On Certain Early Forms of Stone Implements in Use Among the Inhabitants of New Zealand Author(s): James Hector Source: The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 5 (1876), pp. 458-464 Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2841117 . Accessed: 16/06/2014 18:24

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This content downloaded from 195.34.79.158 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 18:24:01 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 468 JAMES HECTOR.-Early Formsof StoneImnplements streamsascend into the heart of Asia to the veryhomes and centresof the Mongolianpopulation, while the lands along muchof theircourse is knownto be richlyfertile. If we con- ceive,what w-as probably the case, a seriesof wavesof emigra- tion,at considlerableintervals of timeand by differentrivers, thereis no difficultyin supposing that, when the different groups of emigrantsmet again a longperiod afterwards, after having traversedthousands of miles of ocean from their original homes, theywould not recognise one another as familieswho had been onceakin. Unletteredpopulations would not draw the inferences as to originsand ancestries,which are easilydiscerned by the comparativephilologists of Europe. I believe,therefore, that some such theory as thisis sufficient to accountfor the substantialunity of all the Polynesian dialects,and to accountalso forthe proportion of Malaywords and formsdetected in someof them. I cannotadmit that these languagesare derivedfrom the Malay,but it is, on the other hand, not im-probablethat the tribeswe now call Malays, descending,originally, also, from Central Asia, did followthe S.E. line of the Brabmaputra,Irrawaddy, &c., while the largerbodies of the Polynesians followed the course of Chinese rivers, at a period long anteriorto the Malay descent, graduallycrossing the Pacificby the stepping-stonesof the innumerableislands to be foundbetween the 20th and 20'th parallelsof N. latitude. Nearerthan this I fearwe have little chanceof getting.

On CERTAIN EARLY FORMS of STONE IMPLEMENTS in use among the INEABITANTS of NEW ZEALAND. By JAMES HECTOR, M.D., C.M.G., F.R.S. DR. HECTOR,before describing the collection of New Zealand and ChathamIsland Stone Implements,which he exhibited,referred to some pointsin the ethnographyof the IMlaorirace not men- tionedin the foregoingpaper. He dismissedas untenablethe theory that some persons advanced, of the Maoris being autochthones,or a remnantof a formerrace now representedby isolated groups,through the submergenceof a great continental area, and expressedhis acquiescencewith Mr. Vaux respecting the origin of the Maoris as migrantsin common with other Polynesians,but thoughtthat thisgeneral way of dealing with the subject ratheravoided than settled the issue of greatest interestto the New Zealand student,which is the period of the firstsettlement of the islands by Maoris,and whetherthe whole Maori populationhad a commonorigin from one migration.

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.158 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 18:24:01 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions in useamony the Inhabitants of New Zealand. 459 Accordingto the census of 1874, the number of Maoris in New Zealand was 45,470, of whom43,538 dwell in the North Island, and only 1,932 in the South Island and otheradjacent islands." This disproportionin the numericaldistribution of the Maoris is no doubtdue to the more favourableconditions in the north fortheir open-air mode of life,and forthe cultivationof the few simple vegetableswhich, with fish,form their staple food,the differenceof climatebetween the extremes of New Zealand being nearlyequal to that experiencedin passing fromthe South of Italy to the Northof Scotland. This disproportionmust always have existed,and the littleknown of the historyof the occupa- tionoftheSouth Island showsthat it was colonisedfrom the North Island by numerouswarlike migrations,and that the Maoris settlingin the south soon degenerated both in habits and in physical appearance,so that theyinight be taken for members ofa distinctrace. In the NorthIsland, on the otherhand, the populationhas increaseduntil the countrywas fullyoccupied; but duringthis increasecertain original divisions of the people have been preserved,so that there are now eighteendistinct tribes,each with subordinate" hapus," which maintain their individualityof interestto a markeddegree. For instance,each " hapu" has its own traditionaltitles to land so well definedthat special Native Land Courtshave been constitutedin the colony fortheir investigation and conversioninto documentarytitles. The testimonygiven by old Maoris during these trials about events of generationspast is statedto be perfectlyharmonious, and thereis no reason to doubt the truth of their traditional history,and to referthe whole of it to the class of poetical myths,as maintainedby Schirrenand others.t The same language is spokenby all the Maoris, thoughwith * Generalcensus, including estimates of certaintribes. Males. Females. Sex not stated. Total. N. I...... 23,308 ...... 19,458 ...... 772 ...... 43,538 S. I...... 1,055 ...... 877 ...... - ...... 1,932

