 Archaeology
of the Bay of Plenty By Garry Law. 149 p.What's it about? This report summarises the state of knowledge of the archaeology of the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, and reviews research themes and priorities of the past and for the future. The Bay of Plenty is favoured as a place to live today, but this has not always been the case. Its first settlement by Maori seems to have been sparse, whereas there are numerous sites from the later pre-European occupation period. The early economy was based around the marine resources and soils, which were well suited to cultivation of kumara. The first European visitors took relatively little interest in the region as it generally lacked the gold and accessible timber resources that drove early growth elsewhere, and cobalt-deficient soils made pastoral farming unattractive in much of the area. The development of improved transport resulted in greater growth, and pastoral farming increased as the lowlands and swamps were drained. In the second half of the 20th century, exotic forestry, energy and horticulture were the main drivers of growth in the region, which now has a rapidly increasing population. All of these stories are illuminated by the archaeology of the region, and there is great potential to tell more. To do this, research strategies and plans need to focus on gaining a better understanding of Maori settlement and resource use away from the coast, examining the factors leading to the widespread adoption of pa from about AD 1500, and making better use of the archaeological material arising from mitigation excavations of Maori sites. Comprehensive recording of historic archaeological sites is also needed. |
"The project is to produce a
detailed synthesis, of academic merit and suitable for publication, of
archaeological research in the Bay of Plenty. An ARS is a form of
research and protection strategy framework aimed at formulating a broad
understanding of the resource and its potential. Research themes
and priorities will be defined and will include
The
first is that it must be a primary contact area for the first voyagers to
New Zealand. This belief derives from the geography of the region being
one with the greatest exposure to voyagers from tropical east
Polynesia. This has been reinforced by recent broadening of the number of
early sites known from the region. This reel from Whakatane is of a form
found exclusively in early contexts. It was an ornament worn around the
neck, sometimes alone and sometimes in strings. It has antecedents in the
rest of Polynesia. 
Then
there is the outstanding fortified sites of the area. There are few areas
in New Zealand with pa sites as spectacular as those which line the
hills behind Papamoa.
The
region is also very rich in sites which have produced wooden artefacts.
The archaeological sites of Kohika and Kauri Point Swamp Site have both produced
combs. The Kauri Point site appears to be one where tapu objects, associated
with the head, combs and hair cutting flakes of obsidian were deposited. A
comb from there is illustrated.
Wooden
house parts recovered from Kohika have recently been used to reconstruct the
form of whare used in the area.
Mauao
featured by Pete's Post. The
summit is a famous pa.
