PHILOSOPHICAL INSTITUTE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 2040, 21 September 1874, Page 2

PHILOSOPHICAL INSTITUTE.

The following is a further portion of a paper read by Dr Haast at a special meeting of tbe Society on Tuesday, Sept. ]5, "On results of excavations and researches in and near the Moa-bone Point Cave, Sumner road" : — Having reached the end of the main cave, a more tedious piece of work was now before üb, because before being able to reach the dirb and agglomerate bed in this northern portion of the cave we were obliged to remove a considerable mass of shell deposits, which, as we approached the entrance of the cave, became gradually thicker till they reached a thickness of eight feet. I have already before stated that the agglomerate bed was missing where th* su?.: . posed hufc or enclosure had once been stand- ' ing, and that the ash and dirt bed continued without interruption to cover here the marine sands. Over thia area I observed the dirt bed to possess a much greater thickness than in other localities where the agglomerate was present, attaining generally a thickness of eight to nine inches between fche four piles, and thus showing that by a more extended deposition of ashes and kitchen middens, the general level of the floor of the cave had here been maintained. We obtained here, mostly embedded in the marine sands and only partly entering the dirb bed, the bones of the lei'fc leg belonging to a large species of Euryapfceryx gravis. The tibia and femur of this specimen had been broken in the usual manner for the extraction of the marrow, whilst the metatarsus was entire, and very much calcined at its lower (distal) extremity. The fibula waß found to be also broken in several places, as would happen by fracturing the tibia, wifch tho former bone s ; ill attached. Some phalanges and a great number of small piece? of the two broken leg bones were lying also close by. There was no cooking oven near, bo that we may assume that the leg was brought in entire from a cooking place outside, if not from one of the few ovens, to be alluded to presently, situated in the cave near its entrance. Moreover, as none of the bones were caloined, with the exception of the lower portion of the metatarsus, ifc appears that this part, nofc possessing any flesh, was nofc protected Trom the fire so carefuUy as the other portions had been. If tbis surmise be correct, wo have here a case of broiling on a large scale hefore us. Advancing towards the entrance of the cave, we obtained occasionally in the marine sands, agglomerate and dirt beds, rough store implements, mostly mere chips of dolorite, obtainable close to the cave, and with very few exceptions, ?\i no way lo be compared wifch the artistically chipped fl'nfc implements from the Rakaia encampment ; but these shapeless implements were now sometimes replaced by better formed tools. Some pieces of obsidian were found with them, embedded in the agglomerate, having, in two j instances, the form of spear heads. From the great number of moa bones, belonging to ao many specimens and species, f und over thafc small area, it becamo evident Ihat this spot had been a favourite g ound for the moa hunting frequenters of the cave, because in the small space between the northern side of the supposed enclosure or hufc, and fche entrance of tho cave, we obtained the following bones : — OP DINOBNIS EOBtTSTUS. Right femur, portions of tibia and metatarsus (broken for the extraction of the marrow) portion of pelvis, two ribs, four cervical and one dorsal vertebrae. Ol? PALAPTEBYX CBASSUS. Portions of two full-grown birds, femora : ibs and several vertebra. OF EUEYAETEHYX GEAVIS. Portions of right femur, of pelvis, two ribs, nine phalanges, ono dorsal, three cervical vertebrae. All the bones of the latter species being doubtless derived from the same speoimen, fco which the bones of the left leg belonged, previously described, and which were found towards fche centre of the cave. OF EUBYAPTEEYX BHEIDOS. Numerous bones, belonging to afc least two adults, and one young specimen, the leg bones broken in the usual manner, portions of pelvis sternum and skull, vertebra, phalanges, and' rib 3 in considerable number. OF APXOBMIS STIDIFOBMIS. Lower portion of left tibia and femur, the marrow having evidently been extracted. Besides these remains, belonging to our extinct birds, a great number of bones of smaller specios of our recent Avifauna were collected, of which Graculuß punctafcus (thespofcted shag) ond Eudy ptula und ma (the smnll bl ue penguin) were the most numerous. Besides them, other species of the graculus family, the grey luck (Anas superciliosa) and gulls and terns were well represented. From the dirt beds a considerable number of feathers were collected, mostly belonging to the spotted shag, but

