Islands play a key role globally in the conservation of endemic species. Many island reserves hav... more Islands play a key role globally in the conservation of endemic species. Many island reserves have been highly modified since human colonization, and their restoration and management usually occur without knowledge of their prehuman state. However, conservation paleoecology is increasingly being recognized as a tool that can help to inform both restoration and conservation of island reserves by providing prehuman vegetation baselines. Many of New Zealand's mammal-free offshore islands are foci for biological diversity conservation and, like many islands in the Polynesian region, were deforested following initial human settlement. Therefore, their current restoration, replanting, and management are guided either by historic vegetation descriptions or the occurrence of species on forested islands. We analyzed pollen and ancient DNA in soil cores from an offshore island in northern New Zealand. The result was a 2000-year record of vegetation change that began >1200 years before human settlement and spanned 550 years of human occupation and 180 years of forest succession since human occupation ceased. Between prehuman and contemporary forests there was nearly a complete species turnover including the extirpation of a dominant conifer and a palm tree. The podocarp-dominated forests were replaced by a native but novel angiosperm-dominated forest. There is no modern analog of the prehuman forests on any northern New Zealand island, and those islands that are forested are dominated by angiosperms which are assumed to be climax forests. The pollen and DNA evidence for conifer-and palm-rich forests in the prehuman era challenge this climax forest assumption. Prehuman vegetation records can thus help to inform future restoration of degraded offshore islands by informing the likely rate and direction of successional change; helping to determine whether natural rates of succession are preferable to more costly replanting programs; and providing past species lists if restoration replanting is desired.
One wooden and four textile siapo/tapa design boards provenanced to Samoa, known as upeti and upe... more One wooden and four textile siapo/tapa design boards provenanced to Samoa, known as upeti and upeti fala respectively, from Canterbury Museum’s collections are thoroughly described, documented and illustrated. Relevant literature is reviewed and evaluated against the findings of this material culture analysis. The implications of the new information about upeti fala and upeti are discussed and potential areas of new research are suggested.
Charming Creek Walkway in the Buller region of the West Coast, follows the lower Ngakawau Gorge a... more Charming Creek Walkway in the Buller region of the West Coast, follows the lower Ngakawau Gorge and the Charming Creek Valley for approximately 9 km from Ngakawau to the abandoned coal mine.
Mostly it follows the alignment of the historic bush tramway and passes several associated historic sites, including the Bins site at Ngakawau, Watson's Sawmill, Mumm's Sawmill, and the Coal Mine.
The baseline inspection recorded historic fabric adjacent to, and on the walkway. This information was then used to assess significance and identify threats.
Charming Creek Walkway in the Buller region of the West Coast, follows the lower Ngakawau Gorge a... more Charming Creek Walkway in the Buller region of the West Coast, follows the lower Ngakawau Gorge and the Charming Creek Valley for approximately 9 km from Ngakawau to the abandoned coal mine.
Mostly it follows the alignment of the historic bush tramway and passes several associated historic sites, including the Bins site at Ngakawau, Watson's Sawmill, Mumm's Sawmill, and the Coal Mine.
The tramway operated from early in the 20th century until 1958. The walkway was subsequently formed during the 1980s. It is recognised for its scenic and natural beauty as well as historic values.
This research examines the problem of the concept of context for New Zealand archaeology and mate... more This research examines the problem of the concept of context for New Zealand archaeology and material culture studies. It is argued that it is not a lack of context associated with material culture but the perception of context that is problematic for archaeological interpretation. Although central to material culture studies, traditional archaeological perceptions of context have treated the concept as something to be mitigated against in archaeological practice. This has resulted in the underdevelopment of material culture studies and a focus on morphological, chronological and functional or utilitarian interpretations through the categorisation of material culture.
