October 17, 2019
Carved karaka unlock Moriori survival mystery
New research has identified how the Moriori cultivated the karaka tree to allow them to survive on the remote Chatham Islands.
University of Otago Associate Professor of Archaeology Ian Barber will present this findings tonight at the annual H D Skinner Lecture at Otago Museum.
He says it's part of a body of work debunking historical myths about the Moriori and confirming they were part of the same migration from East Polynesia that brought Māori to Aotearoa.
He says radiocarbon and other evidence indicates Moriori brought karaka or kopi with them from the New Zealand mainland and cultivated it as an important source of nutrition, supplementing what they could gather from the land and the sea.
"What this demonstrates really is that these first Polynesian settlers of Rekohu were able to adapt in a really remarkable way to this island environment and to introduce this important form of tree cultivation and care to the island that enabled allowed Moriori to successful adapt to this island and become the Moriori people through time and to the present day," he says.
Associate Professor Barber is working with Moriori to identify and protect the remaining kopi, which feature carvings cut into their bark.
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