An approach to the investigation of colonial settlement patterns: Whaling in Southern New Zealand

Abstract

Abstract The records of early post‐contact sites in New Zealand, among them whaling stations, are sparse. To illustrate what can be done to supplement these records archaeologically, the results of excavations at the Taieri Island whaling station are described. They are compared with those obtained at other established types of contact settlements to see how the archaeological evidence, in each case, differs. Such comparisons are seen as vital to the establishment of patterns in the colonial archaeology of the region.