Provenancing kauri: Reconstructing the supply of kauri timber into Auckland city, 1850–1889

Abstract

AbstractThe 4500‐year kauri (Agathis australis) chronology includes ring width data from subfossil remains, 19th‐century building timbers and live kauri trees. It was assumed that the building timber data set represented a similar geographic spread to modern kauri sites but that assumption has not been tested empirically by provenancing kauri timber to the source region. To support provenancing, timber import patterns into Auckland between 1850 and 1889 CE were reconstructed, demonstrating that the archaeological assemblage is likely biased to west and east Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula, particularly the east side. Improved understanding of kauri timber provenance informs future use of the data set for climate and environmental studies.