Total ..... 24,363 ...... 20,335 ...... 772 ...... 45,470 Selectedcensus from accurate returns respecting thirteen friendly tribes in the North Island. Males. Females. Under 15. Above 15. Under 15. Above 15. 6,079 .... 11,209 .. , . 5,225,,,, ...... 9,132 Total Males ...... ,,, 17,288 ,, Females..,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,. 14,357 Total..,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,. 31,645 -Pariamenttary Papers for NetvZealand, 1875. t " Die Wandersagender New Seelander,1856." Quotctlby Hochetetter.

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.158 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 18:24:01 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 460 JAMES HECTOR.-Early Formsof StomeIqmpemets local dialects,of whichthe Moriori,or ChathamIsland dialect, is the mostdistinct. The chiefmental peculiarity of the Maoris is their acute power of comparison,which is more highly developedthan is usual in uncivilisedraces. From this circum- stance theirvocabularies are extensive,and even trivialobjects, such as useless plants,receive the same names throughoutthe islands. This was consideredto indicatethat the language of the earliestobservers in the countrywas still in use, and that theremust have been free communication,probably round the coast, ever sincethe firstoccupation of the islands. It was pointedout, that thoughthe traditionalstories of the Maoris may be in the main acceptedas true,yet it is not likely that we have a completehistory. Our recorded knowledge of the language and traditionsis chieflyderived from missionaries and otherexperts in a fewlocalities, and relates-chiefly to such mattersas the inquirerswere themselves most interested in. This is an importantconsideration when it is soughtto use the early collected traditionsas negative evidence,while it is obvious that no traditionscollected during the last thirtyyears, since the diffusionof Europeanideas and education,should be accepted as provingan absence of knowledgeof eventsor objects on the part of the natives. Apart fromtraditions, however, much can be inferredcon- cerningthe past historyof the Mlaorisfrom observation. When the countrywas firstsettled by Europeans,some thirty-fiveor fortyyears ago, therewere still evidencesthat in theirprimitive statethe islands of New Zealandwere covered with forest or dense scrubby vegetation,but that fromlarge areas, where a dry climateprevailed, the originalvegetation had been removedby numerousburnings. This process has been carried on by the Europeans, so that except whereexcessive moisturestays the destruction-as, for instance,on the west coast-the countryis convertedinto open pasture land. On the charred surfaceof the countrythe firstEuropeans foundeverywhere bones of the moa birdsplentifully strewn. The Maori term " moa " includes 18 or 20 differentspecies of birdsof stuthioushabit, some of mas- siveproportions, and havinga statureof 10 feet. As firstclearly proved by Mlantell,the destructionof these giganticbirds was effectedby the MIaoris,and the remainsof their feastson these birds are to be found in all favourableplaces roundthe coasts and up in the interior. When Mr. Mlantellwas commissionerfor the purchaseof the south-eastdistrict of the colony,where these moa birdsformerly abounded and were last exterminated,certain nativesclaimed title to the land, on the groundthat it was their ancestor that firstset fire to the countrywhen engaged in hluntingmoas. There can be no doubtthat the chase of themoas