A case study investigating the lives of minnow lure shanks is developed in line with international perceptions of the concept to show instead how material culture shifts through contexts. A laboratory study of minnow lure shanks from Wairau Bar and Kawatiri River Mouth is juxtaposed with ethnographic accounts, museum collections, exhibitions, artist inventions and mātauranga Māori which provide alternative sources of data and analogy. A life history approach is used to focus on the interconnectedness between social and technological processes in the past and present to show how lures have come to be through multiple biographies and transformations.
The outcome was a recontextualisation of lures with implications for the future of all New Zealand material culture studies. I argue that the shift from pearl shell to stone in New Zealand prehistory and its later abandonment was a lot more complex than a simple raw material switch involving the use of existing and transported social and technological strategies. The methodology adopted uncovered the variation in lures, reflecting broad strategies, and compared processes, choices and intentions. Minnow lures are bodies, connected to bodies and found with bodies with natural and aesthetic properties connected to the ritual and mundane - tapu and noa. Lures are part of a living tradition as one point of interaction and attraction between people, ancestors, the land, sea and taonga. This study urges archaeologists to consider their roles as kaitiaki taonga and kaitiaki maumahara to ensure material culture remains an enduring centre of enquiry.
A tool from the archaeological site at Wairau Bar, New Zealand, is identified as an import from t... more A tool from the archaeological site at Wairau Bar, New Zealand, is identified as an import from the tropical Pacific. The tool was made by working a cutting edge on the apex of a spiral gastropod shell, identified as Acus crenulatus (formerly Terebra crenulata) (family Terebridae). Similar tools have been found in a number of sites in tropical East Polynesia, dating to the same general time period as Wairau Bar. The tool supports the view that the Wairau Bar site was a pioneering settlement close in time to the initial Polynesian arrival in New Zealand.
Recent observations of fishing, the ethnohistoric literature, the archaeological fishing tool kit... more Recent observations of fishing, the ethnohistoric literature, the archaeological fishing tool kit, marine environments adjacent to the site, and the fish bone assemblage were considered to understand fishing strategies on the makatea island of Rurutu, Austral Islands, French Polynesia. Excavations totalling 53.5 m2 at the Peva dune site (ON1) were conducted in 2003. The sandy, calcareous deposits from Area 2 (33 m2) were dry sieved through 3.2 mm mesh and 5,011 fish bones weighing 2,229.7 g were retained for analysis. Two distinct cultural layers were identified. Archaic period layer D had 20 fish families inventoried from a total of 141 minimum numbers of individuals (MNI) and 1,081 numbers of identified specimens (NISP). Average bone weight was 0.42 g and median vertebra width between 5-6 mm (n=747). The Classic period layer A, associated with a marae complex, contained only seven fish families, a MNI of 24 and NISP of 403. Average bone weight was 0.63 g and median vertebra width between 10-11 mm (n=107). While a broad spectrum fish capture strategy is inferred for the Archaic, selective larger fish, including an order of magnitude increase in shark, were likely prestige items used in ritual offerings during the Classic period. Comparisons of the archaeological assemblages from five makatea islands show that in all but one case, sites are dominated by groupers, unlike many other Pacific island sites where parrotfish are most frequent. This, alone, might be the unique signature of makatea assemblages
For years museums have struggled with the practicalities of curating and storing archaeological f... more For years museums have struggled with the practicalities of curating and storing archaeological field collections and archaeologists have expressed frustration at museums for inadequately meeting their expectations, especially in regards to historic artefacts. However there are now excellent international models for retention strategies and standards of deposition in museums to archive both artefacts and associated documentation. Canterbury Museum remains committed to providing public access, a stable environment for archaeological collections and promoting research to tell the Canterbury story. The Museum has recently completed an upgrade project to assess its archaeological collections and to facilitate research projects. We are now interested in developing our collecting policy and implementing procedures around retention and disposal so that this significant archaeological resource will continue to be available in the future.This paper is intended to be scoping in nature to discuss issues and challenges around the retention of archaeological collections in New Zealand museums. It is an opportunity for the archaeological community to ask the hard questions and voice expectations prior to the commencement of a formal consultation period.