none which could be identified as moa feathers. in the upper, or shell beds, as previously stated, the bones of the spotted shag were also of frequent occurrence, and besides those previously enumerated, we found also a few belonging to the wh te crane, the nelly, and the New Zealand harrier. Tho feathers collected in these upper beds were mostly all belonging either to fche spotted shag or to the I kakapo (Sfcriagops habiopfcilus). ! It may nofc be here out of place to remind . you that amongst the kitchen middens of the Rakaia encampment, belonging to hundreds of specimens, only a few bones of Dinornis ingens were found, the still more gigantic species being thus unrepresented. Ifc is therefore interesting to observe thafc fche moa hunters were also chasing the latter, as proved by the remains of Dinornis robusfcus in fche kitchen middens afc fche mouth of the cave. In the sands at the western corner near its entrance, and where as before observed, fche agglemeratic deposit was missing, we found arranged in the sands another oven of considerable dimensions, used for a time by the moa hunters, but afterwards abandoned, as it was filled and covered over wifch numerous moa bones and their fragments, as well as with a considerable thickness of dirt and ashes. The absence of ovens for cooking purposes with tho exception of the one previously alluded to occurring in tho marine sands in fche south-western portion, and of the second at the western entrance of the cave, together with a third — of which I shall Bpeak presently — is a striking feature from which we can only conclude that the moa hunter cooked their food generally outside, and only occasionally ate it inside the cave, whilst the thick ash bed suggests fchat generally fires had been lighted, round which the moa hunters tat or camped. I The third oven — several feet in diameter — i was found about tea feet from the entranco j towards its middle part, having been prepared J immediately after the agglomeratic bed had | been deposited. The moa hunters had broken through that latter deposit, and arranged the stones of their oven taken mostly from the removed agglomerate in the marine sands thus laid open. After having been used probably in a few instance only ifc had become filled up wifch some of the agglomerate previously disturbed for its excavation, not used for cooking purposps, With pieces of moa bones and chips of timber (totara). Some of the latter were . standing vertical, or afc least at a high angle, whilst the> chips amongst- the dirt beds were found to b£ generally in a, horizontal ~posi' ion. This oven, wifch the kitchen middens filling ifc, was found to be covered by the never missing ash and dirt beds, the latter being continuous with the same deposit all round. It is thus evident that this oven was excavated, used, and filled again with the remnants of the meals, and of the usual occupations of the moa hunters before the ash and dirt bed was formed above the agglomerate. On the bottom of this oven a polished chisel of dark cherfc was discovered, 4*Bo inches lorg by 1 - 51 inohes broad, which in its general form resembles those which are doubtless of Maori manufacture, and which probably had been lo3t accidentally by being covered over. I obtained the information concerning this oven from the workmen, as I was unfortunately absent when the discovery was made, bufc 1 think ifc can be accepted as reliable, as I crossexamined both men, and found their account to agree in every particular. However, to strengthen this importari; point, on the 31st of October, during my preience, the men picked up a portion of another polished adze, which fell out of the face ot! the agglomerate bed just broken into, and when examining that face carefully I had the satisfaction to find the spot whence it had fallen out, so that there is no doubt but that it had been embedded in that agglomerate. On the other hand, in the dirt bed near the entrance of the cave, generally close to the agglomerate, or when missing, sometimes in contact with the marine sands, several broken polished stone implements were excavated, together with pieces of gritty sandstone, some of which had been grooved during the process of sharpening. As these fragments were found amongst the undisturbed kitchen middens of the moa hunters, there is not tho least doubt that the same were possessed of polished stone implements, as well as of chipped flint tools, probably employing the former for the building of their dwellings, or manufacture of their canoes and wooden implements, whilst the latter were probably used for the chase or for cutting up and and preparing their huge game for the oven and their meals. And as I shall show further on in the description of the numerous moa ovens outside the cave, that similar polished stone imElements were obtained in contact with moa ones in undisturbed positions, I havo to modify my former views in assuming that tho moa hunters did not possess polished stone implements. Thus the excavations in and near the Moa-bone Point Cave fully confirm the observations concerning this point made, and published by Messrs Mantell and Murison. My former opinion was based upon the careful examination of hundreds of moa cooking ovens in the Rakaia encampment, where I obtained great quantities of chipped stone inap'ements, some of them remarkably well shaped, amongst the kitchen middens of the moa hunters, but in the same deposits never any polished ones, and as the latter were mostly found in deep caches and the locality had been, according to Maori tradition, a favourite encampment of theirs, it waß natural fco be led to fche conclusion thafc fche few polished stone implements being turned up here and thero by the plough, were like the caches of later (Maori) origin. Section No. 6 gives fche details of the beds, with the two ovens near the entrance of the cave. Having determined that the beds were perfectly undisturbed, with fche exception of the few cases already alluded to, ifc was of great importance, to ascertain if, besides the stone implements found amongst the kitchen middens of tho moa hunters, no other objects of human workmanship wero associated wifch them, in order to gain some more insight into the daily life of this primitive people. However, if we consider thafc the cave was only occasionally frequented, we could nofc expect to find many objects of that nature, unlesß a fortunate accident had preserved to us some of their more valued ufcensils and ornaments . and although I was rather disappointed in thafc respect, fche few objects found proved sufficiently, that the moa hunters made their domestic tools neatly, as is generally fche custom of primitive races. In the dirt bed above the agglomerate in the anterior portion of fche cave we obtained a needle 4.25 in long by 0.20 in broad, neatly finished, made of the humerus of a nelly (Oaaifrugu gigantea), an awl made of tho distal