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.158 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 18:24:01 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions in use amnmgthe Inhabitants qf NewZealand. 461 must have attracteda large numberof Maoris fromthe North Island afterit was fullysettled and foodhad becomescarce; and the extent of theirhunting encampmentsonly prove that the workof exterminationwas effectedwith great rapidity,and that the natives at that time had more the habits of Nomads than now,when they are tied down to theircultivations. The same kind of change of customtook place a second time when certain tribes in the north were supplied by the Euro- peans with firearms,but the game was then theirfellow-men.* The date of the finalextinction of the moa, the speakerthought, must be very recent,from the frequentdiscovery of remains, with skin and flesh attached, almost exposed on the surface. These,no doubt,were stragglingsurvivors, but it is clear that the moas must have been coeval with the forestsstill existing on the westernslope of the mountains,and that theirdestruc- tion must have followedas an immnediateconsequence of the arrival of Maoris in any district. He expressed his dissent from Dr. Hlaast's theory,that the moa hunterswere an anteriorand differentrace of people from the Mfaoris,or that the moas were destroyedby a race of autochthonesthat inhabited a post-pliocene continentthat has since been reduced to islands.t This theory has been much canvassedin the colony,and it is only supportedby the alleged absence of any traditionalknowledge of the moa among the Maoris, and on the ground that the stone implementsof the Maoris evinced a higherstate of developmenttowards civilisa- tion than those of the moa-huntingnatives. The firstsupposi- tion is negatived by the testimonyof the best Maori scholars, such as JudgeManning, who has been admittedto all the know- ledge of the Tohungas. Also by Sir George Grey,Mantell, and by the circumstancethat the moa is described from native report in Polack's work on New Zealand, writtenbefore the existenceof the large bones was discoveredby the European settlers. With respectto the stone implements,the collectionon the table showsthat the rudestforms found with the moa bones in New Zealand occur also in the Chatham Islands, where no mnoabones have been found. There they are used by the Mlorioris,a tribe now almost extinct,that lived until late years in caves and rude huts, exposed to most inclement weather,with only a scanty supply of fuel, there being no * "Life in Ranparah; " by W. T. IL. Travers,F.IL.S. Trans. N. Z. Inst., vol. v. t Tr. N. Z. I., iv. 84, et seq. That authorhas considerablymodified his theory in subsequentpublications, but in his latest he states that "he has no doubt but that his views expressed some years ago will gain general acceptance." Idl. -vii.81.

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.158 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 18:24:01 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 462 JAMES HECToIR.-EEarly Formsqf S&o)neIrnpleme,lt8. large treeson the islands. They subsistedchiefly on fish,and the flesh of seals and cetaceans, and clothed themselves in skins. Their canoes weremade of the floweringstalks of the Phomumtenax, or New Zealand flax. Theyhad all the appearance of a race that had sufferedphysical degradation,the marksof which are to be seen even now in theircrania, but it is generally concededthat they are in language and everyother respecta branchof the Maoris. They use the flakesnow exhibited for cuttingflesh, but at the same timeused heavy polished adzes for cultivating their potatoes; and this is the only difference between the commonstone implementsfound in the old moa- hunter encampmentsand the gardensround the pahs of the modern Maoris, where they even yet use agriculturalimple- mentsof stone. Referringto a communicationto the Society by Dr. Haast (J. E. S. ii. 10), in whichcertain stone implements were described as of high antiquity,owing to the positionin whichthey were found imbeddedin gravelson the west coast of New Zealand, Dr. Hectorstated that if the descriptionwas corect these would certainlyfar exceed in antiquityany other human works that had been found in New Zealand, but he had exactlythe same formof implementson the table which were found,also on the westcoast, by his friendMr. Harvey, the DistrictJudge, at the rootof a tree. Now, treesare in thatdistrict frequently burrowed underby kiivis(Apteryx) and kakapos (Strigops), large nocturnal groundbirds, and the holeswhich they make are just suchplaces wherevaluables like stoneimplements would be laid and lost by travellingparties of natives. As the gold-diggers(one of whom foundthe implementsreferred to by Dr. Haast), in excavating theirtrenches and " paddocks,"as theyterm the large open pits, underminethe loose shinglefrom beneath the tough surface of mattedroots, a mistakecould easily occurthrough the dropping down of the stone implements from the surface into the workings. But even if found in the gravels in the position described,it mightstill be morea moderndeposit than has been inferred,as changes in the alluvial depositson that coast take place with great rapidity owing to suddon alterationsin the coursesof the rivers. The position in the same locality of a large portionof the wreckof a vessel,with metal sheathingand feltbetween the planks, was describedas 300 yards back and three-quartersof a mile up a small creek, proving the rapidity with which coast driftsaccumulate.* The successivebelts of vegetation,also describedin the paper quoted as provingthe antiquityof the deposits on which they grow,did not,in the speaker'sopinion, represent successive periods of time; the in- * Hector, Tr. N. Z. I., iv. 373.

