Assessing the potential to calendar date Māori waka (canoes) using dendrochronology

Abstract

The short (c. 750year) span of human occupation in Aotearoa New Zealand and imprecision of archaeological dating techniques available, presents particular challenges when investigating societal and technological change and continuity during the pre-European and early historic periods. Currently, radiocarbon (14C) dating is used to determine the age of archaeological artefacts and/or sites but variations in atmospheric radiocarbon can affect the precision of calibrated dates resulting in broad age ranges for artefacts. This paper assesses the potential of dendrochronology to accurately and precisely date Māori artefacts, which would securely place them in a temporal context, enhancing understanding of manufacturing, provenance, and changes in style. Two kauri (Agathis australis) canoes (waka) recovered from waterlogged deposits in the Waikato River Delta and at Muriwai Beach, west Auckland, and currently undergoing conservation, were sampled for tree-ring dating. The ring width series were too short (<40 rings) for crossdating, however, the work described here has been valuable to informing processes regarding sampling and in highlighting the potential of tree-ring analysis to contribute meaningfully to understanding of these culturally and spiritually significant taonga.