Review of Archaeology of the Bay of Plenty

Background and Introduction

The Archaeology of the Bay of Plenty, written by Garry Law, is not a summary of Law’s personal work within this region of Northern New Zealand, but rather a synthesis of the current knowledge available. Despite its growing popularity in recent years, the Bay of Plenty has not always been a hotspot for human activity. Not enough is known about the history of Maori settlement within this area, and even less is known about the Bay of Plenty after the arrival of the Europeans, and Law asserts that archaeological research can be furthered to fill in these gaps. Based upon sources from the New Zealand Archaeological Association Site Recording Scheme, personal fieldwork, published reports, as well as unpublished reports of primarily “gray” literature, Law has combined the archaeological and historical research and data available on the 8,000+ sites to give the reader a background on the general history of the region in terms of Maori and European settlement, natural history, the use of resources, as well as phenomena that occurred in the Bay of Plenty, such as communication, warfare, industry, farming, and more. However, Law believes there is much more of a story to tell in regards to this area, and by refocusing archaeological research planning and priorities, a far greater understanding can be achieved in the Bay of Plenty.

Settlement History

Firstly, Law provides a brief settlement history within the area. Being situated on a natural trajectory for ancient incoming Polynesian canoes, the Bay of Plenty is a likely location for landfall of the archaic first New Zealanders. Peaceful coexistence likely did not last long in the region, with rising populations creating resource competition within the area and a greater emphasis on defensive settlements and food production. As the Europeans arrived, much of the area went unvisited, with most of the trade and food production occurring elsewhere in New Zealand, especially with prolonged warfare among the Maori throughout the early to mid 19th century discouraging European settlement. After a period of peace in the area, partially aided by the stationing of a small British force, the British began targeting the Tauranga for their military involvement against the Crown, and eventually confiscated their lands in the Bay of Plenty. As the New Zealand Wars continued, the European settlement of the area was a slow process, as resource incentives were fairly low, and this trend continued until the more rapid development of the second half of the 20th century. Law asserts, however, that far more detail can be provided by archaeology to further the understanding of this history of the Bay of Plenty, from early Maori settlement up through the present era.

Natural History

Next, Law presents a fairly detailed natural history of the area and how it connects with land usage, settlement, and how various events have impacted archaeological research. Although having a fairly mild climate, the Bay of Plenty lies within the Taupo Volcanic Zone, which has had a profound impact on life and development within this region. There have been numerous eruptions over the past few thousand years that have affected the landscape greatly, including improving the fertility of the soils in the area, as well as distorting water levels that have placed some prehistoric archaeological sites underwater. Most recently in 1886, the eruption of Tarawera caused numerous deaths and flooded sites and destroyed buildings. Earthquakes in the region have also caused tsunamis in the Bay of Plenty area, which likely caused the erosion of many land areas, destruction of earlier Maori sites, and movement of people in the area, disrupting the archaeological evidence. Significant erosion that has occurred on the coastline, as well as by river drainage, shows evidence of significant instability, which would have affected settlement within the area for centuries. The volcanic activity has also affected the growth of vegetation, as well as the presence of animal life. Various areas have been devastated by the eruptions and eventually revitalized.

Anthropology

Law then discusses the role that anthropology has played in the region. Though there has been ethnographical work done on the Maori in the Bay of Plenty, Law believes the research is very limited and hasn’t been focused enough on the region itself. He finds fault with the reliability of traditional accounts, which can often be misleading or incomplete, and suggests that archaeological research can serve as a way of filling the holes that historical accounts leave, creating a more accurate and complete picture of the truth. However, he believes the reverse to be true in some cases. Integration of history and archaeology in this region has shown signs of success, but far more is needed to truly grasp the scope of human activity in the Bay of Plenty.

Chronological Issues

Chronological issues are another problem that Law addresses. The Kaharoa eruption around 1305 AD has set a clear benchmark for a habitation timeline, and although sites prior to this eruption have been suggested, they have essentially failed to pass more rigorous testing. The use of dating the pumice the came about after this eruption has not shown to be completely reliable, and dates based on obsidian hydration have shown incoherence and have not been discussed in detail. The primary method of dating has been radiocarbon dating, but as researchers have tried to be statistically confident in their dates, the range of the possible true dates have tended to grow to over 100-year margins of error. This makes data highly susceptible to error, and cannot be fully relied upon.