portion of the tibia of the same bird, doubtless used for making holes through which the needle was passed afterwards j also, the canine tooth of a dog, with a hole bored through it at its base, worn without doubt as an ornament. Amongst the pieces of wood collected from the lowei' beds, there is an apparatus for kindling fire, made of Carpodetes serratus (Komaku), the fire to be obtained by rubbing the stick lengthwise on the other flat piece, several fragments of worked timber, firesticks, portions of spears and of canoes, the whole being bo soffc when excavated that it could easily be cut by the finger nail. In appendix B a list of all the objects found is given, so that I need not particularise any other here. The curious fact firsfc observed at the Rakaia encampment that none of the bones of the kitchen middens were gnawed by dogs, was . also recognised in and near the cave, the smallest bones, without exception, being quite intact, except where cut or broken by human hands. On the other hand, in the upper or shell beds, many of the bones appeared to have been gnawed by rats and a few by dogs. In any case, the hypothesis first put forward in my paper on the Rakaia encampment, that the moa hunters chased the dog for food, without having it domesticated, certainly gains by these new observations in probability. / Amongst tho smaller birds enumerated ni the appendix, and of whioh none are extinct, the presence of the bones of the kakapo (Skigops habroptiluß) and of the large kiwi orroa (Apteryx Australis) proves that these birds inhabited tho Peninsula and its neighbourhood from where they have now disappeared for a long time. The only fiah bones obtained in fche lower beds belonged, mostly all, to the hapuka (Oligorusgigas). The upper or 6hell beds also did not contain any objects of value, having belonged to the Maoris, although, as appendix O will show, a great number of things were found, either broken, become useless and thrown away, or' accidentally dropped. There wore only a few pieces of broken polished stone implements and a Bmall piece of nephrite (greenstone) amongst them. Concerning tho existence of human bones in the lower beds, I may here add, that portions of the right ramus of a lower jaw was found in the western side in the marine sandß, " about six inches below their surface whioh : might have been carried in by the" surf, as near it tho greater portion of the skeleton of a C fur seal was excavated, which was doubtless brought in in the same manner. This lower jaw had li.longed to a not quite full grown man, tir- last molar just making its appearance; thero was not the least sign : of suoh- j;bories either in the agglomerate nor in the ash and dirt beds above ity thus confirming similar observations made at the Rakaia encampment. Amongst the bones collected in the Maori •_, or shell beds were two pelvic bones belonging ' ; to a full grown individual, and the ninth ; ; : dorsal vertebras, not quite mature ; both were entire and it is difficult to say how they may have beon brought into the cave, but as there p was through the whole fchioknesß of these beds pip nofc the least sign of any broken human bone_; A ifc appears obvious that during all the time the shell eaters were in occupation of the ground, they were either nofc cannibals, or had such a peaceful existence, not being afc war with neighbouring tribes, that they had no opportunity to indulge in that horrible practice. However, looking at the long lapse of time .- p during which the^ shell eaters were in posses- *. sion of the ground, and the insecurity of life // to which savage tribes are exposed, "l am ' inclined to believe that had they been cannibals, principally when the lower portions of the shell beds were found, that there would^' r ' certainly be somo evidence of it. „...,' „P: My friend, the Rev J. W. Stack, at my ij request, has made inquiries amongst the older , , Natives in Kaiapoi, and had been informed'hy. ./,''; fchem that the cave in question had been; aiZPcommon resort of their fishing parties some 'Z'Z'.. thirty years ago, so that some of the uppermost beds might have been- formed hy their refuse; but as cannibalism has been practised PP at least for several centuries in New Zealand, "£J the; absence of human bones in the shell bcdsM certainly proves fchafc they are of considerable antiquity, which is still more strengthened by the curious fact fc'iafc amongst tho hundreds of bones having belonged to small birds, not a vestige : of the weka. (Ooydromiis Australia). .