold period.
Perhaps a group had decided to return to their original homeland – a hazardous
proposition during a global cold period – or more probably just to move to the North
Island where it was warmer. If their route had taken them up the east coast of New
Zealand, a storm could have driven them to the Chathams. If their canoe was damaged as it beached in the Chathams, and there were no canoe builders aboard or the
canoe builders aboard died before they could pass on their knowledge, permanent
exile would have been the outcome.
Some such scenario is needed to explain the presence of women aboard the canoe
that, either accidentally or deliberately, conveyed the first Chatham Islanders, to
such an isolated archipelago in the Great Southern Ocean. A fishing boat blown to
the Chathams in a storm would probably have had no women aboard.
Sustaining a population in the Chatham Islands over 2,500 years represents an
achievement in adaptation to a harsh environment and an achievement in maintaining an ecological balance. The evolution of a law and culture of non-violence
probably played a significant role in avoiding subsequent extinction. As we suggested above, a small population could not survive casualties among young males
from personal animosity or tribal warfare. A controlled population size, without
growth or loss, was vital for humans and for the seals and birds on which humans
depended. Death through violence was outlawed.
20 Dating the First Migration to New Zealand
On comparison of the spike with that recording the later Taupo eruption, usually
dated to AD 186 and precisely recorded at that date in the Lake Huguang Maar proxy
data (1,764 BP), it is clear that the well-known later eruption was much weaker. It
may nevertheless have caused survival problems for exposed groups, from tsunami,
earthquake and ashfalls.
The loss of fire recorded in Moriori tradition is probably representative of a more
general loss of technologies vital to survival, such as Flannery describes for the
isolated Tasmanians. But in 1027 BC, the loss of fire-making, at a time when cold,
drought and possibly tsunami inundation were impacting on biota, would have made
life difficult for survivors. Loss of biota would probably not have directly affected
survival for a small population but it may have made food-gathering more arduous. As inadequate nutrition and strenuous physical activity are known to increase
age at menarche, to reduce female fertility and to increase the level of infant mortality [6], a reduction in population growth rates after a near-extinction event may
have occurred, slowing demographic recovery. Given the traumatic nature of a nearextinction event, it is hardly surprising that it was remembered in tradition, the
information passed down over a span of 1,800 years.
20.6 The Moriori Law of Non-violence
Ten generations and just over 200 years after the possible near-extinction event
recorded in connection with the Tamahiwaki genealogy, the first settlers arrived in
the Chatham Islands (805 BC). A deliberate colonization of the Chathams seems
improbable. Descendants of first-wave colonists in New Zealand would hardly
choose to go to a harsher and more isolated location during an extreme cold period.
Perhaps a group had decided to return to their original homeland – a hazardous
proposition during a global cold period – or more probably just to move to the North
Island where it was warmer. If their route had taken them up the east coast of New
Zealand, a storm could have driven them to the Chathams. If their canoe was damaged as it beached in the Chathams, and there were no canoe builders aboard or the
canoe builders aboard died before they could pass on their knowledge, permanent
exile would have been the outcome.
Some such scenario is needed to explain the presence of women aboard the canoe
that, either accidentally or deliberately, conveyed the first Chatham Islanders, to
such an isolated archipelago in the Great Southern Ocean. A fishing boat blown to
the Chathams in a storm would probably have had no women aboard.
Sustaining a population in the Chatham Islands over 2,500 years represents an
achievement in adaptation to a harsh environment and an achievement in maintaining an ecological balance. The evolution of a law and culture of non-violence
probably played a significant role in avoiding subsequent extinction. As we suggested above, a small population could not survive casualties among young males
from personal animosity or tribal warfare. A controlled population size, without
growth or loss, was vital for humans and for the seals and birds on which humans
depended. Death through violence was outlawed.