Material Culture Traditions of Prehistoric Murihiku

Abstract

In the last two decades advances in archaeological understanding of radiocarbon dating have led to the re-establishment of settlement of New Zealand at around 1300 A.D., a shortening of the prehistoric sequence by up to 500 years. These developments have over turned pre-existing models of regional culture change throughout New Zealand. While much information regarding change in Murihiku or southern New Zealand exists, little of it has been conceived within the ‘short chronology’. This thesis aims to re-develop an understanding of change in the region through the use of material culture studies.

Two material culture traditions, adzes and fishhooks, from Murihiku were analysed in this research. Artefacts were subjected to paradigmatic classification and the frequency of resulting types used in the seriation of sites and cladistics analysis. Seriation also provided a means of plotting the development of individual character traits through time.

The results of analysis showed a high degree of continuity across all sites in regards to the occurrence of artefacts, however, based on the frequency of forms seriation proved to accurately order the sites chronologically. Diachronic analysis of characters within the adze and fishhook traditions also provided interesting information. The adze tradition appeared to exhibit a constriction in the range of characteristics and the rise of simplistic and ubiquitous forms. Conversely fishhooks showed an increase in elaboration over time.

The results of this analysis suggest that, relative to other regions, the change in Murihiku is conservative. This pattern may be the result of continuity in many economic activities, for which material culture traditions had been adapted, throughout the prehistoric period due to the absence of horticulture in the region.