The Archaeology of Pouerua

Description/Abstract

The Archaeology of the Pouerua is an important book in Pacific archaeology, the third and major book to emerge from the Pouerua Project, which was a major archaeological initiative of the 1980s, studying the extensive pa (native village) site on and around the volcanic cone at Pouerua, Northland, New Zealand. AUP has previously published two small books from this research, The Archaeology of the Kainga and The Archaeology of the Peripheral Pa. These are fairly technical studies but the first in particular has been used as a text and has sold very well.

This crowning volume, The Archaeology of Pouerua, is a much larger book than the previous two. It studies the pa itself and the innovative attempt to use archaeological techniques to explore and understand socio-political process. The investigation revealed the pa as a fluid site with different functions changing over time; not a place of permanent settlement but rather a visible sign of power and dominance. The text is not aimed at a general readership but will be of detailed interest to researchers, teachers and students.



Contents

1. Pouerua and Pa Site Archaeology

2. Pouerua and the Pouerua Project

3. Methodology

4. Summary of the Cultural Sequence on Pouerua

5. Area III Excavations

6. Area II Excavations

7. Area IV Excavations

8. Area I Excavations

9. Area V Excavations

10. Area VI Excavations

11. Area VII Excavations

12. Pulling the Sequence Together

13. Radiocarbon Dating the Cultural Sequence

14. Form of the Cone

15. Changing Use of Pouerua

16. Conclusion

References

Appendices

Index