11. What evidence exists in New Zealand suggesting human habitation over two thousand years ago?

What are the sources of evidence?

Establishing proof of pre-Polynesian inhabitants requires gathering all available information and assessing the probability of earlier arrivals. Building the case necessitates drawing from multiple sources. Probability is subjective, with each person forming their own assessment of the likelihood of pre-Polynesian arrivals. The evidence can be categorised into the following areas:

1. Māori Oral History Evidence

2. Archaeological Evidence: Artefacts and Features

3. Evidence from DNA Analysis

4. Origins of the Māori Language

1.      Māori Oral History Evidence

Many European observers in the nineteenth century recorded accounts from Māori regarding pre-Polynesian settlers. During the second half of the 1800s, numerous European scientists visited New Zealand to study various aspects of the country and report their findings to European colleagues. Reports from 150 years ago may be considered more accurate than modern interpretations, as there was far less genetic diversity amongst the local population at the time. Early observers had a greater opportunity to note distinct differences between ethnic groups, recording their observations and comments from Māori counterparts in publications that are still read today.

Observations on Pre-Polynesian Inhabitation

Reports from several academics and scientists regarding pre-Polynesian inhabitation include:

Andreas Reischek

Andreas Reischek, an Austrian ornithologist, collected specimens in New Zealand from 1877 to 1889. Fluent in English and Te Reo Māori, he was a close friend of Tāwhiao, the second Māori King, who granted him freedom to explore the King Country. Reischek's notes were published in Yesterdays in Maoriland, where he documented conversations with Māori:

"The chiefs told me the Māori are a mixed race; tradition has it that their forefathers originally came to New Zealand from Hawaiki in 13 double canoes. They landed at different spots in the North Island and found them inhabited by dark-coloured men with curly black hair and small stature. These original inhabitants—they called them Ngātimaimai—were good husbandmen and hunters but poor warriors. So the Māori conquered them, killed the men, and took possession of the women. This union would account for the three different types I noticed."

(Source: Page 197, Yesterdays in Maoriland, Andreas Reischek, 1924)