Wairau Bar

The Wairau Bar, or Te Pokohiwi, is a 19-hectare (47-acre) gravel bar formed where the Wairau River meets the sea in Cloudy Bay, Marlborough, north-eastern South Island, New Zealand. It is an important archaeological site, settled by explorers from East Polynesia who arrived in New Zealand about 1280. It is the earliest known human settlement in New Zealand. At the time of the occupation it is believed to have been a low scrub-covered island 2 to 3 metres (7 to 10 ft) high, 1.1 kilometres (0.68 mi) long and 0.4 kilometres (0.25 mi) wide.

The site was discovered in 1939 by then schoolboy Jim Eyles who, in 1942, found more artefacts. Early investigations with Roger Duff unearthed a burial site. Bones were scattered and close to the surface. This was originally believed to have been due to ploughing, but work by Bruce McFadgen shows that at some stage, probably between the two periods of occupation, the site was subject to either large storm surge waves or a tsunami which probably contributed to the scattering. Using the techniques of the time about 2000 artefacts and 44 human skeletons were removed and examined in detail. The record seems to show that the partial skeletons of several children were found in shallow graves but these were in such poor condition and scattered that Duff was either unable or unwilling to keep the fragments using the methods of those days. The examination showed that the people were using the same cultural methods as those in eastern Polynesia, particularly the Marquesas Islands. Sixty-nine adzes were found at Wairau Bar, of which only three were made of greenstone. Eighty small, one-piece, triangular, stone or bone fishing lures with lashed unbarbed hook were found.

In 2009 a more modern analysis by Buckley et al found the skeletons had a wide range of estimated ages. None of the skeletons were from elderly people. The oldest was 39 and the second oldest was 36. Most of the skeletons were from people aged in their 20s. No children and only 1 teenager's skeleton was found. This is consistent with younger people being buried elsewhere, a practice that was quite common in the South Pacific. There was only one child's skeleton. The 21 skeletons with teeth all exhibited some developmental enamel disorders, showing they had suffered long stressful periods during childhood but survived to reasonably healthy adulthood. Tooth decay was rare, especially amongst males (a similar trait to neolithic people of the Americas (North American Indians). Many of the skeletons showed multiple signs of stress such as Harris lines (on X-rays of long bones such as the tibia) caused by either infection or a poor diet. Tooth wear was substantial among older individuals, with teeth worn to the roots, but this did not seem to be due to bracken fern root chewing. All the adults showed healed bone fractures, indicating a well-balanced diet and a supportive community structure. Several skeletons showed features that are interpreted as being caused by tuberculosis (TB). The presence of TB was yet to be confirmed by DNA analysis in 2010. Anaemia was common, as was arthritis. The average height of the males was 175 centimetres (69 in) and the females 161 centimetres (63 in). These figures show the early colonisers were tall compared to most Polynesians. The skeletons were all found in shallow graves, with the heads pointing towards the east and the feet to the west, as was the practice in eastern Polynesia. The archaeological layers were shallow.

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