& has; been met with, the same being the fact ~ with the lower or moa hunter beds, a feature a they have in common with those occurring in t^ jL fchei Rakaia encampment. Ab far back as the traditions of the Maoris , go, allusion is made in their songs to the wek»_j and if we would examine newe* refuse heaps'' ih of the Natives, either on the coasfc or inland,!' I am sure fchat we could obtain ample evidence from the presence of the remains of this bird ._ that it constituted one of their favourite' L ' s meals. I have before observed that the line of demarcation botween the surface of the ! dirt- S!\C bed and the overlying shell beds, in whioh no moa bones were found, is constant and very distinct, and goes far to prove that during a considerable lapse of tine no "human oecupa^ tion of the cave took place. v, '^ .•" This proposition gains in strength by the i :;- --exietence of a bed of drift sand, forming a ' - J layer of a thickness of about 12 inches at the ! entrance of the cave and gradually thinning towards the interior. - As the cave was amply protected, not only \ by its position as well as by the huge rook in ..'■• front, but without doubt, also by dense vege-" ~"; tation, sprung up when it was left undisturbed, ' : '•' after the moa hunters ceased to frequent it, ;° "' the discovery of this bed of drift sand between' '' ' the two formations has important bearings. excavations amongst the sand HUM OUTSIDE THE CAVE. Before proceeding to general conclusions to be drawn from the results obtained during tbe excavations in the cave in question, I wish to offer a Bhort description of my researches, of which some date as far back as 1865, made . amongst fche moa hunters and Maori kitchen middens in its immediate neighbourhood. * • When speaking of the position of the cave, I alluded already to the two lineß of boulder deposits running from the western headland '' in an easterly direction, and gradually diminishing in height and size. ' . ■ '* Between them and Che foot of Banks Peninsula, near the cave, drift sands very Boon accumulated, by whioh a quarter of a mile to the east these boulders are soon covered. About 200 feet east of the cave, Banks _ Peninsula recedes nearly a quarter of a mile fco fcho south, fche low ground being here also covered by drift sands many acres in extent, the highest points 30 feet above high-water mark. On this flat, first the moa hunters, and afterwards thoir successors, the shell-fish eaters, had extensive camping grounds. Although in many places the kitchen mid-

dens of the older and newer occupants, owin» to the changeable nature of the shifting sandsj have become mixed up so as in many cases to make it impossible to fix a clear line of demarcation between them j in other instances that peculiarity of the sands has caused that they have been very well preserved, and tlie space between both sets of beds sharoly defined. In the fir.t instanoe we find that the moa hunters had numerous cooking places amongst these dunes, situated often closely together, which after use became filled up to some extent by the refuse of their feasts, whilst very often a larger heap of broken bones, eggshells, etc., had been thrown a few feet from the oven, an observation made also at the Rakaia. The following sections from that locality will, better than words can do, convey a ole _ .r insight into fcheir principal features. Section VII, taken about four chains from the entrance of the cave and one chain north of the Sumner road, proves clearly that there exists a clear line of demarcation between the moa hunters' and shell eaters' deposits. After examining a shell bed on the surface, which contained the same species of shells as we obtained from the upper deposits of the cave, I bad the sands below them excavated for about two feet, when we came upon the remains of a cooking oven, big boulders, charcoal, and near and above it a distinct layer of kitchen middens, which consisted of moa hones, the larger ones all broken,some of them calcined ; there were also some of smaller birds, of which those of the spotted shag i (Traculus punctatus) were the most numerous; j the crested penguin, the large kiwi, and the i grey duck being also represented. Besides them, bones of the dog, which appears to have been also a favourite dish of the moa hunter, a tympanic bone of a ziphoid whale and some seal bones were also obtained. Section VIII., on the other hand, shows convincingly how in many instances the intermixture of the two series of kitchen middens has taken place. It is evident that in that locality, without doubt, by rain and wind, a, portion of the dunes upon which the refuse heap of the moa hunters had been deposited, had become partly destroyed, and that the same spot had afterwards been used as a camping ground by the shell fish eaters, their -ritohen middens having been thrown over the side into a hollow, thus covering as it were unconformably the former deposits of human occupancy. In none of the clearly defined refuse deposits of the moa hunters wero any marine shells found, but in one locality a few pieces of our fresh water mussels (Naio Aucklandicus) c were discovered, probably used for domestic purposes, but, as before observed, in many instances the line between both series could not be drawn, and it appeared clear that. the sands having been blown away, the kitchen middens of the older and newer occupants became not only intermixed, but even that the same boulders which were collected for their ovens by the moa hunters might have been used by tbe shell fish eating population also. Owing to the great extent of the area, it was utterly impossible