Fishing in Pre-European New Zealand
by Foss Leach
Jointly published 2006 by New Zealand Journal of Archaeology (special
publication) and
Archaeofauna, volume 15. A4 hard cover, dust jacket, 359+iv pp, 123 figs, 24 b/w
plates, 4
colour plates, contents, index. ISBN 0-476-00864-6. Price: NZ$78.50. Add p&p:
within NZ $6.90;
Australia NZ$18; elsewhere NZ$42.
This authoritative volume draws together a broad range of information about
pre-European
Maori fishing in a well illustrated and very readable form. The author uses
identifications and
measurements of fish remains from 126 archaeological sites covering the full
time span of
prehistoric New Zealand to describe the range of fish caught by pre-European
Maori, explore
variations between regions and through time, and examine the impact of Maori on
the fishery.
The archaeological information is placed in a series of wider contexts - the
Pacific background to
Maori fishing, the nature of the New Zealand fishery, climatic fluctuations
during the last
millennium, and the nutritional requirements of human diet and the role of
marine food in it.
The discussion of the technology and material culture of fishing breaks new
ground in its
treatment of cordage and knots, netting and fish hooks, canoe design, fish
preservation and
cooking methods. Research on fish behaviour towards hooks provides much needed
insight into
the reason why the rotating hook, so common amongst early Maori and other
Pacific island
peoples, was so successful.
The author shows that pre-European Maori had a different approach to
conservation of the
marine environment than is currently employed in modern fisheries management and
that claims
of pre-European over-exploitation of snapper and other species are ill-founded.
An especially
important finding is that the average size of fish increased over time following
the strategy of
taking large numbers of what would now be considered under-sized fish.
New Zealand had super-abundant fish stocks right up to the time of first
European settlement,
and all necessary marine food was obtained in shallow waters less than 100 m
from the shore.
Pre-European Maori fishermen in New Zealand are shown to have been extremely
knowledgeable about all aspects of the New Zealand fishery.
Orders for the book may be made by sending credit card details as follows:
By Fax: Emma Brooks at +64-4-8025180
By Post: NZ Journal of Archaeology, PO Box 14-359, Kilbirnie, Wellington, New
Zealand
By Email: [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
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