Auckland Museum blog

Before starting an archaeological fieldwork project it is important to research background information about the place. This includes having some understanding of geology, soil types, endemic vegetation and geomorphology. Researching previous archaeological work in the area is also important, including what was found and some indication of age of occupation in the area. In this case examination of any artefacts found in the area is also relevant.

Auckland Museum has a collection of Maori stone artefacts from Ahuahu Great Mercury Island. The previous owner of the island, Pat Mizen, who lived on the island from 1920 – 1977, picked up adzes and other artefacts exposed in sheep tracks or by natural erosion. He kept a record of where many of the artefacts were found, which is important for archaeologists wanting to analyse styles of artefacts and technology of flaking and working with stone. The Mizen collection of 486 objects was purchased by Auckland Museum in 1980.

It is important to remember that these artefacts have no known history. We do not know what occupation layer in an archaeological site they originated from, or when they were made. We also do not know what the artefact was with when it was buried in the ground, whether it be another artefact, or a house or fireplace. This is the kind of information to be recorded when archaeologists find an artefact during an excavation, and the context often gives an indication of what it might have been used for.

The majority of the objects in the Mizen Collection are adzes and they come in all life stages including finished, broken and repaired. There are also those in the process of manufacture so that the adze shape is apparent but final shaping and grinding has not occurred. Basalt from the Tahanga source at nearby Opito is the most common stone material present although there are also adzes made from metasomatised argillite sourced to the Nelson-Marlborough area. Obsidian from Mayor Island and other places is also present and was used as cutting and scraping tools. Chert, which is similar in appearance to flint, occurs on the island and was also well used.

Sometimes the style of adze gives an indication of how old it is. The illustrated adze is known to archaeologists as a ‘hogback’ and was a heavy duty adze with a relatively narrow cutting blade, used to remove large chunks of wood from a log when making a canoe or bowl.

As well as looking at the manufacturing process archaeologists can analyse the artefacts from the perspective of where the stone material came from to interpret communication or trade routes. The results can be compared to other analysed artefact collections in the region to understand how people moved around and interacted with other groups of people.

- Louise Furey (Auckland Museum)

Dr Louise Furey, Auckland Museum Archaeology Curator

Many people are fascinated by archaeology and how archaeologists strip away the layers in the soil to reveal what is hidden. From 13-26th February, the archaeology curator from the museum, Dr Louise Furey, is joining a party of archaeologists and students on the annual Field School run by the Anthropology Department, University of Auckland.

Pa site Matakawau (also known as Stingray Pa). Note the triple defensive ditches at the right which protected the pa occupants.

Great Mercury Island/Ahuahu has a well-preserved Maori archaeological landscape. There are parallel stone lines indicating garden plots where kumara and taro were grown, fortified pa, and also occupation sites around the coast. It also has swamps where the environmental history of the island is preserved in the form of pollen, seeds and sediment layers.

Garden site with stone alignments sloping into the wetland area where kumara or taro were grown.

The Great Mercury Archaeological Programme will among other things investigate the history of changes to the landscape, document stone resources and how they were used as tools, investigate changing patterns of marine exploitation and develop an understanding of the social and political organisation on the island over the period of 700 years of occupation. Most importantly, the research will allow archaeologists to develop long term strategies for site management and protection of this outstanding archaeological landscape.

Kumara storage pit depressions in the foreground looking across the central part of the island where the archaeologists will be working in February.

Progress on the archaeological excavations can be followed on this blog or see Dig Diaries (http://digdiaries.ac.nz/fieldschool/), which will record students’ impressions of archaeological fieldwork, the daily routine of fieldwork and what is involved in being an archaeologist. Questions can be asked of the archaeologists about their work, or leave comments.