to open up all the ovens occurring there, aB this would have been beyond the means at my command ; however, sufficient ground was examined to show that the smaller speoies Meionornis didiformis and Euryapteryx skeides were obtained most frequently, whilst Euryapteryx gravis was also well represented. Of Meionornis casuarinus, which was the most numerous species at fche Rakaia encampment, only a few bones were observed both in the cave and on the sand hills, which suggests that in the hunting grounds where the older occupants of that locality obtained their food, this species, so very plentiful near the Rakaia, must have been of rare occurrence. Portions of the shells of several moa-eggs were also collected, of which the greater part of one was lying on the surface close to the Sumner road. The seal bones found so numerously in the older kitchen middens, belong to several Bpecies, of which the larger fur eeal is best represented, the sea leopard and small fur seal not being so frequent. As will bo gathered from fche accompanying list, I obtained numerous stone implements, of which threo adzes in good preservation were polished, and fragments of eleven others, together with nine pieces of gritty sandstone used; for sharpening or polishing. Of the former, one of the specimens was found immediately above the stones having formed one o_> the ovens, the others being scattered amongst the kitchen middens, and as this occurrence ia a confirmation of the observations made in the the cave, thero is no doubt thafc tho moa hunters used both polished and unpolished ■tone implements. A number of small pieces of obsidian were also found, of which some were probably used Us spear heads. Most of the rude chipped stone, implements, like thoso collected in the cave, had been made from the basaltic rock in the neighbourhood, mosfc of them were simply flakes without any decided form, bufc amongst; them I observed a few manufactured for spear heads ; others had evidently been chipped fco be used as knives or scrapers, fche rest being cores only. Flint implements, so well represented at the Rakaia, were also not missing, but wifch fche exception of aboufc a dozen, which were either used as spear heads or knives, fche rest were flakes or cores. Of fche romarkable green silicious deposit (Palla) found in the Crawler's Downs, two small flakes were also amongst the specimens here collected. Two pieces of moa bones, partly worked, were secured, having doubtless been in preparation for the manufacture of fish-hooks, with fchem two ornaments made of the humerus of an albatross wero found, neatly out off to a length of about one inch, and resembling tho heitikis used by fche Maoris, in which the feathers of the Tui, ov small birds are inserted, and suspended from the neck. As already stated, we picked up also some tympanic bones of whales amongst the refuse heaps, so that it is evident thafc the use of this bone, for some purpose, afc present unknown to us, was universal amongst the moa hunters in this part of the country. Judging from the great amount of kitchen middens situate on the very small portion on the dunes examined by me, there is no doubt that the real camping ground of the moa hunters was outside the cave, and that they used the latter only occasionally for shelter, or for their meals, and only in a few instances for cooking purposes, thus proving that along lapse of time was necessary for the formation of the lower beds alone. On the other hand, the observations I was able to mako at the junction of the kifcohen middens of fche moa hunter and of the shellfish eaters, demonstrates thafc there passed again a considerable time before the latter appeared on the scene, and as there are actually no cooking ovens in the upper or Bhell beds since deposited in the

cave, wo can only aver fchafc the shells were likewise cooked outside, the numerous ashbeds, tussocks, and fern-stalks, interstratified amongst the Bhells, suggesting that tho hitter inhabitants lighted their fires only for warmth and light; in the care, and probably slept there. It appears to me important to obtain, if j possible, some information from the Natives i if th»-y had any knowledge or tradition in roferonce to the remarkable quantity of shell heaps occurring in tlie inner or westerly portion of the dunes, and which are found afc intervals from near tho mouth of the Waipara all along the coast as far as the Waitaki, and in whioh I oould never discover any* moa bones. I therefore requested my friend, the ! Rev J. W. Stack, to inquire from the oldest Maoris of Kaiapoi what they knew about them. He informs mo that these Natives attribute them generally to the Waitaha, the first immigrants who preceded the Ngatitnamoe, who in their turn preceded the Ngafcikuri, the present inhabitants. Seeing that these remains are assigned to the remotest period of Maori occupation by the Natives themselves, the great division existing between the lower or moa hunter beds, with such a distinct line of demarcation, goes far to prove that an enormous space of time must have elapsed since the Dinornis became extinct. Mr Stack justly points out the importance of this fact in his communications to me, and thus the own traditions of the Natives themselves, related in an unbiassed way, are certainly a confirmation of the views I ventured to express first in 1871, in respect td this question, and quite in opposition to the then generally accepted assumptions.

[To be continued.]