Resource Usage

Neveretheless, Law’s next topic is resource usage. The Maori were fairly reliant on vegetation for their food sources – fruits, roots, , nectars, and pollens were plentiful in the Bay of Plenty region. There isn’t much archaeological evidence pointing to the usage of vegetables, with the exception of one site where seeds were found. A wide array of raw materials were used, however, including various trees and barks, as well as flax. Stones such as obsidian, pumice, and ochre were used to make adzes, sculptures, fishing weights and more, and more precious stones were brought into the area. There is some evidence of the snaring of wild birds, but not much conclusive evidence of the use of birds as a food source exists otherwise. Aquatic life, however, was highly prized by the Maori. Fish and shellfish have been abundant in the region and numerous shell midden have been found throughout the Bay of Plenty region, and the Maori were well-adapted to fishing and renowned for their canoes and seafaring skills. They also practiced horticulture, although archaeological data is quite rare. But there is evidence of sweet potatoes, yams, gourds, taro, and more in the region that the Maori could have cultivated. Kumara was also used, and from this it can be noted that the Maori had to have practiced drainage techniques, and made great usage of the ashy soil. Storage pits were often implemented and it is possible that the people in the Bay of Plenty created garden soils that are found throughout New Zealand during this time period. The Europeans found it difficult in most aspects to capitalize in the Bay of Plenty area because of a lack of initial timber, many swamplands, unsuitable farming area, and more. Eventually, though, the British adopted the maize agriculture of the Maori and mining of gold and silver become more prevalent as technology improved. Additionally, the railway system implemented in the region helped catalyze the mining, farming, and forestry industries in the region.

Maori Settlment Patterns

Little is known about the archaic Maori sites in the Bay of Plenty. There are numerous sites, all near the shoreline of the bay, although the inland area is relatively unexplored archaeologically. There are no pre-Kaharoa sites, but the likelihood of erosion of coastal sites is high. They are also fairly far away from freshwater so settlement in this area would have been less likely than in other areas. There have been many discoveries of various tools like fishhooks or adzes dating to this era, but relatively little has been published about the archaic settlement in this area, and Law asserts that the low amount site findings might conclude that settlement was just rare during this time, and that the population growth after the archaic era might have resulted from a small population base, perhaps due to the increased fertility of soil after the eruption. Later pre-European settlement is far more prevalent. Pa and pit sites dominate the coastal areas and stretch much farther inland than the Maori sites of the archaic era. The settlements started to become more fortified around the 16th century, likely due to the competition in the area. Pa construction continued to the European arrival, with settlements around the harbors, and continuing upriver, and in swamp areas. Many archaeological investigations have been done at pa sites around the Bay of Plenty. Defenses became more and more important as time wore on, with the construction of ditches, walls, and terraces. After contact with the Europeans, the presence of gunfighter pa becomes widespread, with the construction of redoubts for defenses. Various concentrations of pa exist around the Papamoa Hills and Maketu areas of the Bay of Plenty, some actually being quite large, and some were used up until the 1870’s. Some archaeological research has turned up burials, including some related to cannibalism, numerous storage pits and shell midden, and dog burials. Wooden artifacts are fairly widespread throughout the region as well. Religious sites have been discovered but have yet to be researched. Wood and rock carvings are common in the region as well, in rocks, walls, canoes, on trees, and more. There are boundary markers at numerous sites in the eastern region of the Bay of Plenty, and an unusual find thought to be bowling stones in Tauranga.

Specific Sites

Law then specifically discusses a few distinct sites in the area – Athenree/Katikati, Ruahihi, Matakana Island, Papamoa, and Kohika – and shows how archaeology has been used to give a far better picture of life for the Maori. The archaeological evidence has illuminated how pa were constructed, defended, and used, how the land was used, possible cultural explanations of findings, and much more. At Athenree/Katikati, there are various wooden combs found that might possibly tie into a sacred ritual, complex pit construction within the pa, many storage pits for kumara, gardening and cooking terraces, ditches and palisade defenses, drainage systems, and more. At Ruahihi, shows us the use of pa for gardening and food storage well before the addition of defenses, providing further insight into the development of pa over time in the area. At Makatana Island there are many parallels with Athenree/Katikati, but there is usage of the sand dunes for midden as well as gardening, and the density of the site is just as prominent as those on mainland sites, showing us that the favorability of the site transcended the complications of having to bring in necessary resources from the mainland over a long period of time. Papamoa has a plentitude of sites dating from the 15th century onward– pa, pits, rua, middens, and terraces scattered throughout the area. There is evidence of surface structures and undefended satellite sites connected to larger defended pa. Kohika was possibly surrounded by water at one point and contains multilevel structures within the swamp pa. There were thatched houses, storage pits for locally grown foods, spears, shovels, digging sticks, canoe parts, chisels, paddles, bowls, javelins, combs, various decorated carvings, bone tiki, obsidian, fishing gear, needles, and much more, and this site serves as a benchmark for life in the area for this time period. Much more can be understood because of this archaeological evidence and Law has described this to show how valuable it can be to clarifying the history of New Zealand.

