A High-Resolution Chronology of Human Arrival and Environmental Impact in Northland, New Zealand Thesis
- Author
- Jenny Dahl
- Year
- 2018
- Publisher / Organisation
- University of Otago
- Month
- December
- Pages
- 151
- Keywords
- environmental impact, human arrival, Polynesia, archaeological evidence, environmental history
- Summary
- Our understanding of when Polynesian colonists first arrived in New Zealand, how the landscape was altered, and the pace of anthropogenic modification has been primarily sourced from archaeological evidence and environmental histories collected from the South Island. Research from the South Island suggests that once humans arrived in New Zealand around 1300 AD they quickly and dramatically impacted the environment. Though more research has been undertaken on the North Island recently, the north remains under-researched compared to the south regarding these issues. The variety of subsistence practices available in this sub-tropical microclimate and the wetter, less combustible forests may have led to different land use practices and pace of landscape alteration compared to the drier, cooler climate of the South Island.