Pre-Maori New Zealand

[Taffy_is_a_Taff]

Tell me about the non/pre Maori inhabitants of New Zealand.
I think I heard that they were still there when Europeans first arrived but the Maoris later wiped them out.
Somebody in another thread said some were still knocking about.
I want to know more.
What are the actual facts?
A quick look around websites suggests that they were also Polynesians.

P.S. I'm not talking about those Celt/Phoenician theories here.

[Kraxis]

What... There were inhabitants prior to the Maori? Never heard about that before.

How come the Moa hadn't learned to keep away from humans if it had been interacting with humnas prior to the Maori. Since the others were also polynesians we must expect them to act much the same in regards to nature.

[Taffy_is_a_Taff]

Apparently there were.

Hopefully we'll find out more from the Antipodean side of this forum.

[Papewaio]

Pre Maori were the Moa-Hunters (http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/M/MaoriMaterialCulture/TheMoaHunters/en)... stone age hunters.


Maori material culture has evolved over two main periods of Polynesian settlement. The first is known as the Archaic or Moa Hunter period during which the Polynesians made their first contact with the moa, a large struthious bird which supplied them with abundant food. Actually, some of the species were relatively small. These Polynesians utilised the moa for food while from its bones they manufactured ornaments, fish hooks, bird spear points, and other items. Moas were killed by spears and traps.

[Incongruous]

They were the Moriori's, some still live on an island of the coast of NZ. The Maori came over and as they were more warlike, they ate them all.
For anyone who deny's this claim there is a court case going on at the moment to brandish the Maori as foriegn invaders and not the indigeonous people and reclaim land from them.

[Kraxis]

Hm... That is some interesting point.

[Papewaio]

For anyone who deny's this claim there is a court case going on at the moment to brandish the Maori as foriegn invaders and not the indigeonous people and reclaim land from them.

The case won't pass as the land reclaims are based on the Treaty of Waitangi not indigenous or native title status.

[Shaka_Khan]

The indigenous people moved to Tol Eressea. ~D

[Idaho]

The previous inhabitants are still around on the Chatham Islands.

[BDC]

Bah, everyone always claims to be the poor victim.

It's just a case of who had the biggest guns in the final encounter.

[Duke Malcolm]

Which was the mighty United Kingdom of Great Britain...

[English assassin]

Odd. I always thought NZ was about the only example of a land mass settled recently with no indigenous population (the only other case I can think of is Iceland). Wiki says the Maori were the first there, about 6-800 years ago, which is what I thought too. But Wiki has been known to be wrong...

[Incongruous]

It is wrong, the Morioris were the first here. Many Historians are now starting to doubt that Maori got here before 1500 aswell due to the fact that no artifacts can be found pre-dating said date that can be traced without doubt to the Maori.

[Bartix]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moriori
The debunked myth of Moriori in New Zealand

New Zealand popular culture of the early twentieth century long held an unsubstantiated myth that the 'Moriori', a small-statured dark-skinned race of possible Melanesian origin, originally inhabited New Zealand before the fairer-skinned Māori arrived and drove the Moriori out to the Chathams. This story conveniently promoted racist stereotyping and justified the idea of colonisation by cultural 'superiors', but has no historical or anthropological merit. :book:

[Papewaio]

There was at least two waves of Polynesians. The first is often referred to as the Moa Hunters the second more prolific group is the Maori.


The earliest C.14 carbon dating for the settlement of man in New Zealand is approximately 1,000 years ago.


The last great phase resulting in the introduction of new culture elements were the adventurous voyages southward of groups of Polynesians from the central Pacific, in or about A.D. 1350. This settlement ushered in the Classic period of Maori culture. Well-known canoes associated with this period were Te Arawa, Tainui, Mataatua, Kurahaupo, Tokomaru, Takitimu, Aotea, and Horouta. It is evident that virile strains of Polynesians appeared on the scene from this time. The pa or hill fort became well established and new weapons of war were evolved. Agriculture gradually developed as well as religious conceptions and cultural activities.

This is from the link I first posted. Which is called the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. (http://www.teara.govt.nz/)

[Kamikazepenguin1]

Tell me about the non/pre Maori inhabitants of New Zealand.
I think I heard that they were still there when Europeans first arrived but the Maoris later wiped them out.
Somebody in another thread said some were still knocking about.
I want to know more.
What are the actual facts?
A quick look around websites suggests that they were also Polynesians.

P.S. I'm not talking about those Celt/Phoenician theories here.


I'm from NZ, I know about the Maori, they were the first there. Just in case I searched it up:

New Zealand was originally settled by Polynesians from Eastern Polynesia. The most current reliable evidence strongly indicates that initial settlement of New Zealand occurred around 1280 CE. Previous dating of some Kiore (Polynesian rat) bones at 50 - 150 CE has now been shown to have been unreliable; new samples of bone (and now also of unequivocally rat-gnawed woody seed cases) match the 1280 CE date of the earliest archaeological sites and the beginning of sustained, anthropogenic deforestation.[4]

The descendants of these settlers became known as the Māori, forming a distinct culture of their own. The separate settlement of the tiny Chatham Islands in the east of New Zealand about 1500 CE produced the Moriori people; linguistic evidence indicates that the Moriori were mainland Māori who ventured eastward.[5]

[a completely inoffensive name]

Well now after 9 years he finally has the answer he was looking for.

[HoreTore]

Odd. I always thought NZ was about the only example of a land mass settled recently with no indigenous population (the only other case I can think of is Iceland). Wiki says the Maori were the first there, about 6-800 years ago, which is what I thought too. But Wiki has been known to be wrong...

There are more areas like that, like the tip of South America, both falklands and parts of the mainland. Also Bermuda, St Helena, Cape Verde...

EDIT: Damn necro...

[Sarmatian]

It's not like he was asking for a liver transplant - he was asking about something that happened a few thousand years ago. What's nine years here or there?

The important thing is the answer has been given. We're not fast, but God, we're thorough.

[Pannonian]

What I'd like to know is, is Taffy still a Taff?

[Seamus Fermanagh]

What I'd like to know is, is Taffy still a Taff?

According to his latest instagram (http://instagram.com/taffytaff) photos, it would appear so.