Abstract
The paper argues that by the time of European contact Ngāi Tahu, the southernmost Māori had developed a regime of sustainable practices for the management of natural resources. Some of these practices are described. As traditional society, in the south, is located in a rather different cultural milieu than that occupied by Māori who lived in areas where kūmera harvests were reliable, an attempt is made to position Southern Ngāi Tahu in relation to the dominant anthropological paradigms, as an agricultural people may seem to have regressed to become primarily hunters and gatherers.
Highlights
Clarke of Cambridge University, in his seminal text Analytical Archaeology [1], pointed out that cultures are adaptations to a specific environment, such that a change of environment will normally be followed by some cultural adjustment
South of Banks Peninsula, where kūmera harvests were unreliable, an alternative economy developed in pre-contact times
As Garven, et al point out “Over the centuries, a different system of resource management suited to New Zealand conditions was developed” [2]
Summary
As Garven, et al point out “Over the centuries, a different system of resource management suited to New Zealand conditions was developed” [2] This resulted from a combination of harsh climate and “rain-shadow” flora and lead to social modifications with the emergence of a unique regime of management processes that seem to have been continued by the later arrivals. It is the admixture of these groups that we refer to as the “Southern Ngāi Tahu”. To paraphrase: NgāiTahu developed over time a system of resource management appropriate to conditions in southern New Zealand through which careful observation and dependence had led to an advanced understanding of husbandry, habitats and breeding cycles of all fauna that were of value. It will be seen that the associated ethic transcended purely economic considerations and became environmental in its focus
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