Wetland Archaeology and the Study of Late Māori Settlement Patterns and Social Organisation in Northern New Zealand

Abstract

This paper is concerned with prehistoric changes in the scale of settlement, social organisation and chieftainship in northern New Zealand. It suggests an excavation strategy for pā, describes examples of sites at a communal level and carries insights from wetland archaeology into the study of wider social landscapes. Increasing stress within landscapes is implicit in episodes of pā building, which occurred at different times in different places. Large strategic pā were built for regional defence and there is a suggestion of continuity into early history. A wider scale of organisation and leadership is implied for such times.