A reassessment of settlement patterns and subsistence at Point Durham, Chatham Island

Orthodox reconstructions of subsistence and settlement patterns on Chatham Island proposed that throughout the pre-contact period, Moriori lived within small home ranges and relied for food predominantly on fur seals, with plant foods being of little importance. Reassessment of the Point Durham sites on which these reconstructions were based demonstrates that they were not contemporary, which undermines the orthodox model. Chronological evidence indicates two phases of pre-contact occupation and that the largest fur seal midden probably derives from the early historical period. During both pre-contact phases, settlement patterns involved residential mobility between sites of different function along with the transporting of resources over wider territories than the orthodox model allowed. Subsistence evidence shows a shift from initial reliance on fur seals to a broader spectrum of smaller marine animals. Furthermore, new palaeobotanical data indicate that plants, in particular kōpi (Corynocarpus laevigatus), were an important component of diet.