Islands play a key role globally in the conservation of endemic species. Many island reserves hav... more Islands play a key role globally in the conservation of endemic species. Many island reserves have been highly modified since human colonization, and their restoration and management usually occur without knowledge of their prehuman state. However, conservation paleoecology is increasingly being recognized as a tool that can help to inform both restoration and conservation of island reserves by providing prehuman vegetation baselines. Many of New Zealand's mammal-free offshore islands are foci for biological diversity conservation and, like many islands in the Polynesian region, were deforested following initial human settlement. Therefore, their current restoration, replanting, and management are guided either by historic vegetation descriptions or the occurrence of species on forested islands. We analyzed pollen and ancient DNA in soil cores from an offshore island in northern New Zealand. The result was a 2000-year record of vegetation change that began >1200 years before human settlement and spanned 550 years of human occupation and 180 years of forest succession since human occupation ceased. Between prehuman and contemporary forests there was nearly a complete species turnover including the extirpation of a dominant conifer and a palm tree. The podocarp-dominated forests were replaced by a native but novel angiosperm-dominated forest. There is no modern analog of the prehuman forests on any northern New Zealand island, and those islands that are forested are dominated by angiosperms which are assumed to be climax forests. The pollen and DNA evidence for conifer-and palm-rich forests in the prehuman era challenge this climax forest assumption. Prehuman vegetation records can thus help to inform future restoration of degraded offshore islands by informing the likely rate and direction of successional change; helping to determine whether natural rates of succession are preferable to more costly replanting programs; and providing past species lists if restoration replanting is desired.
One wooden and four textile siapo/tapa design boards provenanced to Samoa, known as upeti and upe... more One wooden and four textile siapo/tapa design boards provenanced to Samoa, known as upeti and upeti fala respectively, from Canterbury Museum’s collections are thoroughly described, documented and illustrated. Relevant literature is reviewed and evaluated against the findings of this material culture analysis. The implications of the new information about upeti fala and upeti are discussed and potential areas of new research are suggested.
Charming Creek Walkway in the Buller region of the West Coast, follows the lower Ngakawau Gorge a... more Charming Creek Walkway in the Buller region of the West Coast, follows the lower Ngakawau Gorge and the Charming Creek Valley for approximately 9 km from Ngakawau to the abandoned coal mine.
Mostly it follows the alignment of the historic bush tramway and passes several associated historic sites, including the Bins site at Ngakawau, Watson's Sawmill, Mumm's Sawmill, and the Coal Mine.
The baseline inspection recorded historic fabric adjacent to, and on the walkway. This information was then used to assess significance and identify threats.
Charming Creek Walkway in the Buller region of the West Coast, follows the lower Ngakawau Gorge a... more Charming Creek Walkway in the Buller region of the West Coast, follows the lower Ngakawau Gorge and the Charming Creek Valley for approximately 9 km from Ngakawau to the abandoned coal mine.
Mostly it follows the alignment of the historic bush tramway and passes several associated historic sites, including the Bins site at Ngakawau, Watson's Sawmill, Mumm's Sawmill, and the Coal Mine.
The tramway operated from early in the 20th century until 1958. The walkway was subsequently formed during the 1980s. It is recognised for its scenic and natural beauty as well as historic values.
This research examines the problem of the concept of context for New Zealand archaeology and mate... more This research examines the problem of the concept of context for New Zealand archaeology and material culture studies. It is argued that it is not a lack of context associated with material culture but the perception of context that is problematic for archaeological interpretation. Although central to material culture studies, traditional archaeological perceptions of context have treated the concept as something to be mitigated against in archaeological practice. This has resulted in the underdevelopment of material culture studies and a focus on morphological, chronological and functional or utilitarian interpretations through the categorisation of material culture.
