Nelson Historical Society Journal, Volume 3, Issue 5, October 1979

Archaeology in Tasman Bay: An Historical Perspective

Archaeology in Tasman Bay: An Historical Perspective

This paper briefly outlines those aspects of achaeological research which have been undertaken in the Tasman Bay area *. While the Nelson area has been fortunate in both locally and academically motivated historical research which has provided a more than adequate documentation of European settlement, there has been only sparodic archaeological and ethnological research into its prehistoric period. The region lacks a tertiary institution involved in archaeological and ethnological research. The museum has to a limited extent been able to fill this gap. Distance from other institutions poses logistical problems for a research discipline working with a small budget. The region has been fortunate in local amateur individuals of considerable enthusiasm. The efforts of these people have provided a core of data supplemented from time to time by research initiated from beyond the region. With the establishment of the Archaeological Division of the Historic Places Trust and the passing of the Historic Places Trust Amendment Act 1975, further research in this area will be initiated, and archaeological sites more effectively protected.

Rather than offer a chronological statement of archaeological and ethnological research in the Tasman Bay area, various aspects of prehistoric research will be discussed separately. This is largely dictated by the fact that most information is derived from published sources. Discussion will be grouped under the following headings: artifact studies, site surveying, excavations, midden analysis, lithic studies, rock carvings.

Artifact Studies

By 1926 H. D. Skinner was able to write to Frederick V. Knapp that he thought he had a representative collection of Nelson area artifacts. Knapp had provided most of these. Both Knapp and Skinner were educated at Nelson College. Knapp remained in Nelson to teach for 40 years. He died in 1945. Knapp was more then a curio collector. At a meeting of the Scientific Branch of the Nelson Institute on July 13, 1921 he reported the essence of Skinner's "Culture Areas" paper which Skinner had read at the New Zealand Institute Science Congress at Palmerston North in January, 1920. Knapp attempted to extend Skinner's description of the Whakatu Area by discussing settlement pattern, lithic resource usage and economy. The idea of culture area remained important to him and gave his research meaning and direction – "The end I had in view was to ultimatley hand my collection over to the museum, preferably in Nelson, as the centre of the Tasman Bay culture area." Knapp's interest in the prehistoric Maori was wide ranging, as later sections of this paper will show, but his published works (1924, 1928, 1929, 1938, 1941) give the impression that he was interested only in the unpolished stone implements used in working timber.

Between 1933 and 1942 David Teviotdale hunted for artifacts for Skinner on various occasions in the Tasman Bay area (McIlwraith, n.d.: l-8). This fossicker was concerned only with the retrieval of artifacts, though their context was sometimes recorded. He visited D'Urville Island and Rabbit Island and possibly other sites during this period. H. M. Leach (1972) notes that Teviotdale's methods were common (he used a modified rabbiter's adze) and that he really believed he was "contributing to the understanding of man's culture history in New Zealand."

W. Orchiston (1974: Vol. 2) has noted various artifact forms present in the Tasman Bay area as part of his research on South Island Maori material culture. Walls (1976) has also contributed to our knowledge of Tasman Bay artefacts. More recently A. Challis (1976, 1978) has provided an analysis of the known material culture of the Motueka Maori. D. Millar (1971) has published the results of an analysis of the artefactual material from the early sites at Tahunanui.

Site Surveying

Site surveying is a dominant aspect of archaeological fieldwork at the present time. It is largely supported by the Historic Places Trust Archaeological Division. This has not always been the case. In the past enthusiasts both professional and amateur, at their own expense, explored coastlines, rivers, farmland, hills, in fact almost anywhere, in search of archaeological sites. Unpaid site surveying is now very limited. The nature of site surveying has become more systematic in its approach and is motivated in most cases either by a possible threat to sites in an area, or by research objectives or a combination of the two.

F. V. Knapp did not publish site survey reports or fill out site record forms, but for anyone who takes the time to read his papers (now held in the Nelson Provincial Museum Library) there are sites recorded from all parts of Tasman Bay. He mentions, for example, a camp site on the north eastern side of the Motueka River mouth, which was washed away during his lifetime. This is an obvious example of the value of such material for the present day site surveyor.

