Dating a man from Papatowai New Zeland

Secondly, Hamel's colour terminology suggests that her layer names were not so much descriptive as classificatory. The most significant difference between Hamel's observations and our own concerns her middle or discoloured sand layer, which she assigned to the working floor component of the general sequence Hamel We found no evidence of that component at all and can only suggest that Hamel's discoloured sand layer is either the base of our layer 3 midden, or material disturbed and mixed in the course of oven construction and use. This may reflect, once again, imposition of the general sequence upon interpretation of a particular stratigraphic profile.

These excavations at THK and PPT provide clear support for our reinterpretation above of the stratigraphy recorded during previous investigations. They revealed only two cultural layers, an upper shell midden and a lower charcoal-stained sand. The latter was deep and dark in colour at THK, within the main site area, but beyond, at PPT, it was shallow, lighter in colour and of very limited areal extent. Before considering what this might mean in relation to the length of occupation and economic change at the site, it is necessary to describe further evidence recovered during our excavations.

Faunal remains were identified using comparative material in the Anthro- - pology Department, University of Otago and, in the case of moa bones, with the assistance of Trevor Worthy personal communication. THK Layer 3. A small assemblage was recovered from the lens of sparse shell midden at the southern end of area THK. All the excavated contents of this deposit were retained for analysis. Approximately 5 litres was taken as a bulk sample, while the remainder was sieved 2 mm mesh and all shells, bones and stone artefacts retained.

Sieving of samples from all other stratigraphic components in this area failed to yield any faunal or artefactual remains. The THK midden was dominated by shellfish — More than half of the bones in the assemblage were from fish, but these represented only a few individuals, mainly barracouta Table 3. Birds were more numerous, with parakeets and pigeons predominating.

Both mammal and moa remains were sparse, the former comprising a dog tooth, one piece of sea-lion rib and two unidentifiable fragments, and the latter four long bone fragments and two tracheal rings. PPT Layer 3 Midden. A larger assemblage was recovered from the layer 3 midden in Area PPT. Two procedures were used in sampling this deposit. Bulk samples were collected from squares B1, C3 and D2 for detailed analysis of shellfish species composition. All other excavated remains were sieved, with bones and stone artefacts being retained for analysis. The only faunal material encountered elsewhere in this area was a complete right femur of Emeus crassus , discovered a few centimetres below the surface of layer 4 in square A1.

The relative abundance of molluscan species in the bulk samples closely matches that observed in THK, with the three major species in the same order Table 4. Bones were much more common than at THK, and not simply because of the larger sample size. The layer 3 midden showed distinct concentrations of bone, reaching densities as high as NISP per m 2 in square D2, nearly four times greater than the value for THK Unlike the THK assemblage, sea birds made up most of the avifauna, the main species being penguins, shearwaters and shags.

Pigeons and parakeets were the most common forest birds. Reconstruction of butchery patterns for - the Fiordland crested penguin showed that crania, as well as bones from the lower wings and lower legs, were poorly represented Fig. Mammal bones made up Three-quarters of the identifiable bones were from dogs and fur seals, each of which was represented by four individuals.

Two sea-lions and an elephant seal were also present, along with four rabbit bones. The dog remains were aged on the basis of epiphyseal fusion and tooth eruption Silver , Sisson , indicating that one pup 18 months were present, along with another individual that could not be aged.

Crania occurred more frequently. However, the sample size is too small to be confident of this interpretation. The fur seal remains were assigned to age-sex classes on the basis of epiphyseal fusion and bone dimensions Smith , showing the presence of a juvenile, a subadult male, an adult female and an adult male. This diverse range suggests exploitation of a breeding population. Examination of proportional body parts representation Fig.

While the sample size must again qualify our conclusions, this pattern seems to indicate that most of the fur seals were butchered elsewhere, with only their easily detached meat-bearing upper limbs being brought to this part of the site.

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The most notable feature of these remains was their fragmentary nature. Only 22 of the specimens could be confidently assigned to a particular skeletal element. These included vertebrae, ribs, pelves and phalanges, as well as complete or relatively complete long bones. Because of the fragmentary nature of the bone, only one of the five individual moas represented could be positively identified to species. Comparison with Earlier Excavations. Several direct comparisons can be drawn with the faunal evidence from TT1, particularly with regard to the upper shell layer which equates with our layer 3 midden at PPT.

The first significant point to note is the variation in midden density.

We recorded this during excavation Fig. In addition, the molluscan MNI in our three modest bulk samples exceeds the total value for the entire 4. Together, these observations demonstrate that our excavation sampled a portion of this deposit considerably richer in faunal remains. There are some similarities in midden composition, especially among molluscs, except that mussels were more prominent at THK and PPT than TT1 and, while we identified only blue mussels, Hamel reported only green mussels Perna canaliculus.

Bone remains show greater differences. Also, birds dominated at PPT but contributed only Two factors may explain these differences. Firstly, the smaller size of the TT1 assemblage must call into doubt the reliability of MNI derived from it Grayson Secondly, even with comparably sized samples, variations of this order would occur. Our observation during excavation and test pitting was that both shellfish and bone midden density and composition varied horizontally within the same stratum.