Historical Archaeology

Moving onto historical archaeology (post-European arrival), Law states that little has been done archaeologically for this period, and uses this section to highlight the potential that future research has for gaining an understanding of the area by giving an account of much of the significant historical events that occurred. There are many sites such as roads, mills, dams, mines, camps and much more that have been identified, but Law chooses to focus on the historical information at hand that could be used to find a wealth of archaeological research in the Bay of Plenty. The Maori need for guns was a huge catalyst for opening up trade for the Europeans in this area during the time after first contact, and this also served as a major reason that tribal warfare lingered in the area. Missionary efforts happened around this time as well, in the 1830’s. The Musket Wars occurred shortly after contact between the local Maori for quite some time after the adoption of firearms after trade with the British. Numerous battles in the area occurred over the course of well over a decade. Pa became far more defensive and adaptable to gunfire, and the Maori started incorporating cannon in their pa as well. After a treaty was signed, the British began establishing a larger presence in the Bay of Plenty, but there is relatively no archaeology here during this period, and Law says that the aid archaeology could bring in understanding this time period is nonexistent. Drawing from multiple accounts, Law then gives a brief history of the New Zealand Wars, discussing the British expansion into the region with the construction of redoubts, blockhouses, and other defensible positions with which to fight the Maori in the Bay of Plenty. There are accounts of destroyed villages, ships being looted and captured, many battles, skirmishes, and resulting land confiscation in the area, and while archaeology on this area has advanced a bit, there is still much to be discovered, especially since accounts of the events in this area aren’t very available. After this period, colonial settlement started to trickle into the Bay of Plenty. Many towns and rural settlements started cropping up, but little archaeology has been done and there aren’t many recordings of developments in this area. There are accounts of steam mills, hydroelectric power, and large-scale transmission of electricity, but the evidence is lacking, only some remnants have been documented. There are also harbor sites, shipwrecks, roads, railways, airfields, and telegraph lines that have not reached their full potential in terms of archaeological research. The same goes for much of the industry that occurred in the area – food production and processing, mining, quarrying, farming, forestry and more.

Conclusions

In his conclusion, Law highlights many of the distinctive features of the Bay of Plenty that can use further understanding: • The low frequency of Archaic sites. • The lack of evidence of occupation before the Kaharoa Ash eruption—a clear marker through the coastal part of the Bay. • Sites rich in worked wood. • Sites with rock carvings and painting. • The high density of Maori sites along the coast and up the rivers. • The considerable amount of largely unpublished information available from sites excavated for development mitigation. • The general lack of evidence of cultural differentiation through time after the Archaic period, with the particular exception of the change in wooden comb style at the Kauri Point Swamp site. • The scarcity of evidence for use of birds or mammals for food. • The transition from pre-european pa to gunfighter pa dating from the 1820s. • The presence of gunfighter pa dating from the 1820s to the 1970s, and their contrasts with european (Armed Constabulary) redoubts. • The under-development of historical archaeology, which, despite the relatively recent development of the region, has considerable potential. • ‘Literary’ sites of elsdon Best, Adele Stewart, the missionaries in general and edward Shortland.

He believes there is so much potential for this region that has not been realized. In terms of prehistoric archaeology, Law believes understanding of the soils, research of museum artifacts, swamp site archaeology, rock art research, inland site research, undefended site research, and more intensified research in smaller sites will produce a wealth of valuable information. For historic sites, he thinks more focus should be paid to archaeology of underwater sites, goldfields, railways, historic settlements and buildings, farmlands, and industrial sites. Law also acknowledges the restraints to future projects however, including a lack of a “big questions” to incite research, a lack of enough interest from higher academic institutions, a lack of basic site recording in most of the Bay of Plenty region, and a lack of proper coherent documentation of historic events. Overall, Law provides an excellent summation of the current knowledge about the Bay of Plenty and succeeds in showing how the archaeological work that has been done has yielded valuable information about the area, and how there is so much more left to be discovered in order to fully understand the history of the Maori and Europeans in this region. By pointing out the faults of previous research, current research, limitations to research, and missing information that disallows firm evidence of much of the historical accounts identified, Law has covered all his bases and leaves possible future work with a logically suggested goal and plan by which research can be carried out in the Bay of Plenty.