A number of site surveys have been done since Knapp's work. Wilkes (1960), N. and K. Prickett (1973), Walls (1974 and 1976), and Challis (1978) are the only ones published. Surveys were however undertaken by Don Millar and Jim Eyles in the 1960s, which added to the knowledge of archaeological sites on the east coast of Tasman Bay. It appears that much of this information has not been recorded on New Zealand Archaeological Association site record forms. Aidan Challis' work (1978) on the Motueka region is more than just a site survey. It shows the potential of the type of data which can be gained from a site survey. Wilkes' site surveys also concentrated on the western side of Tasman Bay, while Walls has worked on locating argillite quarries of the Nelson Mineral Belt (see Lithic Studies below). Anderson (1966) also made a survey of back beach deposits around Tasman Bay.

Odd sites, of special interest are sometimes noted in the archaeological literature. Northcroft and Bennett (1964) mention such a site in Tasman Bay (i.e.) a stone wharf on Pepin Island.

Midden Analysis

Anderson (1966) took samples from beach middens in an attempt to document diet and economic strategies. This work lacked the sophistication he was to develop later in this field during research at the Black Rocks middens in Palliser Bay, Wairarapa (1973). Millar's (1971) report on the Tahunanui site (S20/2) gives a list of identifications of faunal material identified by Ron Scarlett. Butts (1978) has published the results of the faunal analysis of the Rotokura material. For the first time a full range of fish and bird species as well as sea mammal was published for the Tasman Bay area. Human material was also analysed. This type of analysis would not have been possible without the facilities of the Anthropology Department and Medical School of the University of Otago and the expertise of staff and students. It is obvious then why such analysis has not been forthcoming in the past. If Tahunanui and Rotokura are any indication of the richness of other archaeological sites in Tasman Bay, then the Maori exploitation of his environment in that area has been extremely wide ranging and complex in its strategies.

To date no analysis has been made of floral material from archaeological sites in Tasman Bay.

Lithic Studies

In 1971 Millar looked forward to the time when lithic (i.e. stone) sourcing studies would provide answers for archaeologists. Recent work by Ward (1973), B. F. Leach (1977), Ritchie (1975), and Walls suggests that the accurate sourcing of archaeological lithic material is possible – in some cases it can already be done (e.g. obsidian) and in other cases it will be developed in the future. The Nelson Mineral Belt has received attention for a long time from people interested in the part that the metamorphosed argillite played in the lives of the prehistoric Maori. It was traded widely in both the North and South Islands. The formalised sourcing of this argillite to particular locations has not been undertaken, however, a lot of other research has been done on the quarries.

Skinner (1913) published an early note concerning the Rushpool quarry in the Maitai Valley, which he first saw as a boy at school in Nelson in 1902. His conclusion that the pool had been formed by a causeway or dam was contradicted by Knapp. Writing to the New Zealand Institute on April 16, 1928, Knapp stated; "Our investigations prove it to be rather a natural deposition, fairly uniform in depth and filled with peat." Roger Duff (1946) was also interested in the argillite quarries. He was the forerunner of Walls (1974) and Keyes (1975) who have done so much to document the distribution of the quarry sites and their importance in New Zealand prehistory.

Carving

Sharon Millar has published drawings of rock carvings found in a cave near the mouth of a stream which flows into Tonga Roadstead (NZMS S9, 429760).

Bibliography

Anderson, A. J. 1966: Maori Occupation Sites in Back Beach Deposits around Tasman Bay. Unpublished M.A. Thesis in Geography, University of Canterbury.

Anderson, A. J. 1973: Archaeology and Behaviour: Prehistoric Subsistence Behaviour at Black Rocks Peninsula, Palliser Bay. Unpublished M.A. Thesis in Anthroploogy, University of Otago.

Butts, D.J. 1978: Rotokura: An Archaeological Site in Tasman Bay. Journal of the Nelson Historical Society Vol. 3 (4).