A case study investigating the lives of minnow lure shanks is developed in line with international perceptions of the concept to show instead how material culture shifts through contexts. A laboratory study of minnow lure shanks from Wairau Bar and Kawatiri River Mouth is juxtaposed with ethnographic accounts, museum collections, exhibitions, artist inventions and mātauranga Māori which provide alternative sources of data and analogy. A life history approach is used to focus on the interconnectedness between social and technological processes in the past and present to show how lures have come to be through multiple biographies and transformations.
The outcome was a recontextualisation of lures with implications for the future of all New Zealand material culture studies. I argue that the shift from pearl shell to stone in New Zealand prehistory and its later abandonment was a lot more complex than a simple raw material switch involving the use of existing and transported social and technological strategies. The methodology adopted uncovered the variation in lures, reflecting broad strategies, and compared processes, choices and intentions. Minnow lures are bodies, connected to bodies and found with bodies with natural and aesthetic properties connected to the ritual and mundane - tapu and noa. Lures are part of a living tradition as one point of interaction and attraction between people, ancestors, the land, sea and taonga. This study urges archaeologists to consider their roles as kaitiaki taonga and kaitiaki maumahara to ensure material culture remains an enduring centre of enquiry.
A tool from the archaeological site at Wairau Bar, New Zealand, is identified as an import from t... more A tool from the archaeological site at Wairau Bar, New Zealand, is identified as an import from the tropical Pacific. The tool was made by working a cutting edge on the apex of a spiral gastropod shell, identified as Acus crenulatus (formerly Terebra crenulata) (family Terebridae). Similar tools have been found in a number of sites in tropical East Polynesia, dating to the same general time period as Wairau Bar. The tool supports the view that the Wairau Bar site was a pioneering settlement close in time to the initial Polynesian arrival in New Zealand.
Recent observations of fishing, the ethnohistoric literature, the archaeological fishing tool kit... more Recent observations of fishing, the ethnohistoric literature, the archaeological fishing tool kit, marine environments adjacent to the site, and the fish bone assemblage were considered to understand fishing strategies on the makatea island of Rurutu, Austral Islands, French Polynesia. Excavations totalling 53.5 m2 at the Peva dune site (ON1) were conducted in 2003. The sandy, calcareous deposits from Area 2 (33 m2) were dry sieved through 3.2 mm mesh and 5,011 fish bones weighing 2,229.7 g were retained for analysis. Two distinct cultural layers were identified. Archaic period layer D had 20 fish families inventoried from a total of 141 minimum numbers of individuals (MNI) and 1,081 numbers of identified specimens (NISP). Average bone weight was 0.42 g and median vertebra width between 5-6 mm (n=747). The Classic period layer A, associated with a marae complex, contained only seven fish families, a MNI of 24 and NISP of 403. Average bone weight was 0.63 g and median vertebra width between 10-11 mm (n=107). While a broad spectrum fish capture strategy is inferred for the Archaic, selective larger fish, including an order of magnitude increase in shark, were likely prestige items used in ritual offerings during the Classic period. Comparisons of the archaeological assemblages from five makatea islands show that in all but one case, sites are dominated by groupers, unlike many other Pacific island sites where parrotfish are most frequent. This, alone, might be the unique signature of makatea assemblages
For years museums have struggled with the practicalities of curating and storing archaeological f... more For years museums have struggled with the practicalities of curating and storing archaeological field collections and archaeologists have expressed frustration at museums for inadequately meeting their expectations, especially in regards to historic artefacts. However there are now excellent international models for retention strategies and standards of deposition in museums to archive both artefacts and associated documentation. Canterbury Museum remains committed to providing public access, a stable environment for archaeological collections and promoting research to tell the Canterbury story. The Museum has recently completed an upgrade project to assess its archaeological collections and to facilitate research projects. We are now interested in developing our collecting policy and implementing procedures around retention and disposal so that this significant archaeological resource will continue to be available in the future.This paper is intended to be scoping in nature to discuss issues and challenges around the retention of archaeological collections in New Zealand museums. It is an opportunity for the archaeological community to ask the hard questions and voice expectations prior to the commencement of a formal consultation period.
