Abstract
PLOS ONE Volume 8 includes an article “The First New Zealanders: Patterns of Diet and Mobility Revealed through Isotope Analysis”. The paper proposes that burial groups within the settlement phase site of Wairau Bar differ in terms of dietary stable isotopes and 87Sr/86Sr. The authors argue this difference is probably due to one group being a founding population while the other burials are later. Here we review the work of Kinaston et al. and present an alternative analysis and interpretation of the isotopic data. Treating the isotope data independently from cultural and biological factors we find that sex best explains dietary variation. Our reassessment of 87Sr/86Sr confirms the authors original finding of high mobility of early New Zealanders but suggests a larger range of individuals should be considered ‘non-local’ on current evidence.
Highlights
The manner of Polynesian adaptation to, and exploitation of, the New Zealand environment in the decades following colonisation is a central focus for archaeological research in the region
We consider a reconstruction of human diet and mobility based on stable isotopes presented in the recent paper by Kinaston et al [4] entitled “The First New Zealanders: Patterns of Diet and Mobility Revealed through Isotope Analysis”
We agree with Kinaston et al that Wairau Bar appears to be a special site in the colonising phase of New Zealand and that, on the basis of material culture, there are differences between individuals in the site
Summary
The manner of Polynesian adaptation to, and exploitation of, the New Zealand environment in the decades following colonisation is a central focus for archaeological research in the region. The answers to these questions have important implications for a broader understanding of settlement, seasonality, socio-political complexity and culture change in New Zealand. Diet and mobility reconstructions remain an important component of New Zealand archaeology [1, 2, 3]. We consider a reconstruction of human diet and mobility based on stable isotopes presented in the recent paper by Kinaston et al [4] entitled “The First New Zealanders: Patterns of Diet and Mobility Revealed through Isotope Analysis”. The study is based on koiwi tangata (human remains) from Wairau Bar, a large settlement occupied early in New Zealand prehistory, ca. Wairau Bar contains a rich array of early material culture unmatched in New Zealand archaeology.
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