New research shows ancestral Māori adapted quickly in the face of rapid climate change

Nov 21, 2022

An aerial view of a coastal part of New Zealand.

Research shows that early Maori settlers reached the North Island of New Zealand first. Image: Unsplash/ Rod Long

Magdalena Bunbury

Postdoctoral research fellow, James Cook University

Fiona Petchey

Associate Professor and Director, Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, Te Aka Mātuatua School of Science , University of Waikato

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A graphic showing archaeological sites across Aotearoa.

The changing distribution of archaeological sites across Aotearoa. The red ellipse marks the distribution of the volcanic deposits from the Kaharoa eruption around 1314. Image: The Conversation.

Land by a body of water with mountains in the background.

Wairau Bar in Marlborough is thought to be one of the earliest sites of settlement in the South Island. Image: The Conversation.

Toitoi (Cookia sulcata) shell from an early archaeological site. Image: The Conversation.

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