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For questions about the Kawatiri excavation, contact archaeology@historic.org.nz
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Archaeological Investigations: Kawatiri, Westport
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Kawatiri,
near the mouth of the Buller River, Westport. |
Kawatiri (K29/8) is an archaic Maori site located on the West Coast of the South Island at the mouth of the Kawatiri (Buller) River, just south of Westport. Covering about 1.2 ha, the site was first discovered in the 1920s after being cleared of timber and lightly cultivated. This revealed many artefacts, some of which were taken into private collections.
The site was first entered the site into the New Zealand Archaeological Association Site Recording scheme by Owen Wilkes in 1965. Radiocarbon dates suggest that the site was occupied during the fourteenth century AD, and excavation has recovered a number of artefacts and features typical of an early assemblage.
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Left:
a cache of stone tools |
The Kawatiri site contains one of the most complete known records of the earliest phase of New Zealand prehistory. The key features of the site are a large and diverse range of tools in a variety of different sources plus well preserved spatial data in the form of postholes, ovens and other features.
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Excavated oven features |
Kawatiri was occupied early in the prehistoric sequence, and provides insight into early cultural adaptation, and of early raw material exchange. The site has a low pH so does not preserve midden or other organic remains well. But clusters of degraded moa bone in the deeper pits attests to moa hunting activities.
Wayne Orchiston was the first person to undertake archaeological investigations at the site, carrying out a series of small excavations in 1969. Orchiston noted that the site would originally have been situated directly adjacent to the coast and the Buller River estuary, although this has since changed due to the construction of the Westport Harbour Mole.
Kawatiri came to the attention of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust in 2003. Dr Richard Walter (University of Otago) and Chris Jacomb (then of New Zealand Historic Places Trust, now University of Otago) visited the site and dug a series of test pits to assess its archaeological significance.
The test pits revealed a patchy and discontinuous archaeological horizon, as well as some stone tool fragments. These results, as well as the information obtained from Orchiston's work, suggested that the site warranted further excavation.
In 2004 and 2005 Walter and Jacomb excavated areas of the site as part of the University of Otago Anthropology Department archaeological field school. During the course of this work, the site was identified as having great archaeological significance, and as a result the land came into public ownership in 2006.
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Excavation units |
The archaeological field school resumed in 2007, and Dr. Hans-Dieter Bader of Geometria was brought in to carry out geophysical analysis. This work provided a sub-surface map that could be used to guide future excavation.
This year will be the fourth season of excavation at the site as part of the Otago University field school. During the three previous field seasons, the object was to open up large enough areas to reveal the spatial distribution of features, artefacts and activity areas.
This enables development of an interpretation of patterns of human activity and the organisation of structures and work places. This in turn, enables the archaeologists to develop an understanding of the nature of village life at this critical earliest period of New Zealand prehistory.
While the ongoing field schools have addressed important teaching and management objectives, the fieldwork has also been designed to contribute to larger research objectives. In particular, the Kawatiri work is part of a programme of study into early New Zealand settlement being carried out by Southern Pacific Archaeology Research (SPAR), a research unit based in the Department of Anthropology, directed by Walter and Jacomb.
From 2008 this work will be incorporated into a new project called The First Thousand Years: the archaeology of New Zealand cultural origins. This is a Marsden-funded project in which Walter is the Principal Investigator with SPAR and Anthropology Department staff and student participation.
The Kawatiri site will play a major role in the project as it is the
best preserved example of the earliest colonisation phase in New Zealand.
The archaeological work at Kawatiri is being done under a s18 archaeological
authority granted four years ago. It allows for ongoing research work
of the type being undertaken here, dependent on conditions which require
reporting back.
The West Coast research program is made possible through collaboration
between the University of Otago and the New Zealand Historic Places Trust,
and includes partnerships with the Department of Conservation and Ngati
Waewae.
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Resources
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Progress
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