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.158 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 18:24:01 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Discuession. 463 nermost tith1scrub, for instance, being indicativeof a filled up watercoursewhich probablyran parallel with the much older beach depositwith its scantyscrub. The implementsand otherevidences of human design found in New Zealand were therefore,according to the speaker,to be referredto a time equivalent to the most recent period in the historyof other countries. They also show signs of relation- ship to similar articles in the South Sea Islands, and yet can generally be distinguishedat a glance. The chief novelties exhibitedwere the flakesand wedges,many of the formerbeing of obsidian,which is only foundon a small islandin the Bay of Plenty,but is still carriedabout by the nativesin blocksfor the manufactureof cutting-flakes.In the earliesthunting encamp- mentsand on the ChathamIslands these same flakesare found. The otherflakes are made of flint,chert, and a quartzitefrom a tertiaryformation that is found in the interior. Also some flakes made by a single blow froma rounded boulder,which are identical with those found in the brocks of Shetland. Among the large adzes or grubberswas the cast of an enaor- mous specimen,found by Captain Fraser in Otago, measuring eighteen inches, and weighing 11- lbs. The stone of which this and most of the common tools are made is a fine-grained metamorphicsandstone of green colour. Among the imple- mentsexhibited was a fineweapon made fromthe jawbone of a spermwhale, and identical in formwith the rapa or double- headed paddle of the natives of Easter Island; also a very ancientwooden mere or war-club,known as rangitiki,which was given to Dr. Featherston,N. Z. C., as a tokenof thecession of the large block of land wherethe Fielding settlementhas now been established. The chiefinterest of this mereis that the figure carved on it has five fingersinstead of the ordinary three fingersand reflexeedthumb of usual Maori carvings.* DiscussioN. Mr. E. B. TYLOP mentioned,in confirmationof Dr. Hector's view, that the Maoris were contemporarywith the moa,a native story describinggigantic birds in terms evidentlydrawn from recollectionof the living moa. He proceededto ask whether the traditionof the firstarrival of the Maoris in the canoes Arawa and Tainui seemed to be consistentlyrelated and true, and whetherthe natives thoughtthe island to have been pre- viouslyuninhabited. With referenceto the theoryof Mr. Thom- son, that the connectioinof language between Madagascar and Polynesiawas to be accountedfor by these regionshaving been * A seriesof the stones,worn by the winidso as to resemblehuman workman- ship,were also exhibitedfrom Lyall Bay, near Wellington. (Trans. N. Z. I., ii. 247.)

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.158 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 18:24:01 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 464 Disctussioz. once joined by a continentnow mostlysubmerged, MVIr. Tylor re- markedthat his idea was that of the submergedcontinent of Leemuria,the existenceof which Professor Sclater had suggestedon othergrounds. But so faras the connectionof race and language between Madagascar and New Zealand, &c., was concerned,it appeared to the speaker that this could be quite sufficiently explainedon the ordinaryview of andimmigrationof Malayo-Poly- nesiansin canoesto Madagascar,and that to demand a submerged continentfor the purposeof accountingfor it, was to bringin a vast and venturoustheory to explaina smalland ordinaryfact. Dr. SPRATT was led to supposethat the peculiaraptitude of the Maoris in definingsubstances, character, and objects,and readily distinguishingthem by givinDg characteristic names, was not only a law of naturepeculiar to New Zealand,but to all humanbeings whereeducation did not exist. Thus the same powerof discrimi- nation m-iightbe traced to animalsand humanbeings when they werevoid of sight,deaf, or dumb,that the nervespeculiarly suit- able forgiven purposes became more active; thusblind people, by the senseof touch,have been knownto show signsof remarkable instinct,which, in fact,as the mind,is simplythe action of one, or the combinationof severalnerves, which again constitutethe power of thought. Domesticated animals and humanbeings, througheducation and new channelsbeing opened to themfor occupation,by naturalaffinity dispense with that portionof the facultythat constitutes" the naturalpower of definition,"and by books, paper, and pens they are able to notea largeramount of knowledgethan may be accumulatedand retainedin memoryby mere observationof some strikingand attractivepoints, from everyindividual change, and appearancesof livinganimals, human beings,plants, atmosphericchanges, &c. Some interestingfacts appertainingto thissubject he is collectinig,and will shortlysubmit themto the Chairman. Dr. HECToR and Captain FRASER answered that the Maori traditionof the arrivalof the canoesat the islandhad the appear- ance of truth,but thatthe natives seemed to thinkthat there were alreadypeople on the islands. Captain FRASER and the CaAIRMAN also joined in the discus- sion. Dr. HECTORexhibited a large series of stone, wooden, and bone implements,which he had recentlybrought fromNew Zealand, in illustrationof his paper. The Directorannounced the appointmentof Auditorsof the accountsto be, on behalf of the Council,Mr. CHARLES HARRI- soN; on behalf of the members,Mr. JEREMIAH; and the teeting separated.

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