Out of print for many years and republished at the request of mana whenua, Prehistoric Man in Palliser Bay presents the results of a pioneering, multifaceted, archaeological research programme carried out between 1969 and 1972 on the south-eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. Its 14 papers by nine authors review archaeological evidence from the time of first settlement from Polynesia through to the 19th century.
The programme’s more than 25 excavations focussed on midden sites, house areas, kumara storage pits and prehistoric gardens. Laboratory analysis of middens revealed details of the history of fishing, birding and sea mammal hunting. Artefacts of stone, bone and shell are described, and analysis of land snails provides evidence for environmental change during the period of occupation. Analysis of human bone samples provided detailed medical histories of the people who lived in the region.
