Voyaging within Aotearoa New Zealand: pre-Contact transport of resources to and from Te Tai Tokerau

Abstract

In certain periods of pre-Contact (pre-1800 AD) times, northern New Zealand’s Te Tai Tokerau was, arguably, as much connected by long-distance waka voyaging to other parts of Aotearoa as had islands of the Hawaiki Zone in the South Pacific been linked to the archipelago of Aotearoa early in its settlement. This korero summarises the evidence by examining transport into Te Tai Tokerau from the south of lithics such as obsidian and argillite, and the transport out of Te Tai Tokerau of lithics, as well as perishables like toheroa (Paphies ventricosa). Although it is seldom possible to categorically differentiate direct procurement of resources from long-distance trade or down-the-line exchange, it is clear that early dispersal of bulky or weighty items at any significant scale to locations well-removed from their native context would invariably have involved significant oceanic passaging. My results corroborate outstanding voyaging and navigational prowess among at least early Māori – skills as highly developed as those of any others in the world at the time, but incisive evidence for discourse between specific, geographically-well-separated bubbles of interacting peoples requires more data.