Although we cannot equate the THK midden stratigraphically with TT1, comparison of their similarly sized bone assemblages provides a numeric example of just such variation. Finally, we note that observed variations in midden contents between TT1 upper shell and PPT layer 3 make only a limited difference to the relative - importance of species when they are considered as sources of food. Meat weight values for the TT1 fauna were calculated by Smith , Table 30 , and the same procedures have been employed here to derive values for PPT Table 6.

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In the latter case, no figures could be calculated for shellfish because their total abundance in the deposit was not measured. Table 6 shows that the relative contributions of fish, birds and dogs were very similar in the two assemblages, and that, in each case, their combined contribution was only about one-quarter of total meat weight.

The only notable differences are in the values for seals and moas, which reverse their relative positions in the two assemblages. However, meat weight values for large animals such as these are particularly susceptible to the variations in MNI induced by small sample size Grayson , suggesting that the observed difference in Table 6 is unlikely to be significant. Indeed, we note that the addition of just one moderately sized fur seal to the TT1 assemblage would produce values almost identical to those from PPT. The significant point that we take from these calculations is that in both assemblages big-game animals contributed about three-quarters of total meat weight.

The major limitation of the faunal evidence recovered during our excavations is that it did not include any material from the lower cultural layer, thus precluding a quantitative assessment of the faunal changes hypothesised by previous investigators. As indicated above, we have no reason to doubt the general trends that they identified, although, as our meat weight data show, big game still dominated the diet in the upper layer despite the abundance of fish, small birds and shellfish.

However, the point with which we do take issue is whether these changes necessarily took place over an extended period of time. Resolution of this question rests not with the faunal remains themselves, but with other evidence for the length of occupation at the site. Only 69 artefacts were found.

Forty-seven stone flakes were recovered from PPT layer 3;20 of argillite, probably from Southland sources, of which five have the colour and texture of the Riverton source.

A waterworn cortex was observed on four flakes and two had signs of hammer-dressing. All are probably debris from adze manufacture. There were 13 porcellanite flakes, five of which showed signs of use, and 12 silcrete flakes, three of which had minor use-damage.

There was one flake of rock crystal and one of chert. Of 11 flakes from THK, eight were porcellanite, two argillite and one chalcedony. A hammerstone Fig. It had been heavily used. There were also five polished fragments of Southland argillite adzes e. Two small pieces of polished nephrite were recovered from PPT. One Fig. The stone source is either south Westland or Otago, whereas the other fragment is from south Westland, according to Hooker personal communication.

The point appears to be the reworked point leg of a one-piece hook. It retains the basal notch as in other one-piece hooks e. The attachment facet is bevelled from both sides into a chisel form type B in Gumbley No comparable pieces are illustrated by either Lockerbie or Hjarno The final piece Fig. One of these has broken. The form suggests no obvious function, though it might once have been a hook. In summary, there is nothing typologically distinctive about the artefacts and they offer no evidence of long-term or especially early occupation.

Three charcoal samples were submitted for radiocarbon dating. Two were from THK layer 5, the black lower cultural layer in the main site area.

Sample THK 1 WK , from the top of this layer, was selected from a much larger sample of totara and matai charcoal. It consisted of 28 pieces The 25 pieces The third sample was from the PPT layer 3 midden. These are good samples in that they consist of pieces from relatively short-lived species, but if there is any doubt about the identification of twig wood, as in other cases Anderson: in press , then they might still exhibit some significant in-built age from the predominance of manuka, as well as from the small quantities of beech and bark.

However, we can still accept the results as maximum estimates of age. The results Table 7 show almost identical ages for the two samples from the lower layer at THK, and one only slightly younger for the upper layer at PPT. When compared with the less reliable dates from previous investigations Table 1 , our data suggest that the lower black layer in the main site area is much younger than was earlier thought, although the upper layer remains - about the same age.

Many more radiocarbon results would be needed before we could be confident about that conclusion for the site as a whole, but a hypothesis of younger, shorter occupation is clearly indicated. Earlier interpretations of the archaeological evidence at Papatowai proposed a general model for the site, the Catlins and, indeed, for cultural change in southern New Zealand as a whole.

The basis of the model was a uniform sequence of stratigraphy which was regarded as the result of lengthy occupation. That argument was supported by evidence of changes in fauna and material culture, and by a series of radiocarbon dates. We have argued that the stratigraphic model is not actually supported by evidence derived from earlier excavations.

The pattern of change in frequency of faunal remains with stratigraphy was observed as a decline in big game and a rise in fish, shellfish and small birds, but, even in the relatively restricted part of the site where this was evident, it does not follow that the explanation requires an extended passage of time. The argument that there were significant changes in material culture assemblages correlated with stratigraphy cannot be substantiated by the data, and the radiocarbon dates which supported this general model do not withstand modern scrutiny.

Our excavations disclosed only two cultural layers. There were variations in contents within each layer and between the excavation areas. It is possible that this stratigraphy reflects two phases of occupation, but, since the lower layer clearly results from cooking activities without much dumping and the upper from dumping of food and other refuse without much cooking, or at least construction of large umu , it is more likely that they represent simply two activities of a single occupation.

Nor would this interpretation be inconsistent with the radiocarbon dates from our excavations, which showed that the two layers were almost identical in age. Even if a two-phase interpretation were preferred, our data indicate that little time could have separated the occupations. Importantly, it is apparent that big game are highly predominant in the estimated meat weight from the upper layer, and might be even more so if the moa bone was not so fragmented.