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Papers by Amy McStay
Mostly it follows the alignment of the historic bush tramway and passes several associated historic sites, including the Bins site at Ngakawau, Watson's Sawmill, Mumm's Sawmill, and the Coal Mine.
The baseline inspection recorded historic fabric adjacent to, and on the walkway. This information was then used to assess significance and identify threats.
Mostly it follows the alignment of the historic bush tramway and passes several associated historic sites, including the Bins site at Ngakawau, Watson's Sawmill, Mumm's Sawmill, and the Coal Mine.
The tramway operated from early in the 20th century until 1958. The walkway was subsequently formed during the 1980s. It is recognised for its scenic and natural beauty as well as historic values.
A case study investigating the lives of minnow lure shanks is developed in line with international perceptions of the concept to show instead how material culture shifts through contexts. A laboratory study of minnow lure shanks from Wairau Bar and Kawatiri River Mouth is juxtaposed with ethnographic accounts, museum collections, exhibitions, artist inventions and mātauranga Māori which provide alternative sources of data and analogy. A life history approach is used to focus on the interconnectedness between social and technological processes in the past and present to show how lures have come to be through multiple biographies and transformations.
The outcome was a recontextualisation of lures with implications for the future of all New Zealand material culture studies. I argue that the shift from pearl shell to stone in New Zealand prehistory and its later abandonment was a lot more complex than a simple raw material switch involving the use of existing and transported social and technological strategies. The methodology adopted uncovered the variation in lures, reflecting broad strategies, and compared processes, choices and intentions. Minnow lures are bodies, connected to bodies and found with bodies with natural and aesthetic properties connected to the ritual and mundane - tapu and noa. Lures are part of a living tradition as one point of interaction and attraction between people, ancestors, the land, sea and taonga. This study urges archaeologists to consider their roles as kaitiaki taonga and kaitiaki maumahara to ensure material culture remains an enduring centre of enquiry.
Talks by Amy McStay
Mostly it follows the alignment of the historic bush tramway and passes several associated historic sites, including the Bins site at Ngakawau, Watson's Sawmill, Mumm's Sawmill, and the Coal Mine.
The baseline inspection recorded historic fabric adjacent to, and on the walkway. This information was then used to assess significance and identify threats.
Mostly it follows the alignment of the historic bush tramway and passes several associated historic sites, including the Bins site at Ngakawau, Watson's Sawmill, Mumm's Sawmill, and the Coal Mine.
The tramway operated from early in the 20th century until 1958. The walkway was subsequently formed during the 1980s. It is recognised for its scenic and natural beauty as well as historic values.
A case study investigating the lives of minnow lure shanks is developed in line with international perceptions of the concept to show instead how material culture shifts through contexts. A laboratory study of minnow lure shanks from Wairau Bar and Kawatiri River Mouth is juxtaposed with ethnographic accounts, museum collections, exhibitions, artist inventions and mātauranga Māori which provide alternative sources of data and analogy. A life history approach is used to focus on the interconnectedness between social and technological processes in the past and present to show how lures have come to be through multiple biographies and transformations.
The outcome was a recontextualisation of lures with implications for the future of all New Zealand material culture studies. I argue that the shift from pearl shell to stone in New Zealand prehistory and its later abandonment was a lot more complex than a simple raw material switch involving the use of existing and transported social and technological strategies. The methodology adopted uncovered the variation in lures, reflecting broad strategies, and compared processes, choices and intentions. Minnow lures are bodies, connected to bodies and found with bodies with natural and aesthetic properties connected to the ritual and mundane - tapu and noa. Lures are part of a living tradition as one point of interaction and attraction between people, ancestors, the land, sea and taonga. This study urges archaeologists to consider their roles as kaitiaki taonga and kaitiaki maumahara to ensure material culture remains an enduring centre of enquiry.