Internet Archaeol. 16. Phillips. Hauraki landscapes

2.5 Hauraki landscapes

In summary, Māori groups along the Waihou did not conform to the requirements implicit in the analysis of spatial patterns, which require sedentary occupation and exclusive territories by peoples belonging to a single polity (Fig. 1C). Similar comments have been made by other researchers elsewhere in New Zealand (Anderson 1980; Allen 1996; Ballara 1998).

This example does validate contextual landscape theory. Māori land use practices developed and changed over time, partially in response to changes in the land and partially due to cultural events. Terrain also changed, sometimes in response to geological events and on occasion due to human-induced ones. The challenge now is to modify spatial analyses so that they can accommodate these dynamic processes.