Journal ArticleDOI
The chronology of colonization in New Zealand
TLDR
New Zealand was the last substantial landmass to be colonized by prehistoric people as discussed by the authors. But much depends on the precise antiquity of human colonization and this, following a long period of consensus, is now a matter of sharp debate.Abstract:
New Zealand was the last substantial landmass to be colonized by prehistoric people. Even within Oceania, where there are much smaller and more remote islands, such as Pitcairn and Easter Island, New Zealand stands out as the last-settled archipelago. Its prehistory promises, therefore, better archaeological evidence concerning prehistoric colonization of pristine land-masses than is the case anywhere else, as is apparent in the extinction of megafauna (Anderson 1989a). But much depends on the precise antiquity of human colonization and this, following a long period of consensus, is now a matter of sharp debate.read more
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Tephrochronology and its application: A review
TL;DR: Tephrochronology is a unique stratigraphic method for linking, dating, and synchronizing geological, palaeoenvironmental, or archaeological sequences or events as discussed by the authors, which can be used for correlational purposes.
Journal ArticleDOI
Dating the late prehistoric dispersal of Polynesians to New Zealand using the commensal Pacific rat.
TL;DR: Radiocarbon dates on distinctive rat-gnawed seeds and rat bones show that the Pacific rat was introduced to both main islands of New Zealand ≈1280 A.D., a millennium later than previously assumed, implying there was no long period of invisibility in either the archaeological or palaeoecological records.
Journal ArticleDOI
High-precision radiocarbon dating shows recent and rapid initial human colonization of East Polynesia
TL;DR: An empirically based and dramatically shortened chronology for the colonization of East Polynesia resolves longstanding paradoxes and offers a robust explanation for the remarkable uniformity of EastPolynesian culture, human biology, and language.
Journal ArticleDOI
From small Maria to massive Campbell: Forty years of rat eradications from New Zealand islands
David R. Towns,Keith G. Broome +1 more
TL;DR: Priorities for future development therefore include more effective methods for detecting rodent invasions, especially ship rats (Rattus rattus) and mice (Mus musculus), broader community involvement in invasion prevention, and improved understanding of reinvasion risk management.
Journal ArticleDOI
Late colonization of East Polynesia
Matthew Spriggs,Atholl Anderson +1 more
TL;DR: In a recent ANTIQUITY article (65: 767-95) Anderson presented a detailed analysis of radiocarbon dates to show that the settlement of New Zealand occurred later than previously thought as discussed by the authors.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Radiocarbon age calibration of marine samples back to 9000 cal yr BP.
TL;DR: In a special issue of R adiocarbon, Stuiver et al. as discussed by the authors presented a set of calibration curves for the age conversion of wood samples that were formed through use of atmospheric CO2.
Journal ArticleDOI
A Computer Program for Radiocarbon Age Calibration
Minze Stuiver,Paula J. Reimer +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors presented a method to convert a radiocarbon age and its age error (one standard deviation) into calibrated ages (intercepts with the calibration curve), and ranges of calibrated ages that correspond to the age error.
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High-Precision Calibration of the Radiocarbon Time Scale, AD 1950-500 BC
Gordon W Pearson,Minze Stuiver +1 more
TL;DR: Radiocarbon ages of dendrochronologically-dated wood spanning the last 4500 years were determined at both the Seattle and Belfast laboratories as discussed by the authors, with the combined results reported in this issue of radiocarbon in two papers, with this paper covering the AD 1950-500 BC interval, and the twin (Pearson & Stuiver, 1986) covering the 500 BC-2500 BC interval.
Journal Article
The Polynesian settlement of New Zealand in relation to environmental and biotic changes
TL;DR: The impact of human settlement on the biota of New Zealand was studied in this paper, showing that the most severe modification occurred between 750 and 500 years ago, when a rapidly increasing human population, over-exploited animal populations and used fire to clear the land.
Journal ArticleDOI
Polynesian Deforestation of New Zealand: A Preliminary Synthesis
TL;DR: In this paper, it was shown that a large proportion of the lowland area of New Zealand was not a natural state and that the indigenous population was actively engaged in firing of the vegetation.