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Tuhinga 24: 5-47
ABSTRACT: Excavations at the Station Bay pā on Motutapu in 1970-71 revealed a complex sequence, from a relatively extensive open settlement to a more compact fortification between about AD 1500 and 1800. Charcoal analysis portrays a largely scrub-covered landscape with only a few trees. Food-storage pits and faunal remains reflect a subsistence economy based on kūmara (sweet potato) cultivation and the harvesting of marine resources: shellfish from the adjacent rocky shore and both protected and exposed sandy beaches, and fish, predominantly snapper, from fishing grounds nearby. The few items of material culture are typical of Māori assemblages of the time.
Results of two previous excavations of undefended settlements in the immediate vicinity help to expand a picture of a relatively stable and peaceful way of life, punctuated by periodic episodes of stress when the fortifications were built and rebuilt. External contacts are indicated by imported obsidian, mostly from nearby Great Barrier Island (Aotea Island).
The Station Bay excavations are discussed in the context of more than 50 years of archaeological research on Motutapu, which has a largely intact pre-European cultural landscape in close proximity to the large Auckland urban area, where many pre-European sites have been lost.
KEYWORDS: Motutapu Island, Station Bay, pā, settlement pattern, faunal analysis.