Challis, A. 1976: Metasomatized Argillite artefacts from Pah Point, Riwaka, New Zealand. J.P.S. 85(4).

Challis, A. 1978 Motueka: An Archaelogical Survey. N.Z.A.A. Monograph 7. Longman Paul.

Duff, R. 1946: Native Quarries of Baked Argillite (N.Z.). Records of the Canterbury Museum. Vol. 5: 115–124.

Keyes, I. W. 1975: The D'Urville Is – Nelson Metasmatised Rocks and their significance in New Zealand Prhistory. Whakatane and District Historical Society Historical Review. 23(1): 1–17.

Knapp, K. V. 1924: Canoe Building Tools of the Tasman Bay Maoris. J.P.S. 33(130): 103–113.

Knapp, K. V. 1928: Maori Scrapers. J.P.S. 37(146): 113–124.

Knapp, K.V. 1929: Interesting Maori Artefacts (Nelson District). J.P.S. 38(149): 27–28.

Knapp, K. V. 1938: Maori Rasps and Burnishers. J.P.S. 47(185): 16–19.

Knapp, K.V. 1941: Maori Saws. J.P.S. 50(197): 1–9.

Leach, B. F. n.d. (a) Progress towards the routine sourcing of New Zealand obsidians. MS. Anthropology Dept., University of Otago.

Leach, B. F. n.d. (a) Four Centuries of Community Interaction and Trade in Cook Strait, New Zealand. Unpublished paper, Anthropology Dept., University of Otago.

Leach, H. M. 1972 A Hundred Years of Otago Archaeology: A critical review. Records of the Otago Museum, Anthropology No. 6.

Mcllwraith, M. n.d. The Arcgaeological and Antiquarian World of David Teviotdale: A study of his diaries and records. P.G.D. Dissertation, Anthropology Dept., University of Otago.

Millar, D. G. L. 1964: Prelimary Report on an Archaic Site at Tahunamui, Nelson. N.Z.A.A. Newsletter 7(3): 120–123.

Millar, D. G. L. 1967: Recent Archaeological Excavations in the Northern Part of the South Island. Journal of the Nelson Historical Society 11(2):5–12.

Millar, D. G. L. 1971: Excavation of an Archaic Site at Tahunanui S20/2, Nelson. N.Z.A.A. Newsletter 14(4): 162–172.

Northcroft and Bennett 1964: A Stone Wharf in the Nelson District. N.Z.A.A. Newsletter 7(3): 132.

Orchiston, W. 1974: Studies in South Is., New Zealand Prehistory and Protohistory. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Sydney.

Prickett, N. J. and K. E. Prickett 1975 D'Urville Is. Archaeological Survey 1973. N.Z.A.A. Newsletter 18(3): 108–131.

Ritchie, N. A. 1976: New Zealand Greenstone Sources. Unpublished M.A. Thesis in Anthropology, University of Otago.

Skinner, H. D. 1913: An Ancient Maori Stone Quarry. Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 46: 324–329.

Walls, J. 1974: Argillite Quarries of the Nelson Mineral Belt. N.Z.A.A. Newsletter 17(1): 37–43.

Walls, J. 1976: Ornaments from Tasman Bay. N.Z.A.A. Newsletter 19(2).

Walls, J. 1976: Prehistory of the Boulder Bank. ppl-2 in Natural History of the Boulder Bank, Cawthron Institute, Nelson.

Ward, G. 1973 Obsidian Source Localities in the North Island of New Zealand. N.Z.A.A. Newsletter 16.

Wilkes, O. 1960 Site Survey of Western Nelson. N.Z.A.A. Newsletter 4(1): 22–31.

Wilkes, O. 1963 et. a. Two Moa Hunter Sites in North West Nelson. N.Z.A.A Newsletter 6(2): 88–93.

* 1. What is offered here is not a comprehensive study, but rather an outline of archaeologica? research in Tasman Bay to date. Any omissions are not intentional, merely not known to the author.