Quick Dips

Two-Way Traffic

Maori oral traditions have always included stories of journeying to and from other parts of Polynesia, and archaeological excavations have now confirmed this.

Diggings on Raoul Island, in the Kermadec group, turned up obsidian flakes which came from Mayor Island in the Bay of Plenty, 1,200 kilometers to the south. Bruce McFadgen of the Department of Conservation and Atholl Anderson of Auckland University were able to date the material at 1350-1540 AD.

There is further evidence for the far-ranging travels of the early Maori and Polynesians. Raoul Island obsidian flakes have been found at a number of sites along the east coast of the South Island. Multiple landfalls or two-way traffic between New Zealand and other islands in the South Pacific now seem likely.