The Long Bay Restaurant site (R10/1374), Auckland, New Zealand, and the archaeology of the mid-15th century in the upper North Island

Abstract

Excavation at the Long Bay Restaurant resulted in the discovery and disinterment of 25 pre-European Māori burials. The full clearance and sieving strategy employed to recover all kōiwi tangata (human remains) produced a fine-grained 13 x 12 m excavation of a stratified coastal site, providing detailed faunal and material culture samples. Coupled with a Bayesian radiocarbon analysis that places the six cultural Phases in a tight 55 year span, analysis of the material has contributed to our understanding of social, economic and technological changes that took place in mid to late 15th century in the Auckland region. New Zealand archaeologists have often debated the timing and rate of these changes, as the first East Polynesian settlers became Māori. The Long Bay Restaurant site contributes new data to this debate.